Friday, September 21, 2018

Mycology 101

It seems that everyone has had a wet, soaking summer, and because of the soggy conditions, fungi and mushrooms are springing up in everyone's lawns. The same is true in New Jersey. 

These just look like a multitude of big, brown ones from a distance,


but a little closer, I think they look like snickerdoodles.


Another type in the baked goods genus is this red velvet mushroom (that's what I call them).


I only catch these ethereal, almost transparent ones early in the morning as they seem to almost melt away as soon as the sun shines on them. With only one sunny day this week, they're sticking around.


 We have ugly, brown, stinky ones (that I originally thought were rotting walnuts),


along with cute little floriform varieties.


This interesting spotted one is a little more rare. 


I complained about squirrels yesterday, but they also provide some entertainment when they get into the mushrooms.


They love these red-capped ones, and completely destroy them by nibbling as soon as a fresh crop emerges. It only takes a few minutes before they start flipping around on the ground like the Three Stooges, chasing each other, falling out of trees, or sometimes just lying prone and sprawled on the ground. These mushrooms must be high in psilocybin because the squirrels certainly act high. I've tried to take videos, but no success so far. 

We have guidebooks for almost everything - trees, birds, fish, wildflowers, rocks and minerals - but none for mushrooms, so Mushrooms of the Northeast is on its way to my house. I'll be in both NY and MD next week, so I hope to get lots of use out of it for Mycology 102 and 103!

15 comments:

  1. Oh my word! You have stoner squirrels!

    Thanks for the photo of the "rotting walnut" ones. I had that mess in my yard and didn't know what it was.

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  2. Wow! you have a huge variety. Some of them are so pretty. Stoned squirrels - too funny. Please keep trying to get a video - I would love to see that.

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  3. You inspire me, Bonny! Mycology... that is a throw-back to school days word! (And, I confess I had to look it up!) I learn so much from you and now I am also awaiting my Field Guide to the Mushrooms of PA and the mid-atlantic!

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  4. It was just about a year ago that I went to a presentation about mushrooms at our local nature center. One thing I specifically recall is that there are certain mushrooms that appear for very short times -- you might see them in the morning and by afternoon there's barely a trace. And TINY. There are some very tiny 'shrooms in the world. It was really fun to learn about them and then actually go find some!

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  5. I have been reading about mushrooms lately, trying to figure out what's growing in my yard as well. This is not a psyilocibin containing mushroom, but I think it is an hallucinogenic mushroom, according to wikipedia. I, too, would love to see a video if you can get it. What fun!

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  6. We have had HUGE brain like mushrooms erupting from the wet world of ours lately . HUGE

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    1. They don't sound very attractive, especially given that they are HUGE! Hopefully things start to dry up for all of us soon.

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  7. oh geez, snickerdoodles are my favorite cookies ... but I think they might be ruined for me now ;-) (ditto the millefuille in your last photo!)

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  8. We've got those rounded puff ball type mushrooms but that's about it right now. I love when the red ones are slightly nibbled, they remind me of Super Mario World!

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  9. In my yard of rural TN there are “fairy rings” of mushrooms, usually circular that pop up with warm wet conditions. Nothing magical about them but quite pretty in a moldy kind of way.

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    1. I wonder why they grow in rings? I've never seen fairy rings myself, but would love to!

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  10. If you go to a library that uses the Library of Congress classification, you'll find books about mushrooms under QK600 and on. See? It pays to know a cataloger! ;-)

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  11. you have way more variety of mushrooms than I do, I love them! They are perfect to photo when you are walking about with a dog daydreaming, that's what I do!

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  12. Even in our arid part of the country we've had a wealth of mushrooms showing up this summer (thanks to overwatering by management). The little transparent ethereal mushrooms were my favorite and they did seem to melt away in the sun. I've never seen such a variety, but not one was red (I'd love the see a red mushroom). The squirrel entertainment would have been hilarious!

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  13. Interesting. We have a few varieties of mushrooms but not nearly as much variety. The squirrels must have been quite the entertainment.

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