Chicken mushrooms are abundant and succulent this year. I initially thought the Red Eft was enjoying the mushroom.
According to two people, the salamander is enjoying the insects (possibly Springtails) who are enjoying this mushroom.
I was fortunate to accompany Dianna Smith for a trek to plan the NEMF foray which will take place in late September 2010. If conditions are anything like this next year, the event will be a huge success.
As we crossed a sunny field with milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum) growing in abundance, an animated conversation ensued as to which was which. Studying a plant in all seasons provides a valuable opportunity to note similarities and differences.
Yes, dogbane and milkweed do grow together, as shown in this photo I found online:
This spring photo reveals the subtle differences in the size and shape of the leaves, but other features provide a more readily visible distinction in the field. Yesterday, it was obvious that some plants had smooth stems and some had fine hairs.
Page 299 from The Forager’s Harvest has a very handy chart listing the basic field identifiers between the two. Here are a few highlights:
As I cleaned the mold out of the bathroom corners, I thought, “If I were Roz Lowen, I’d put a schmear on a slide and take a close look at this fungus instead of eliminating them with a bleach-dipped cotton swab.”
I actually emailed Roz, who said that yes, she would study the black slime that makes most of us recoil in horror.
Roz’s COMA presentation of aquatic spores was still over my head, but I came away with enough understanding that these spores have appendages and wondered if I were to try to communicate this to a classroom – would gummy worms help illustrate the lesson?
I’m happiest when I’m learning new things. I learn fastest when mentored. And right now the mushroom world is that wonderful combination of undiscovered natural phenomena and people motivated to help the true seeker.
Full credit for this title and the presentation goes to Sue Assinder and Gordon Rutter of the British Mycological Society. I would not have heard of them if I had not begun to spend time on the NAMA – North American Mycological Association website. I would not have made it a point to visit the NAMA education page without the support and mentoring of Sandy Sheine, mycologist and former COMA President.
That said, I have added my own touches to this brilliant presentation:
Materials:
In some mushrooms (like the Amanita muscaria, whose red cap and white spots often symbolize the idea of “mushroom”), the mycelia are encased in a membrane called the “universal veil.” When the right amount of moisture is added, the mushroom grows.
To illustrate this: (more…)
A mushroom foray is typically a combination of collection and identification, lectures and educational programs, mushroom tasting and fun events.
Many mycologists who took the initiative to establish mushroom clubs for people like me to join, have passed on. Clark Rogerson was the scientific advisor for the event I attended this past weekend. I never knew him, but am grateful to those he taught, who now teach me.
I had no idea that blewits and lobster mushrooms could be cultivated. That’s what I learned in the kitchen at this year’s mycophagy.
I did spend time in the field, despite the relentless rain. I was rewarded by finding a mushroom I really love, the parasitic bolete (Pseudoboletus parasiticus):
