A Miscellany of Mushrooms

The first three mushroom species were found growing along the short woodland path connecting Jamieson St. to the Gateway Health Center. Earthy Inocybe (Inocybe geophylla, var. lilacina), mycorrhizal with conifers and hardwoods, was by far one of the most abundant mushrooms at this location. Most specimens were found growing under White Pine.

Inocybe geophylla teamed with a twinberry makes a picturesque pair.

A view of the gills.

The pale lilac tint has faded from this older mushroom.

In contrast to the omnipresent Inocybes, there were only a few Ascocoryne sp. hiding on the underside of a fragment of decaying wood, the largest of these sac fungi being only about 5 mm in diameter. The little "bug" visible on the surface of the specimen to the lower right is a Velvet Mite.

A cluster of Mock Oyster or Orange Oyster (Phyllotopsis nidulans) growing on a decaying stump, the second photo includes a complimentary slug. I didn't observe the slug eating this particular fungus, but have seen them chowing down on a wide variety of fungi that are toxic to human beings, including Amanita sp.

The next three species were encountered along the trail between Quin-Mo-Lac Road and the Crookston Road. Given that this mushroom is mycorrhizal with conifers, it was no surprise to find a large group of Tricholoma vaccinum fruiting under White Spruce.

A much hairier upper surface and generally more robust build help distinguish Trametes hirsuta from its cousin Trametes pubescens.

This trail runs parallel to Snake Lake and White Lake and the local beavers were busy; large areas of the road were flooded, turning a simple afternoon walk into an adventure in slogging through mud and water. But it was all worth it to experience my first encounter with the distinctive Cinnibar Polypore (Pycnoporus cinnibarinus). According to sources on the Internet this fungus is rather uncommon, and this stick hosted only three specimens, all about 2 cm across.

Next stop: on the trail going east of Tweed, about a hundred Tricholoma sp., mostly growing under White Pine but many also distributed on the forest floor. I can't identify these mushrooms as to species, the closest is Tricholoma squarrulosum but the stem doesn't conform to the descriptions in any species accounts I've read thus far.

A collection of Luminescent Panellus (Panellus stipticus) growing nearby on a fallen elm. Since this fungus is reputed to be bioluminescent I took some samples home with me to observe this phenomenon myself. After about ten to fifteen minutes my eyes became acclimated to the total darkness, and sure enough, I could see a very faint glow emanating from the gills.

A distinct line is formed where the gills terminate at the stem.

The same log was home to a group of Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor). Although I have plenty of photos of this ubiquitous species, its bold, attractive markings make it hard to pass up taking yet another picture of this striking little polypore.

A colorful colony of Brick Top (Hypholoma sublateritium) sprouting from the stump of the fallen elm. A very productive tree even after its demise, the dead elm also supported a couple of other species of polypore and a collection of Lemon Drops.

The cottony stuff clinging to the stem and the perimeter of the cap is the remnants of the web-like partial inner veil; this type of veil is called a cortina.

Mycological Mug Shots

On October 2nd I had the privilege of attending a fall nature walk sponsored by the Tweed and District Horticultural Society. Many thanks to Donna Fano for her time and guidance in identifying the many fascinating species of fungi found along the trail near Downey's Rapids (a few of the mushrooms below I've identified on my own, if there are any errors, they are mine).

In addition to George Barron's Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada, Donna also introduced the group to another must have book for the budding mycologist, the Field Guide to North American Mushrooms, published by the National Audubon Society.

First, a look at some bracket fungi. These closely packed shelves of small fungi fruiting on hardwood are called Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor). The average length of the backets is about 5 cm.

Some views of the hoof-like Tinder Polypore (Fomes fomentarius) growing on a dead birch. These specimens were about 10 cm to 12 cm wide.

About the same width as the Tinder Polypore above and also making itself at home on the fallen birch was an aptly named Birch Polypore (Piptoporus betulinus).

