I went for a lunchtime hike in a forest tract near my work, just a quick drive north recently. I found a bazillion mushrooms and fungi. My succinct and colourful report is below:
But it starts badly - this specimen is officially driving me crazy. I can't figure out what it is. It is gilled. It appears to have a shaggy cap. I initially suspected genus Pleurotus, but I think not. Can someone help please? In fact, any help I can get with the many 'unknown specimens' listed below would be much appreciated.
Unknown specimen. Don't worry. It gets better.
Unknown specimen. No really. You'll start seeing names.
Unknown specimen. Honestly. Just bear with me.
The woods. Part of the hundreds of forested acres in which I tramped and bumbled about.
Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor).
Honey Mushroom (Armillaria gallica), a parasitic fungus that will eventually kill the living trees that make up their hosts.
A game trail that I found leading through the woods.
Black Knot (Dibotryon morbosum).
Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor).
Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor).
Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor).
Unknown specimen.
Wolf's Milk or Toothpaste Slime (Lycogala epidendrum).
The woods.
Unknown specimen.
Tree with grape vine coil imprints.
Appalachian Chanterelle (Cantharellus appalachiensis). Edible.
Appalachian Chanterelle (Cantharellus appalachiensis). Yum.
Velvet Foot, also known as Velvet Shank (Flammulina velutipes).
Remains of a crow. Not edible.
Old stone wall - I found some rusted metal sheets protruding from under the soil - perhaps an old homestead or farm building.
Depressed region in woods - possibly an old building was once here.
Dead Man's Fingers.
Unknown specimen- I really want to know what this is though!
Blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides).
Soft Puffball (Lycoperdon molle).
Soft Puffball (Lycoperdon molle).
Unknown specimen. Looks like a Boletus of some kind - nice shape! Anyone know what this is?
Wolf's Milk or Toothpaste Slime (Lycogala epidendrum). While most of these are bright yellow, or orange, as they age they will turn deep grey or brown or black.
Unknown specimen. Gilled. Small.
Soft Puffball (Lycoperdon molle). You can see the size of it relative to the pine needles.
Soft Puffball (Lycoperdon molle). Edible when white like this, just fry it up in some butter with pepper and salt.
I believe this is a Silky Pinkgill (Entoloma sericeum). I would appreciate it if anyone could confirm this for me - I'm not very certain. Cute little umbonate top.
Here I am about to flick a Soft Puffball (Lycoperdon molle) to demonstrate how a spore cloud will be emitted from the hole at the top of the fungus, to spread the spores for reproductive purposes. Well, actually I'm just doing it for fun, but call it what you will. The spores can be used in an emergency as a wound clotter (anticoagulant).
Flicked Soft Puffball (Lycoperdon molle) showing the resultant spore cloud.
Honey Mushroom (Armillaria gallica), a parasitic fungus that will eventually kill their living tree hosts. How rude and boorish.
Again, Dead Man's Fingers fungus, so named because they look like the mummified fingers of a corpse sticking out from the ground of the cemetery. Charming. Not edible. Thankfully.
Pear-Shaped puffball (Morganella pyriformis) - some may be pear-shaped as the name suggests, but often are spherical. These are mature and dry - the spore mass within completely dried, brown and powdered (or wet and sodden due to the wetness of the ground).
Here is a view of a forest regeneration area again.
Bumblebee on Azure Aster (Symphyotrichum oolentangiense).
Chicken Fat Mushroom or American Slipperycap (Suillus americanus). Edible.
Chicken Fat Mushroom or American Slipperycap (Suillus americanus).
Milkweed pods.
Chicken Fat Mushroom or American Slipperycap (Suillus americanus). Closeup of the pores underneath the cap.
I believe this is a member of the genus Inocybe - the Fibrecap. Many are poisonous and at least one is deadly. Note the umbonate cap (conical, or bump on the top). Can't confirm the specimen though.
Same one as above, but flipped over. I believe this is a member of the genus Inocybe - the Fibrecap. This is a gilled mushroom - hence the gills.
