My Saturday hike at Flag Ponds was fungally fruitful.
(Get the awesome pun?? Because mushrooms and other visible fungi are the fruiting parts of the main body, or mycelium, of the fungus. My family says my mom-jokes are even worse when I explain them, whereas I think they’ve got real pun-tential.)
My mushroom identification skills, however, still leave much to be desired. There are at least 10,000 different species of mushrooms/fungi in North America. I can reliably identify about five. And that’s just not going to cut it on an average hike.
The stakes are even higher for mushroom foragers who intend to eat what they find. A misidentified mushroom in your stomach could mean a trip to the emergency room.
When trying to identify a mushroom, amateur mycologists must note myriad details, beginning with:
- The shape, texture, moisture level, and color of the cap (pileus),
- The shape and color of the stalk and whether or not it has a “veil”,
- Whether the underside of the cap (where the spores come from) is smooth or has gills, tubes, or teeth, and
- What kind of spore print the cap makes.
I took no caps home to make spore prints. Knowing that the visible mushroom is only the fruiting body of the larger mycelium, I didn’t mind plucking a few to get a better look at, and photo of, their underside – I figure this is no worse than picking a flower or leaf – but I draw the line at taking home pieces of nature from a nature park. I couldn’t do it.
So, here are the mushrooms I found and the rudimentary identifications that I was able to make with the help of my National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms and the wonderful MycoKey Fungus Identifier website. Click on the photos to read the full captions.
I cannot identify either for sure. Seriously, I got nuthin’.
Maybe in the parchment fungus family? I so badly need a fungus friend to guide me.
Finally, one I know! This bright yellow, delicate, slimy beauty is witches’ butter. It is edible, but used in soups rather than to butter bread.
Fail.
Just enough success to keep me going!
Check out this convoluted beauty! It sure looks like a Bladder Cup. . . only it’s not yellow. And it’s not growing on manure.
The mushroom gods are, for sure, laughing at me now.
Getting lucky with commoners.
So, I may not be able to identify them to genus and species, but I’ve observed enough to know that there are at least four different fungi in this square foot of rotting log: the delicate, dark brown mushroom sticking up just above center, the Clinker polypore coating the wood in a dark brown/black char, the false-turkey-tail-or-possibly-other-parchment-fungus in the upper right quadrant, and the three cute cup fungi lined up on the center right.
If you, too, are prone to fungus fails, take heart in the following quote:
“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.” – Oprah Winfrey
I think I’ll go adjust my crown and forage for a few more fungus websites.
While you are definitely pushing me beyond my boundaries here, I appreciate the thrust and look forward to your later learnings. The best nugget for me, today, is that mushrooms come in so very many shapes, sizes, and colors–and can be found rather close together. First question that comes to mind: is this the season for mushrooms or do you find them about as easily in Spring and Summer as well?
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Thanks so much! Don’t hesitate to post questions – I love a research topic!
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Wonderful web site. Plenty of helpful info here. I’m sending it to several pals ans additionally sharing in delicious. And certainly, thanks for your sweat!
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Thanks for the compliment! I’ll keep sweating and posting!
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I do believe all of the ideas you have presented in your post. They are very convincing and will definitely work. Still, the posts are very short for newbies. May you please lengthen them a little from subsequent time? Thanks for the post.
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Thanks so much – I’ll try to give you more length and info next time!
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D
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Don’t hesitate to comment with questions /l- I’m happy to research and answer!
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