Hare's Foot Inkcap - Coprinus lagopus
All plants have certain conditions in which they thrive. Technically mushrooms aren't plants, but they grow and thrive when temperatures are cool and rain has saturated the forest floor. In the past two weeks we have had 5" of rain, 3.5" of it in the last 48 hours!!! As a result of this cool, wet weather, mushrooms have been popping up everywhere!
There are over 11,000 named mushrooms in California, and 3,000 different types of fungi (including yeasts, rusts, smuts, mildew, molds, and mushrooms). Identifying mushrooms can be quite challenging. Following a key in a mushroom field guide is a good beginning, but then it gets complicated. There are lots of key elements to a mushroom that need to be studied before it can be identified. You need to know where the mushroom was found (what kind of habitat), what kind of spore bearing structures it has (gills, pores, teeth etc.), what does its base look like, what color and shape are its spores etc. etc. I personally haven't dedicated my time to identifying mushrooms. I've found the best way to identify mushrooms is to go out in the field with an expert. Definitely don't eat any mushrooms unless an expert has identified them for you.
Although I don't know many of the local mushrooms I still delight in looking for them. Some of them are so unusual and intriguing! Here is a collection of the photos I took in my neighborhood in the past two weeks, since the rains have fallen.
Hare's Foot Inkcap - Coprinus lagopus
The Hare's Foot Inkcap pictured above, and at the top of the page, is so unique that it is fairly easy to identify. I had never seen these delicate, gray, slender mushrooms. Apparently I came across them at the end of their life. When it first comes out of the ground the cap is a super-fuzzy, longish, bell shape. Over a period of several days this cap flattens out, and then rolls inward. I went back to look at them after we got 3.50" of rain, and there was no trace of them! They were so delicate, they must have been pummeled by the rain!
Unidentified Mushroom
I don't know what kind of mushroom this is, but I found it intriguing as it appears to have another fungus growing on it! All those fine "hairs" with tiny droplets on their ends are probably a different type of fungus that has invaded this mushroom! I've never seen this before! I need to ask an expert about this! I'll get back to you about it soon!
Unidentified Mushroom
I like the shagginess of this mushroom!
Unidentified Mushroom
This mushroom was HUGE! The stalk was a good inch and a half wide, and the cap measured six inches across! There are a LOT of these mushrooms in our neighborhood!
Shaggy Parasol - Lepiota magnispora
Because of the dark spot in the middle of this mushroom's cap that gives it a "nipple-like" appearance, it is easy to identify. I hadn't noticed how shaggy the stems were until I got home and looked at this photo on my computer.
Unidentified Mushroom
I took this photo to show how numerous some of the mushrooms are in our area right now! These mushrooms were fairly small, but I counted 63 of them in this one location
Unidentified Mushroom
These mushrooms were like tiny little parasols!
Unidentified Mushroom
These little ones were salmon colored!
Unidentified Mushroom
These petite mushrooms had found a perfect wooden ledge to grow on!
Unidentified Mushroom
These mushrooms had slightly peaked caps!
Unidentified Mushroom
I found this unusual fungi growing on the cut end of a fallen, dead, log. It had just rained, so that's why this is beaded with moisture. I have no idea what it is called, but found it to be fascinating! Up close, the tube ends look like tiny trees in a snow covered forest!
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Shaggy Mane - Coprinus comatus
Shaggy Manes are easily identified because they are so unique!
They are related to the Hare's Foot Inkcap pictured at the top of this blog.
They grow quickly and dissolve to a thin black stalk within days! The photo on the right shows a Shaggy Mane beginning to dissolve!
Common Puffball - Lycoperdon perlatum
These puffballs are about an inch in width. When they dry out, a small hole opens on the top of the cap, through which spores are dispersed. They are super common in our area.
Questionable Stropharia - Stropharia ambigua
This mushroom is really common in my neighborhood. I really like the lacy,
zigzag remnants of a veil around the rim of the cap.
Helicopter Logging
An Assault on my Peace of Mind
For the past month, the Forest Service has been performing a "Forest Mitigation" helicopter-logging operation in my neighborhood. Unfortunately, the main landing is directly up the hill behind our house, and the noise is deafening. The helicopter is so loud it shakes the windows in our house. I find it totally unbearable. They are scheduled to keep this operation going, six days a week, from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm, until December 15th!!!
It makes me wonder how all the wildlife is doing with this constant thunderous racket. It can't be a welcome change for them either. Flying above the river corridor has got to be disturbing for its residents. It is all very unsettling and has really curbed my neighborhood walks and observations. All I can hope for, is that they finish earlier than Dec 15th. Maybe more heavy rain will come and end it sooner than later. Fingers crossed!
What will the weather bring?
Where are all the mammals?
What's happening in the foothills?
After 8 years of posting my blog, I've decided that I'm only going to post my blog every TWO weeks. Check back on November 29th for my next natural history blog.
Your questions and comments are always appreciated! Please email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!
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