Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Thursday Thirteen 347: Fun Fungi

It isn't unusual to find a wide variety of fungi in the nearby woods, but there's been so much rain this summer that patches of mushrooms have been sprouting everywhere, including well-kept lawns. As I was returning home from a Curtis Prairie walk two weeks ago, I noted the usual suspects along the wooded trails. What I didn't expect was an entire plantation of mushrooms, of all shapes and sizes, under the walnut trees at the nearby park. There are hundreds of them.

While I couldn't resist stopping to photograph them, I did not pick any. Never, ever pick any sort of mushroom unless you know what it is, and that it is not poisonous. The UW Arboretum occasionally features free guided walks on mushrooms, the most recent being this past Sunday and geared towards families/children. Their October 26 walk is about "Autumn Woodlands" and will talk specifically about fall leaves, mushrooms, "and other delights" (to use their words).

Here are some of the fungi I saw during the course of my walk two weeks ago. The first four photos were taken at Grady Tract/UW Arboretum, while the rest are from a local park. As always, click on any photo for a larger view.




Your classic mushroom shape.




Watch out for poison ivy, whether photographing or picking mushrooms in the woods!


Fungi and moss cover a rotting log.


Someone's been nibbling . . .


Mushrooms as far as the eye can see . . .


Doesn't this one look so elegant?








There were a lot of these huge "loaf" type mushrooms.



I don't think I want to know what that white gunk is.


This fluted bowl-shaped one was near the lone crabapple at the park.



LINKING TO: Thursday Thirteen



16 comments:

Jennifer Leeland said...

So cool!!! I actually saw and took a picture of a bright red cap mushroom last year. Usually I don't see them. Of course they're VERY poisonous.

Heather said...

Jennifer: Thank you. Can't say I've ever seen a red one -- you know I'd be photographing that! ☺

Alice Audrey said...

Some of those look distinctly dangerous. But I can't tell my mushrooms, so I could be wrong.

Heather said...

Alice: I agree with you, a couple look like something one should steer clear of. I think it would be interesting to do the upcoming fall walk that talks about mushrooms. Will have to see if anything else comes up for that day.

Mia Celeste said...

Cool mushrooms. Were any of them edible?

http://tinyurl.com/mejbbol

Paige Tyler said...

Yikes! Come of those are freaky!

*hugs*
Paige

My TT is at http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com/

CountryDew said...

Fungi are going to take over the world if we aren't careful. We've had a lot more of them this year, too.

Heather said...

Mia: No idea. I'm sure some are, but I wasn't about to experiment. ;-)

Heather said...

Paige: LOL, they are, aren't they?

Heather said...

Anita: There are a lot more of them this year, aren't there? Must be the weather...

thebluemuse, phd said...

Holy cow, that's a lot of mushrooms! As a drought plagued Californian, I'm so very jealous of your rain!

Heather said...

BlueMuse: It was a lot of mushrooms - and a good thing I took time to photograph them when I did as they have since been mowed down. We have not had as much rain as across the south and up the eastern coast, but wish we could share some just the same. I know how much Cali needs it.

Jana said...

The various shapes, sizes and colors of mushrooms never ceases to amaze me. I tend to have a ton of them in my yard if it doesn't get mowed quickly enough.

Heather said...

Jana: They do have a way of flourishing. *G*

Alice Audrey said...

Do they eat them on the walk?

Heather said...

I don't think so. I certainly wouldn't, lol.