Reddit black trumpet haul reignites debate over cutting or pulling mushrooms

A Reddit haul of black trumpet mushrooms reopened one of foraging’s oldest arguments: cut them at the base, or pull them out whole? Black trumpets are a choice edible known for a smoky, truffle-like flavor and a look that makes it easy to walk past if you do not know where to scan.

Black trumpets, including the European species Craterellus cornucopioides first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, are small, dark, funnel-shaped fungi that hide well in the field. They occur across North America in eastern and western forms, and they are commonly tied to mature hardwood forests, especially damp, mossy low spots around oak, beech, and maple.

The original poster on r/foraging asked which harvest method was best after finding a beautiful batch. One camp prefers a clean cut to limit disturbance and leave the underground structure in place. The other pulls to inspect the base, which matters when identification is still being confirmed, and can keep part of the mushroom from being left behind.

Penn State University’s 2025 survey of nearly 1,000 wild mushroom harvesters in the Mid-Atlantic documented 160 different species gathered for food, medicine, art, nature connection, and income. Morels and chicken of the woods each accounted for 13% of respondents, while chanterelles accounted for 10%.

A long-term Swiss study found that systematic harvesting by either picking or cutting did not reduce later fruit-body yields or species richness, while trampling significantly reduced fruiting. An AI summary of the study put fruit-body production at about 70% lower after trampling. An Oregon State University study of American matsutake in the Oregon Cascades found careful picking was not detrimental during the first 10 years of harvest activity, but raking litter and mineral soil layers was strongly harmful and the effects lasted for years.

U.S. Forest Service guidance recommends cutting mushrooms rather than plucking them, bans raking, and stresses permits and staying light on the land, including in the Shasta-McCloud unit of Shasta Trinity National Forests.