#amatuer mycology

[memoriesofthepark]

Turkey tail 》 Trametes versicolor

A beautiful flush of turkey tails! It's so cool to see how they grew around the pine needles.

Southeast Texas, 13 Nov. 2023

[croakeoke]

Getting colder here but I was still able to find a fun variety on my hike today! According to my app they are

1. Violet Toothed Polypore

2. Artist’s Conk

3, 4. Late Fall Oyster

5. Umber Brown Puffball

6. Bitter Oysterling

7. Tinder Fungus

8. Hexagonal-pored polypore

9. Winter polypore

10. Turkey tails

[ro53y]

Amanita muscaria variant guessowii

Commonly known as the fly agaric. Amanita mushrooms are notoriously poisonous to humans and CAN BE FATAL. The red capped fly agaric is the commonly referred to faerie mushroom and Mario mushroom 🍄. Usually the first mushie to come to mind when thinking of toadstools.

The one I found here is a variant of it's red cousin from Europe. The variant guessowii can have a cap colored pale yellow to orange. In N. America, it can be found with conifers and in deciduous forests with temperate climates.

This iconic mushie can be found in records of usage for divination all over the world for millenia. Links to the fly agaric are found in Russia predating humans crossing the Bering Straits, following into Native American shamanistic ritual, and even Santa Claus within the Sami people. Some have suspected the fly agaric to have influenced mythological and religious stories throughout the ages including the bible itself.

I was besides myself when I found this one in my hometown. 😁🙏 It didn't even hit me to what it was until I got home a reviewed the pictures! I do not harvest mushies until I have seen them occur a few times.

What do you think? Tell me your stories and experiences with the Amanita muscaria!

[mado-science]

4.0 out of 5 stars More Appropriate for the Farm than the Home

5.0 out of 5 stars Part of the ideal amatuer mycology library! I have read this and several other mushroom cultivation books. This book, coupled with Stamet's Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms, makes for the absolute best reference materials for growing your own mushrooms.That said, I'll mention the only thing that may disappoint a reader. His treatment of agar techniques in either of his cultivation books leaves a little to be desired. If you feel uncomfortable working with petri dishes after reading his sections on it, you may wish to check out "Laboratory Excercises in Microbiology" (ISBN 0-697-35443-1) by Harley and Prescott. It is a little more than a fellow needs to know about microbiology, but it is an excellent reference for aquainting on with aseptic agar techniques.Aside from this, Stamets has certainly beaten the competion with this book! Go to Amazon

3.0 out of 5 stars A Classic for Mushroom Cultivation If you were to buy only one book on mushroom cultivation, this would be the best choice. It can certainly stand-alone in that it provides all the info the reader needs to cultivate mushrooms. Although psilocybian mushrooms are included these are by no means the exclusive or main focus of this book. For the most part, the book is concerned with legal edible mushrooms that can be grown in the home or yard. Absolute beginners can certainly start with this book and no other book will be necessary to provide all that the reader needs to know from beginning to end of the mushroom growing process. It must be mentioned that this book does not cover the popular "PF tek" (the "Psilocybe Fanaticus technique" also known as the "jar tek"), the simple technique utilizing canning jars full of substrate and inoculating them with syringes of spores suspended in water. Readers interested in this technique (which, after all seems the easiest and most practical) would find all they need to know on this technique at the Shroomery.org web site and others like it. This book was originally published in 1983, years before the "PF tek" was innovated. Among the technique that this book does cover are the use of agar petri dish culture, culture slants, casing, grain spawn, composting, log-plugging and more. There is also a wealth of info on mushroom contaminants - how to spot them and how to deal with them. Therefore we can say that while this book does not cover the most simple of techniques, it certainly covers all other techniques suitable for absolute beginners and for those looking to expand their hobby beyond the beginners' methods. The authors are obviously sincerely interested in mushrooms in general and in the cultivation of edible mushrooms.Read more › Go to Amazon

5.0 out of 5 stars It's the Mushroom Cultivation Bible I often refer to this book at the "bible", also. And it's writen by the "Cultivation God" himself. I already knew how to cultivate before i bought this book, and had a fairly wide knowledge of the subject. The amount of information in this book is unbelievable. I was just shocked. And, in a sort of response to the person who said there's too much info - if you're going to cultivate mushrooms, the more information the better. You can get buy with just a step-by-step guide, but you won't be very successful, and if you run into problems, or want to do more, then you're not going to know what to do. If you really want to cultivate mushrooms, and you really want to enjoy it, then you've got to get this book. It's easy to understand, and gives some basic information on the life cycle and properties of mushrooms. Ask anyone that cultivates, and knows a lot about cultivating, and they'll tell you that this is a must have book. It's probably my favorite book i've ever bought. Get it! Go to Amazon

[memoriesofthepark]

Ochre bracket 》 Trametes ochracea

This group is so pretty! Caught my eye as I made my rounds to check on the honey clusters.

