Autumn is the optimal time of year to find fruiting fungi. These images were taken in late August through September. An excellent field guide which I just acquired this year is Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada, by George Barron.
The first two pictures, taken near the walking bridge across the Moira River, are a group of Pluteus longistriatus followed by a dorsal view depicting the gills. The width of the caps is about 3 cm to 5 cm.
This interesting group of Pholiota squarrosoides was growing on hardwood south the dam at the walking bridge. The caps measure about 10 cm across.
The small bracket fungi visible in the background of the Pholiota squarrosoides images above are Purple-toothed Polypore (Trichaptum biforme). The average length of the brackets is approximately 5 cm.
An Ash Bolete (Gyrodon merulioides) encountered on the shore of Stoco Lake, growing under (what else?) a White Ash. This is a fairly large fungus, measuring about 15 cm at its widest span.
A Shaggy Mane (Coprinus Comatus) growing on a lawn adjoining Metcalf Street. The height of this distinctive mushroom is about 10 cm. Many mushrooms live fast ... the cap on this specimen is still closed; it opened the following day and by the third day it was history.
More Metcalf Street residents: Dryad's Saddle (Polyporus squamosus), a large fungus spanning several inches, growing on hardwood. These pairs of photos were taken at two different locations.
I should have included my hand in these group photos to give an idea of the size of these impressive fungi; the largest specimen was a good 30 cm wide.
Found growing on hardwood trees near Metcalf Street, these fungi aren't in the Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada. I searched images of fungi on the Internet and voilà! ... I think these mushrooms are probably Scaly Lentinus (Lentinus lepideus). The caps are roughly 10 cm to 12 cm in diameter.
The wooded areas bordering the Eastern Ontario Trail are a good place to hunt for fungi. This intriguing fungus growing on dead birch is probably Cryptoporus volvatus. The average width of this specimen was about 5 cm.
The yellow cap with reddish scales and angular pores identify this 10 cm wide bolete as Suillus americanus ... the White Pine Bolete a.k.a. "Chicken Fat Mushroom".