Chicken Fat Mushroom or American Slipperycap (Suillus americanus). When wet, they get slippery or gelatinous on top - hence the name Slipperycap.
Chicken Fat Mushroom or American Slipperycap (Suillus americanus). Younger specimens are lighter yellow, and as they age, they become brown.
Delightful closeup of deer scat (poop). Poopus Deerus.
Milkweed pods. You can boil or fry up the immature seed pods and eat them.
Chicken Fat Mushroom or American Slipperycap (Suillus americanus). With my Swiss Army Knife for scale.
Stalks of the second year growth of the Great or Common Mullein (Verbascum thapsus). These biennial plants will form the rosette flower the first year, and the stem emerges on the second year. With Mullein, you can eat the root in the first year, but it loses starches and gets quite fibrous in the second year. You can use the stalks in this stage as fire-drills to make fire.
Milkweed pods and seeds. Carl Linnaeus named the genus after Asclepius, the Greek god of healing, because of the many folk-medicinal uses for the milkweed plants.
Bumblebee on Azure Aster (Symphyotrichum oolentangiense).
Forest regeneration region, dotted with young conifers.
Pine woods amongst mixed deciduous trees. Deciduous means that the leaves are shed by means of a thin region of cells that are programmed to die in the late fall, triggered by temperature and/or light changes. Once this thin region dies, the leaf becomes unstable and falls off at the division point. Conifer leaves (needles) do not do this fancy trick. Clever conifers.
Mungo. Growing back his goatee and needing a haircut. But otherwise looking rather dashing.
Mungo with fancy spinning background. He will not reveal his secret to this photograph, other than a tiny hint: He took it while spinning around, and looking deeply into the camera lens.
Unknown specimen, unlike the fellow above this photo.
Soft Puffball (Lycoperdon molle).
Okay. That's it. Lots of fungus for you to digest. Except for the poisonous specimens. Hope you've enjoyed the trip with me!
Cheers,
Mungo
But it starts badly - this specimen is officially driving me crazy. I can't figure out what it is. It is gilled. It appears to have a shaggy cap. I initially suspected genus Pleurotus, but I think not. Can someone help please? In fact, any help I can get with the many 'unknown specimens' listed below would be much appreciated.
Unknown specimen. Don't worry. It gets better.
Unknown specimen. No really. You'll start seeing names.
Unknown specimen. Honestly. Just bear with me.
The woods. Part of the hundreds of forested acres in which I tramped and bumbled about.
Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor).
Honey Mushroom (Armillaria gallica), a parasitic fungus that will eventually kill the living trees that make up their hosts.
A game trail that I found leading through the woods.
Black Knot (Dibotryon morbosum).
Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor).
Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor).
Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor).
Unknown specimen.
Wolf's Milk or Toothpaste Slime (Lycogala epidendrum).
The woods.
Unknown specimen.
Tree with grape vine coil imprints.
Appalachian Chanterelle (Cantharellus appalachiensis). Edible.
Appalachian Chanterelle (Cantharellus appalachiensis). Yum.
Velvet Foot, also known as Velvet Shank (Flammulina velutipes).
Remains of a crow. Not edible.
Old stone wall - I found some rusted metal sheets protruding from under the soil - perhaps an old homestead or farm building.
Depressed region in woods - possibly an old building was once here.
Dead Man's Fingers.
Unknown specimen- I really want to know what this is though!
Blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides).
"Native Americans used various preparations of the root of Caulophyllum thalictroides medicinally to treat rheumatism, toothaches, profuse menstruation, indigestion and stomach cramps, fits and hysterics, genito-urinary disfunction, gallstones, and fever, as an aid in childbirth, and as a general tonic (D. E. Moermann 1986)."
Soft Puffball (Lycoperdon molle).
Soft Puffball (Lycoperdon molle).
Unknown specimen. Looks like a Boletus of some kind - nice shape! Anyone know what this is?
Wolf's Milk or Toothpaste Slime (Lycogala epidendrum). While most of these are bright yellow, or orange, as they age they will turn deep grey or brown or black.
