Russulas are notoriously hard to identify, so much so that most of the time I don’t even try. However, this year I feel like I’ve made some progress due to some colorful finds. Russula is a large genus of mushrooms, characterized by brittle gills and stems. If you bend the stipe of most mushrooms, you’llContinue reading “Russula Rainbow”
Category Archives: mushrooms
August Photo Highlights
Mushroom Lingo #11: Punctae
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”
Mushroom Report: The Snaketongue Truffleclub.
Last week, as I was sitting down to photograph a small field of deliquescing Ochre Jelly Babies, I noticed a large matchstick looking club fungus sticking up out of the ground. My first thought was that it was one of the famous Cordyceps mushrooms which parasitize insects, for instance by hijacking the brains of certainContinue reading “Mushroom Report: The Snaketongue Truffleclub.”
Snow Fungus: A Tropical Edible in Indiana
I mentioned in a previous post that Snow Fungus, Tremella fuciformis, deserved its own post. Firstly because, although you wouldn’t know it from the looks of it, it is considered a choice edible, and is actually cultivated to the tune of over 100,000 metric tones a year1. Despite having little appreciable flavor, you can findContinue reading “Snow Fungus: A Tropical Edible in Indiana”
Do mushrooms grow underwater?
Fungi are one of the most diverse and omnipresent forms of life. There are likely millions of species, the vast majority of which are unidentified and poorly understood, performing all kinds of crazy ecological roles we haven’t even begun to study. But they do have one limitation: mushrooms don’t grow underwater, right? You won’t seeContinue reading “Do mushrooms grow underwater?”
Chanterelles!
Chanterelles are out! The upcoming two months are the best time of year, in my opinion, if you are looking to harvest edible mushrooms for the table. I won’t go over how to identify chanterelles, as there are already plenty of resources on that. Instead, I’m just going to share some pictures of the differentContinue reading “Chanterelles!”
Mary Elizabeth Banning: the Story Behind a Mushroom
What is really interesting about this mushroom though, is the story behind its name. Mary Elizabeth Banning was an early American mycologist and illustrator, known for The Fungi of Maryland, a manuscript containing 174 watercolor illustrations of local fungi. Had it been published, it would have been an enormous leap forward for the American mycology of the time, but unfortunately it sat in a drawer for 91 years after her death, only to be unearthed in 1981.
A Black Widow and other things I’ve seen in June
Black widows are one of those species whose name travels far ahead of their actual presence, so it was neat to actually see with my own eyes something I’d heard so much about. After seeing one I did some research and learned that though highly poisonous, a bite from a black widow is not soContinue reading “A Black Widow and other things I’ve seen in June”
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”
recycled paper clips 