Southeast Texas, 15 Nov. 2023

[memoriesofthepark]

Coral slime mold! 》 Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa

Featuring a smooth land slug, genus Deroceras, enjoying a coral slime breakfast.

Found out on the trails while foraging for wild onions! I've seen pictures of this genus on my dash but this was my first time encountering it in person!

Southeast Texas, 12 April, 2024

[memoriesofthepark]

white bracket polypore (no common name) 》Trametes pubescens

The same old wood I found some turkey tails on years ago, now with a different kind of polypore!

Southeast Texas, 24 Nov. 2023

[memoriesofthepark]

Turkey tails 》 Trametes versicolor

Some beautiful turkey tails from the trails this week. 🧡

Southeast Texas, 6 Dec. 2023

[memoriesofthepark]

Ringless Honey mushrooms 》 Armillaria tabescens

HOLY HONEY SHROOMS!!!

The campus was absolutely COVERED in honey mushrooms after the weekend's rain!!! I found over 40 clusters across 3 separate sites and I didn't even search the whole grounds. I was wondering when my fungal classmates were going to pop up and say hi!

I was squatting in the mud and climbing over short retaining walls like a madman and I'm sure people were questioning my sanity but who cares. This was an amazing day! Far from the only species I found so I'll be posting more later!

Southeast Texas, 13 Nov. 2023

[memoriesofthepark]

EDIT: A couple of IDs thanks to iNaturalist!

5th image: Cartillage lichen 》 Ramalina complanata

Upper specimen in 9th and 10th images: Golden-eye lichen 》 Teloschistes chrysophthalmus

My first lichen IDs!!

-----------------

It was a morning for lichens today!

I don't know much about them at the moment, but I'm very excited to learn more. Just look how beautiful they are!

I haven't the knowledge to identify any of these but if anyone else does I'd certainly love to hear. 🔍

Southeast Texas, 7 Nov. 2023

[memoriesofthepark]

!!!!! Salmon eggs!!! 》 Trichia decipiens

AAAHHHHH. MY FIRST TRICHIA.

Sorry for yelling, I just. This is my second consecutive first ID of a highly anticipated genus! Yesterday I found my first bird nest fungus and now! My first trichia slime mold!! I am a very happy camper. :') ❤️

Regretably, I did not have my DSLR with me on this excursion, but if I have the time I may return with it tomorrow. Just look at that lovely color! 😭🙏

Southeast Texas, 5 Dec. 2023

[memoriesofthepark]

Orange witch's butter 》 Dacrymyces chrysospermus

The biggest flush of witch's butter this branch has produced yet! The bit of rain we got this morning has worked its wonders, I'll have plenty more to share.

🔊 Sound on for the video. ;)

Southeast Texas, 24 Dec. 2023

[memoriesofthepark]

Silver-blue milkcap 》 Lactarius paradoxus

What a cutie!! I finally went back to my old haunt and found a bunch of fun stuff. The park by my new place is lovely, but its got fewer trees and is more meticulously maintained which makes for fewer mushies in this case.

Love these little guys. They have such a nice color palette.

Southeast Texas, 29 Mar. 2024

[memoriesofthepark]

Golden splash tooth 》 Phlebia subceracea

This seems to be an early-mid stage of this crust fungus, before it has developed its elongated teeth! (㇏(•̀ᵥᵥ•́)ノ)

Southeast Texas, 5 Dec. 2023

[memoriesofthepark]

A bit of a departure from what I usually post but I just wanted to share!

A friend of mine inspired me to draw a lichen spirit/creature/thing and it made me very happy! 😁 They are a gentle giant.

There's ruffle lichen on their right shoulder and spiraling around the body. Golden-eye and cartilage lichen on the left shoulder. Beard lichen growing out from the back of the head. And the face is shield lichen! A towering, ancient friend. 🍄 (unsurprisingly, there is no lichen emoji)

[memoriesofthepark]

Brown American Star-footed Amanita 》 Amanita brunnescens

Y'all should have seen my face when I found these. I saw something on the ground in this stand of trees on campus and kinda eyed it as I stalked around the sidewalk, trying to decide if it was a fallen twig of leaves or something fungoid. Once I made out the cap shape and realized "That's a big ass mushroom!!!" I picked up my bag and ran to it. And it had some smaller friends as well! So incredibly exciting. I was almost late to my english class because I was taking these pictures.

The spring mushroom season is in full swing and I just can't stop finding amanitas! I had a very busy walk this morning and I've got lots of stuff to share, including some personal first encounters! :3

Southeast Texas, 9 April 2024