anyone know what these strange fungi are?
Just returned from a brief but wonderful camping/hiking jaunt with my son to Allegheny National Forest. We were surprised by how few visitors we came across at this fairly wild but accessible northwestern Pennsylvania National Forest and Recreation Area (located nearby the nation’s first oil wells). For information on fishing, hiking, camping, and history, see: http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/allegheny/
The trip really was just an excuse to get my mind off the stress and separation anxiety of leaving my daughter at her freshman orientation week at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Hiking, cooking over campfires, and sleeping in silent forests provides a great escape.
Our campsite seemed to be located in prime wildlife and mushroom habitat.
Now, as I return and slog through emails and try to get re-focused, I’ll engage in further diversion from getting back to work by posting a few pictures of some outrageous mushrooms we came across.
I have no problem with pleading total ignorance in mycology – anyone out there know what these beautiful and strange creatures are? (but I at least know little enough to realize the last ones are not mushrooms, but I posted due to beauty):
A link for you Bill…
Mushrooms
Bill – Your second photo is not a fungus. It’s a flowering plant named indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora). It’s a member of the blueberry family. It lacks chlorophyll, hence the white color.
Thanks dionc9 and sj2000 – I’ll check that out.
These are all best guesses and from info I could glean from photos–so don’t take me at face value or jump all over me if I’m wrong:
1) Type of coral mushroom–possibly “spindle-shaped” Clavulinopsis Fusisormis??
2) Indian pipe (per SJ2000) not mushroom (didn’t know it was related to blueberries, tho we have lots of both up here)–parasitic, lives off mycelium of russulaceae mushrooms, which makes sense as you have a number of photos of those
3) don’t know
4) russula (mentioned above)–possibly “emetic” (yep, just like it sounds)
5) not sure–did it bleed white, latex-like substance? Could be a number of different mushies
6) another russula
7) can’t see clearly enough–
[In general: you need to be able to see if it has pores or gills & if gills, attached or not; then veils-partial or universal? remants of veils or patches on cap from universal veil? Does it bleed white latex if damaged? Does stalk turn blue? Is stalk wiry, hollow, filled? Does it bulge at base? Do you see threads, etc.? What’s the scent, if any? Habitat: leaf debris, moss, wood, etc.? and this is all prior to taking spore prints.
8) a cort? Did you see wispy remnants of veil like spider web under cap? Color of stalk?
9) possibly same as above–looks more like russula than cort, however
10) don’t know but white mushrooms scare me as angel of death amanita is pure white–tho this is NOT angel of death (at least it doesn’t look like it)
11) false chanterelle? Orange-latex milky? Possibly even clitocybe
12) wish I could see gills and stalk
13) ditto
14) a variation of common fiber vase? but if I could see it better—perhaps, I you were very, very lucky, this would be a chicken mushroom, but doesn’t look yellow (or yellow w/orange)
15) same as 11?
What a great walk! I’m totally jealous
doesn’t look as if this posted the first time; if it did, I apologize for posting twice
These are all best guesses and from info I could glean from photos–so don’t take me at face value or jump all over me if I’m wrong:
1) Type of coral mushroom–possibly “spindle-shaped” Clavulinopsis Fusisormis??
2) Indian pipe (per SJ2000) not mushroom (didn’t know it was related to blueberries, tho we have lots of both up here)–parasitic, lives off mycelium of russulaceae mushrooms, which makes sense as you have a number of photos of those
3) don’t know
4) russula (mentioned above)–possibly “emetic” (yep, just like it sounds)
5) not sure–did it bleed white, latex-like substance? Could be a number of different mushies
6) another russula
7) can’t see clearly enough–
[In general: you need to be able to see if it has pores or gills & if gills, attached or not; then veils-partial or universal? remants of veils or patches on cap from universal veil? Does it bleed white latex if damaged? Does stalk turn blue? Is stalk wiry, hollow, filled? Does it bulge at base? Do you see threads, etc.? What’s the scent, if any? Habitat: leaf debris, moss, wood, etc.? and this is all prior to taking spore prints.
8) a cort? Did you see wispy remnants of veil like spider web under cap? Color of stalk?
9) possibly same as above–looks more like russula than cort, however
10) don’t know but white mushrooms scare me as angel of death amanita is pure white–tho this is NOT angel of death (at least it doesn’t look like it)
11) false chanterelle? Orange-latex milky? Possibly even clitocybe
12) wish I could see gills and stalk
13) ditto
14) a variation of common fiber vase? but if I could see it better—perhaps, I you were very, very lucky, this would be a chicken mushroom, but doesn’t look yellow (or yellow w/orange)
15) same as 11?
What a great walk! I’m totally jealous