Morel hunting can be tough going. It’s the perfect place at the perfect time…and there’s nothing doing. Luckily, there’s a lot more going on in morel season than just morels. Adding a couple other things to your repertoire can salvage an otherwise disappointing hunt. To start with, a mushroom you will almost certainly find ifContinue reading “3 Things You Might Find While You’re Looking for Morels”
Category Archives: mushrooms
The Mushroom Report
Most interesting find of the week, in fact, probably of the year so far, was this guy: This, I believe, is Gyromitra korfii, considered a good edible, in contrast to a close look-alike, Gyromitra esculenta, which is toxic. The main differences are the thickness of the stem and the color. Korfii is more squat andContinue reading “The Mushroom Report”
January Photos and Finds
Not a clear theme for today, just thought I’d share some of the things I’ve found. The featured picture above is some kind of slime mold, probably unidentifiable. It was growing from a dead elm tree, with the bark peeling off. I’ve actually seen these structures on a couple different dead elm trees so IContinue reading “January Photos and Finds”
Essential Mushrooms: The Brick Cap
Let’s take a close look at these guys! They are called Brick caps because of the color. The margins tend to be lighter, and sometimes have white tufts of fiber remaining from the partial veil. They grow in clusters from decaying hardwoods. The stipe is lighter above and more reddish below, and often twisted becauseContinue reading “Essential Mushrooms: The Brick Cap”
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 #8: Parasites (and Rhizomorphs)
This one’s not too hard to figure out. In contrast to saprobic fungi, parasitic fungi feed on living organisms, whether those are trees, other fungi, or even insects—as is the case with the famous Cordyceps militaris (see Planet Earth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuKjBIBBAL8) Trees undoubtedly bear the brunt of fungal parasitism, however. These parasites are often specific toContinue reading “Mushroom Lingo #8: Parasites (and Rhizomorphs)”
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”
Photo Recap: My First Online Mushroom Foray
What is an online mushroom foray, you say? It’s actually not an experience unique to the pandemic, and it’s not hunting virtual mushrooms. You go mushroom hunting like normal, only you document your finds a little more carefully and upload them online. They last for a certain period of time, this one a week, andContinue reading “Photo Recap: My First Online Mushroom Foray”
recycled paper clips 