Appearances can be deceiving. At first I took these white 5 cm to 8 cm long formations on this hardwood log to be a species of polypore. Not so ... a look at the underside reveals that these are actually representatives of yet another group of fungi, the Tooth Fungi. I think this might be Steccherinum sp.

Moving on to some gill fungi ... a group of Honey Mushrooms (Armillaria spp.). This complex consists of several closely related species that may require a microscope to distinguish between them, so I'm not going to go farther than the genus level with this one. The caps on these mushrooms were about 5 cm to 8 cm in width.

This mushroom looks like it's been sampled by the local wildlife. Based on what's remaining of the 5 cm wide leftovers I'm going to hazard a guess and call this a Funnel Clitocybe (Clitocybe gibba).

With caps approximately 3 cm to 5 cm wide, brightening up the forest floor is a group of Cinnamon Cort (Cortinarius cinnamomeus)...

... and a vibrantly colored Hygrocybe sp. (width about 5 cm)

Although discolored and faded with age enough of its original reddish hue remains to make this Rosy Russula (Russula sanguinea) stand out among the dead leaves. The width of the cap is about 10 cm.

A common species at this locale, due to their large size (a good 15 cm at their maximum width) Milk Mushrooms (Lactarius piperatus) are also easy to spot despite being half buried under pine needles.

Another common fungus in this area, often found growing on decaying tree stumps and logs, is the Deer Mushroom (Pluteus atricapillus). These mushroom's caps ranged roughly 8 cm to 10 cm in width. (Note: The ID on this may be in error. I've done further research and the gills of Pluteus atricapillus should be free; they are decurrent in the lateral view of the mushroom.)

Most people are familiar with the ubiquitous common puffall but these Pestle Puffballs (Calvatia excipuliformis) were new to me. The rounded end is close to 5 cm in diameter. The second photo includes a complementary Nursery Web Spider, Pisaurina sp.

An older Pestle Puffball, lacking the studded surface.

Smaller and less often noticed than their larger cousins, the jelly fungi are an interesting and colorful group. The following three images depict a Leafy Jelly Fungus (Tremella foliacea). The lengths varied from a few centimeters to about 8 cm or 10 cm.

Witch's Butter (Tremella mesenterica) can be confused with ...

... the superficially similar Orange Jelly (Dacrymyces palmatus). Both of these cheerfully colored fungi measure up to roughly 5 cm in length.

There are two different species of fungi in the following image. The tarry looking stuff is Black Witch's Butter (Exidia glandulosa); the little red cups, the largest being perhaps one centimeter in diameter, are Eyelash Fungus (Scutellinia scutellata). Which brings us to the next group of fungi ... the Sac Fungi, but before moving on, why "Eyelash" Fungus? There isn't enough detail in the photo but when viewed in the field using a hand lens very fine black hairs only .04 mm thick are visible around the perimeter of the cups.

At first glance Dead Man's Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha) doesn't obviously appear to be a sac fungus. Hmmm ... spiders, Witch's Butter and Dead Man's Fingers, and the colors yellow, orange and black ... seems like we have a Hallowe'en theme going here.

Despite their aspect the black and brown domed shapes on this log, roughly 2 cm to 3 cm in diameter, are also sac fungi ... King Alfred's Cakes (Daldinia concentrica).

Tiny, with caps only a few millimeters in diameter, a large grouping of Blue-Stain Fungus (Chlorociboria aeruginascens) decorate a decaying log. These colorful little sac fungi, with cups no more than ½ cm in width, actually have short stems that aren't visible in the photo.

The less gaudy but larger Peziza sp. (2 cm to 3 cm wide cups)

While the "focus" of this walk was fun and fungi there were plenty of other interesting things to be found in the debris on the woodland floor, for example, this Wolf Spider. Probably Trochosa sp., this spider is a big girl at least 15 mm in length, perhaps a bit more.

Something small and green moving among the brown of the dead leaves caught my eye ... an Assassin Bug nymph, Zelus luridus.