Unknown specimen. Gilled. Small.
Soft Puffball (Lycoperdon molle). You can see the size of it relative to the pine needles.
Soft Puffball (Lycoperdon molle). Edible when white like this, just fry it up in some butter with pepper and salt.
I believe this is a Silky Pinkgill (Entoloma sericeum). I would appreciate it if anyone could confirm this for me - I'm not very certain. Cute little umbonate top.
Here I am about to flick a Soft Puffball (Lycoperdon molle) to demonstrate how a spore cloud will be emitted from the hole at the top of the fungus, to spread the spores for reproductive purposes. Well, actually I'm just doing it for fun, but call it what you will. The spores can be used in an emergency as a wound clotter (anticoagulant).
Flicked Soft Puffball (Lycoperdon molle) showing the resultant spore cloud.
Honey Mushroom (Armillaria gallica), a parasitic fungus that will eventually kill their living tree hosts. How rude and boorish.
Again, Dead Man's Fingers fungus, so named because they look like the mummified fingers of a corpse sticking out from the ground of the cemetery. Charming. Not edible. Thankfully.
Pear-Shaped puffball (Morganella pyriformis) - some may be pear-shaped as the name suggests, but often are spherical. These are mature and dry - the spore mass within completely dried, brown and powdered (or wet and sodden due to the wetness of the ground).
Here is a view of a forest regeneration area again.
Bumblebee on Azure Aster (Symphyotrichum oolentangiense).
Chicken Fat Mushroom or American Slipperycap (Suillus americanus). Edible.
Chicken Fat Mushroom or American Slipperycap (Suillus americanus).
Milkweed pods.
Chicken Fat Mushroom or American Slipperycap (Suillus americanus). Closeup of the pores underneath the cap.
I believe this is a member of the genus Inocybe - the Fibrecap. Many are poisonous and at least one is deadly. Note the umbonate cap (conical, or bump on the top). Can't confirm the specimen though.
Same one as above, but flipped over. I believe this is a member of the genus Inocybe - the Fibrecap. This is a gilled mushroom - hence the gills.
Chicken Fat Mushroom or American Slipperycap (Suillus americanus). When wet, they get slippery or gelatinous on top - hence the name Slipperycap.
Chicken Fat Mushroom or American Slipperycap (Suillus americanus). Younger specimens are lighter yellow, and as they age, they become brown.
Delightful closeup of deer scat (poop). Poopus Deerus.
Milkweed pods. You can boil or fry up the immature seed pods and eat them.
Chicken Fat Mushroom or American Slipperycap (Suillus americanus). With my Swiss Army Knife for scale.
Stalks of the second year growth of the Great or Common Mullein (Verbascum thapsus). These biennial plants will form the rosette flower the first year, and the stem emerges on the second year. With Mullein, you can eat the root in the first year, but it loses starches and gets quite fibrous in the second year. You can use the stalks in this stage as fire-drills to make fire.
Milkweed pods and seeds. Carl Linnaeus named the genus after Asclepius, the Greek god of healing, because of the many folk-medicinal uses for the milkweed plants.
Bumblebee on Azure Aster (Symphyotrichum oolentangiense).
Forest regeneration region, dotted with young conifers.
Pine woods amongst mixed deciduous trees. Deciduous means that the leaves are shed by means of a thin region of cells that are programmed to die in the late fall, triggered by temperature and/or light changes. Once this thin region dies, the leaf becomes unstable and falls off at the division point. Conifer leaves (needles) do not do this fancy trick. Clever conifers.
Mungo. Growing back his goatee and needing a haircut. But otherwise looking rather dashing.
Mungo with fancy spinning background. He will not reveal his secret to this photograph, other than a tiny hint: He took it while spinning around, and looking deeply into the camera lens.
Unknown specimen, unlike the fellow above this photo.
Soft Puffball (Lycoperdon molle).
Okay. That's it. Lots of fungus for you to digest. Except for the poisonous specimens. Hope you've enjoyed the trip with me!
Cheers,
Mungo
