Megan's Nature Nook
Nature Notes, Phenology, Photography, Fun Facts, Trips, Maybe Even a Bad Joke or Two... and More!
Fall tends to get a bit of a bad wrap since many of the seasonal changes that are happening are things dying or leaving. Pretty fall colors lead to bare trees, forest plants turn brown and die down, and many of our summer birds head south. Even though our cool weather and shorter days means less plants and birds around, do not be dismayed, as fall is a great time to look for fungi! Many species are still fruiting into September, October, and even a few into November. The term “fruiting” may seem odd to use when talking about fungi (the plural of fungus). The fleshy, fruiting body of a fungus is called a mushroom. The mushroom holds spores and is the reproductive part of the fungus, like a seed or nut is the reproductive part of a plant. The mushrooms we see above ground are only a small part of the fungus. A majority of the fungus is not seen as it is underground or in decaying wood. The part we don’t see is the mycelium. The mycelium, and mushrooms, are made up of a network hair-like structures called hyphae. This past week Tony and I explored a new area in northern Wisconsin. On walks through the woods there were tons of different fungi around! I have never seen so many different colors, shapes, and species all at the same time. It seemed like every few feet there were fungi to be found. It was exciting to see what we could find! You might be surprised by some of the shapes and colors we came across, not your typical brown umbrella shaped mushrooms. Here is just a sampling of the fungi we found: Red Waxy Caps - (Hygrocybe spp.) Mushrooms often look different in their various stages of growth, sometimes making identification difficult. Yellow-Orange Waxy Caps - (Hygrocybe spp.) Violet Coral (a Worm Coral) - (Clavaria zollingeri) Coral Fungus There are various types of coral and false coral fungi. I'm not sure of the exact one, but I know it is a coral fungus. Mushrooms can be tricky to identify, so even just narrowing it down to a type can be satisfying. Ochre Jelly Club - (Leotia lubrica) Another name for these little mushrooms is Jelly Babies. Pear-Shaped Puffball - (Apioperdon pyriforme) Puffball mushrooms are well named since they release their spores in a "puff" when tapped. Watch my video below to see this mushroom in action. Mushrooms can be hard to identify, but also a fun challenge! They are interesting to learn about and as an added bonus have some fun and goofy names! Here are two of my favorite field guides for identifying mushrooms and learning more about fungi. Fascinating Fungi of the North Woods 2nd Edition By Cora Mollen and Larry Weber This book has awesome illustrations with useful and fun facts about the different fungi. I really like how this book is organized because it splits up the fungi into different groups based on where they grow and if they have gills or not, making it easy to find your mystery mushroom. It also has a handy chart for each fungus that shows when you'll most likely find it, breaking it down to the months of the year instead of just saying summer or fall. Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest 2nd Edition By Teresa Marrone and Kathy Yerich This guide has great full color pictures of the various fungi making ID easier. It has detailed descriptions and goes more in depth for various types and species of fungi. This one is organized by shape and if it has gills or pores, it also has a section about which fungi are popular edibles and which you should stay away from. Don't let the cooler weather and shorter days keep you from exploring! Head outside with your field guide and see what you can find! And keep checking back, mushrooms can appear and disappear quickly. A favorite trail may produce different fungi each time you're out and about. Joke of the Day Why does the mushroom get invited to all the parties? Because he's a Fungi! (Fun-guy) A few more of our fungi finds:
5 Comments
Julie Birk-Betcher
9/7/2020 08:06:14 pm
Wow, you really did see a lot of fungi. Ask Aunt Sue about the one growing in their woods.
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Leslie Goble
9/7/2020 08:47:16 pm
I forwarded this to Jessy. She lives in Grand Marais now and loves to mushroom hunt. Her hunting was featured in our local Aitkin newspaper just last week. We recently had the opportunity to taste/cook with Lions Mane mushrooms. Sooooo good!
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Megan Betcher
9/8/2020 07:55:00 pm
Leslie, mushroom hunting can be such a fun thing, especially when you know some tasty ways to cook them up. I haven't dabbled much with edible mushrooms, but I hear Lions Mane is good!
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Lonnie Hebl
9/8/2020 04:42:08 pm
Meg, You never cease to amaze me with your knowledge. Very interesting stuff.
Reply
Mary Callier
9/12/2020 08:03:42 am
So beautiful and such good information! Thanks, Meg.
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