This is a great summer for mushrooms. A walk in the neighborhood or in the woods of Rock Creek will show you an amazing variety of shapes and colors.
My recent article in Forest Hills Connection (“The wild and wonderful world of mushrooms”) sparked interest, and friends began to send me interesting photos. Sadly, I can’t identify most of them. So just enjoy the pictures.
Orange mushrooms growing out of a mossy log.
This green russula was found in Rock Creek’s woods. Russulas come in many colors – pink, yellow, beige. The stout stem and white gills aid identification
A slug is about to chow down on this rose-like mushroom. Insects and animals destroy many mushrooms. This is a polypore, a mushroom without gills. Spores come out of little pores in its spongy underside.
This time of year I look for this “coral mushroom” on dead logs in Rock Creek Park. No gills – it carries its spores on those spikes that look like icicles.
These mushrooms send their hypha (roots) into a dead tree, working to break down its wood to get food. The chemicals the hypha secrete will decay the wood.
To identify a mushroom you need to see the cap and study the underside, particularly the kind of gills it has. The books suggest you smell and even taste it. Even so, I have not been able to identify this clump.
This fresh mushroom has just pushed through the soil. You can see the remains of the veil which covered the cap. In some mushrooms this veil becomes a ring around the stem.
There are lots of different boletus in the woods this year. This is a yellow one with a spongy underside and little pores that release the spores. Boletus species have a symbiotic relationship with tree roots, and this one is probably growing under an oak.
Members of the sparassis family are known as “cauliflower” mushrooms. This one is growing from the roots or base of a tree.
Known as Caesar’s amanita, this yellow member of the amanita family is poisonous. Notice the bulbous base, a characteristic of amanitas.
The mushroom season will last through October. Some species will disappear, but new species will pop up with each rain if the temperature is right.
Thanks to Carol Simon, Marlene Berlin and Eric Kravetz for the photos.
Tracy J. says
My 12-year-old son read Marjorie’s first article on mushrooms and has kept his eyes peeled ever since. We have spotted an astonishing variety on our walks. He asked me why there are so many different kinds. I didn’t have an answer!
Marjorie Rachlin says
I think this is the answer. Each mushroom species is different. They specialize on the kind of organic matter they prefer. A mushroom that grows on wood will not grow on dung. A mushroom that grows on dead leafy organic matter will not grow on a rotting animal carcass. Some only grow in warm temps and others only in cold months.
If you think of Darwin’s finches, he found that one finch that happened to come to an island developed overtime into many different kinds of finches, each one specializing in eating a certain kind of seeds. Some had thick beaks, others had tiny thin beaks, etc. To survive best they had to specialize.
With mushrooms there are many kinds of organic matter — wood, leaves, compost, acorns, dung, dead animals, dead insects, live tree roots, etc. A mushroom that specialized in one kind has adapted to deal with that kind of organic matter and to meet both its needs and the mushroom’s needs. Here in Forest Hills we are seeing only a tiny fraction of the kinds of mushrooms in the U.S.
I hope this makes sense to you.
Tracy J. says
Perfect answer! From now on we will check for those details.. Thanks, Marge.
Betsy Broun says
Wow, what wonderful photos! We must open our eyes to these marvelous fungal “flowers” and learn more about the seemingly infinite varieties. Thanks Marge!
Angelo Patterson says
I think that you should have mentioned that many mushrooms are poisoness and should not be eaten. I remember many years ago when a man from France living on Western Ave. picked mushrooms from his yard thinking they were edible. Unfortunately his daughter passed away after eating the mushrooms.
FHC says
This is a follow-up up article. The original made it clear: Do Not Eat The Mushrooms. Ever.