Mushrooms of the Woods: Polypores, Part 1

I forgot to mention this in last night's post. As I was planting in the garden, I parted the hay to fill with soil and an onion. Not much to my surprise, but certainly to my delight, I found inky caps down there. I thought I might. I certainly hope they are of a species that will enrich the hay and make my vegetables happy. I have a couple more mushroom websites to recommend: http://www.mushroomthejournal.com/ and http://americanmushrooms.com/

In my search for inky cap information, I also found a wonderful blog from the Pyrenees: http://www.stammer.nl/natureswitchedon/
It's about coexisting with nature harmoniously, featuring lovely photography and progress updates.

I am currently trying to identify more mushroom specimens I collected from the woods a few days ago. I feel that after all the frequent showers the land has received over the past few days, I should make time to do more hunting. This is a vast universe which constantly amazes me, and I always have trouble finding time for everything I'd like to do.

I feel confident in positively identifying the Trichaptum biforme due to its distinctive purple coloring. It may not have any interesting uses as far as humans are concerned, but I find it very beautiful.


caps (topside)


It has pores rather than gills. (underside)

The color is much more vibrant in person. The particular lighting conditions dulled the hue in the photographs a bit. They grow from decaying wood with no discernible stems. Mushrooms such as this are called Polypores, or commonly called shelf mushrooms. Here is a page which highly praises the Polypore: http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Mushrooms.Folder/Polypore.html
"Wildman" Steve Brill's website certainly has a lot to offer in regards to discovering nature and foraging.

Mushrooms of the Hay Bale: The Return

Yesterday morning as I was leaving for work, I was disappointed to see new inky caps growing from the hay bale. As excited as I was to see them standing tall with young fresh conical caps, I hated to accept that I didn't have the time to take any pictures or collect any specimens. However, I am happy to report that I am taking a few days off work as of today. I had to wait for this morning's rain to stop for a little while, but as soon as it did I was out there taking pictures. Ahh, fresh Coprinus...





The cap is merely a thin membrane holding the gills in place.


Even at this stage, when dragged across paper the cap leaves inky traces.


This one is just beginning to curl.


Here is a fine example of the inky spores ready to drip and spread.

Mushrooms of the Hay Bale

I have recently noticed some mushrooms occasionally growing from the hay bale we've been using to fill our garden beds. Around the third time they appeared I became interested in identifying them. Since then I've been searching madly, obsessed with my quest for answers. I have learned that mushroom identification is a tricky thing indeed, usually requiring a microscope and DNA testing for truly conclusive results. However, I feel that my diligence has adequately paid off for the time being. My study shall continue, with the help of some highly recommended books: Mushrooms Demystified and All That the Rain Promises and More, both by David Arora. For now, I bring you the Coprinus, commonly called an inky cap. I am as yet unsure of the species, but Coprinus fimetarius or Coprinus cinereus just feels right. It could just as well be wrong; further study is needed. I have had great difficulty finding helpful mushroom identification websites, so I expect to have better luck with books. Most websites devoted to the subject are more oriented to the most common edibles or the psychotropic varieties. It has been a bit frustrating. The sites that I finally found helpful are: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/ and http://www.svims.ca/

The catch to inky caps is that they are very short-lived. It rained yesterday, so I looked for them this morning. They were already reaching the end of their lifespan. Had it rained last night instead, I could have found much fresher specimens. The caps have turned to goo; the spores have spread. The End... this time around, anyway. Thanks to our friend, Jones, we have borrowed a swanky Nikon D3000; and we are able to take high quality pictures with clear detail.

The stem is delicate and hollow.

This is what you get from handling the caps: ink.

This is what happens when you try to take a spore print from an overly mature cap: a fine mess. The cap hasn't been removed but is curling up and dissolving.

The uses vary from one species to another. Obviously, an ink can be made from the caps. Some types are edible, although very mild in flavor. These don't smell mushroomy, but rather fresh, like dew. Some are edible, yet poisonous if mixed with alcohol, even up to three days after time of mushroom ingestion. Some have anti-tumor properties. Some may nutritionally enrich the medium in which they grow. I don't think any are deadly, as very few mushrooms truly are. But feeling sick can certainly outweigh any positive experience you may have upon tasting them. Don't eat something if you aren't certain what it is. I feel this to be universally wise advice.