There is barely a square yard anywhere in our woods, right now, that is not growing some type(s) of fungi. With all of the rain we have had and the milder temperatures, it seems that the conditions have been perfect for the fruiting bodies of the underground mycelial network to emerge.
Walking in the woods becomes a veritable scavenger hunt for mushrooms.
It's one of my favorite things to do. We walk off trail and keep our eyes focused on the forest floor - looking for irregularities of shape and color.
Invariably, our eyes settle upon some type of mushroom. One area of our woods has a large number of these white mushrooms. They are called "destroying angels" and are highly toxic.
A pea-sized piece, if consumed, causes kidney and liver failure. Mushroom hunting shouldn't be taken lightly. Personally, I don't eat any of the mushrooms from the woods. (We have cooked and eaten our morel mushrooms in the spring - but that's about it.) We prefer to just enjoy the beauty of these otherworldly species.
Some mushrooms help bring about decay, while some are in the midst of their own decay -
falling prey to the molds that flourish in these damp conditions...
Still, there were fascinating specimens in different shapes and colors... identified to the best of our knowledge, but we are no experts! Growing from the forrest floor we saw...
Puffballs...
Mica caps...
Suede boletes...
Orange-capped bolete...
Orange-gilled wax cap...
A new one, for me... white spindles - only about an inch tall - very easy to miss.
There were chanterelles...
Lots and lots of Rosy russula...
Grisette....
A few Poison Champagne Amanita...
the one above hosting a tiny slug.
Coral mushroom...
From their woody bases, such as branches, stumps, and roots, we found....
Turkey tail mushrooms...
An entire tree trunk is covered with similar fungi - covered in a light green moss...
There are just as many different varieties growing on logs and stumps as there are emerging from the forrest floor.
These tiny white mushrooms on the end of this log are toothed jelly fungus- here's a closer look:
Another grouping of mushrooms from a decaying branch...
Orange jelly fungus found on rotting hemlock...
and Reishi - found on mossy hemlock stumps...
and sometimes a large group of them...
Speaking of fungi... this fun guy has a blast running through the wet grasses and ferns until he collapses - exhausted.
Last week, we found these two puffballs...
This week, they have become a pile of spores. The wind or a foot will spread them across the miles to grow into future puffballs.
There is so much more than meets the eye in these areas where man is but a visitor. Every living thing has its place in the web of life. Learning about the interconnectedness of every single species only serves to make me love this world more and more.
Comments
Amazing size shape color . . .