I recently bought Boletes of Eastern North America, which has been a game-changer for identifying all those incredibly similar cushiony pored mushrooms we call boletes. One thing about it that has changed my mindset is that it starts off by closely examining the stalk. Boletes are divided into five groups, based on the qualities ofContinue reading “Mushroom Lingo #11: Punctae”
Category Archives: Mushroom Lingo
Mushroom Report: The Veiled Polypore
I’ve talked about “veiled” mushrooms on this blog before, but the veiled polypore, Cryptoporus volvatus, is different. Usually, a mushroom’s veil helps protect the gills while it is maturing, but then disintegrates when the mushroom is ready to spread its spores. After all, permanently enclosing your spore bearing surfaces makes no sense as it preventsContinue reading “Mushroom Report: The Veiled Polypore”
Mushroom Lingo #10: Agaric
Like “polypore,” “agaric” can be interpreted in two ways. Firstly, morphologically, to refer to any mushroom with the typical mushroom shape—a stem, cap, and gills. It can also be interpreted phylogenetically, to refer to the Order Agaricales. Way back in the days of Linnaeus, when mushrooms were classified macroscopically, these two meanings were equivalent. ButContinue reading “Mushroom Lingo #10: Agaric”
Mushroom Lingo #9: Polypore
A polypore is just a mushroom with a lot of pores, right? Not quite. Boletes are pored mushrooms, for example, and yet are not polypores. Lenzites betulina doesn’t have pores — it has gills! — and yet it is considered a polypore. What’s going on? As so often with things mushroomy, there isn’t a clearContinue reading “Mushroom Lingo #9: Polypore”
Mushroom Lingo #7: Mycorrhizal
Like “veil,” this word is always a spelling challenge for me, although probably with better reason. Mycorrhizal is pronounced “MY-ko-RYE-zal.” It comes from the Greek words for fungus (“myco”) and root (“rhiza”). A mushroom is mycorrhizal, as opposed to saprobic or parasitic, when it depends on a symbiotic relationship with a plant for survival. InContinue reading “Mushroom Lingo #7: Mycorrhizal”
Mushroom Lingo #6: Saprobic
A mushroom is saprobic if it survives by decomposing dead organic matter. This separates it from parasitic fungi (who feed on living organic matter) and mycorrhizal fungi, which receive sugars from trees in exchange for certain nutrients. Many urban mushrooms are saprobic. For example, the parasols above, which are decomposing the wood chips in myContinue reading “Mushroom Lingo #6: Saprobic”
Mushroom Lingo #5: Slime Veil
Yet another kind of veil! The good news is after three posts (partial veil, universal veil, and now slime veil) I think I’ve finally figured out how to spell it: v-e-i-l. The spelling of the word is to me almost as strange as the thing itself. A slime veil is basically a kind of universalContinue reading “Mushroom Lingo #5: Slime Veil”
Mushroom Lingo #4: Universal Veil
Building off of last week’s discussion of partial veils, let’s talk the UNIVERSAL VEIL… A universal veil is a membrane that fully covers the immature bodies of certain mushrooms. Sometimes it makes them look like they are bursting out of eggs: As they mature, the universal veil disintegrates. How it disintegrates is what you wantContinue reading “Mushroom Lingo #4: Universal Veil”
Mushroom Lingo #3: Partial Veil
“Partial veil” is a rather mysterious, almost existential, name for a thin covering of the gills or pores on the underside of a mushroom’s cap. You are actually much more familiar with partial veils than you realize, because Agaricus bisporus, the supermarket button mushroom features one. As the mushroom gets older, the partial veil disintegratesContinue reading “Mushroom Lingo #3: Partial Veil”
Mushroom Lingo #2: Bruising
A key identifying feature for many mushrooms is whether they “bruise” or “stain” a certain color. To test this you don’t have to punch your mushroom, or drop it off a small cliff. Simply scratch the surface with a knife, or if you don’t have one, your fingernail, as above. It can also be usefulContinue reading “Mushroom Lingo #2: Bruising”
recycled paper clips 