#mushroom apps

[rebeccathenaturalist]

So. ID apps. Do I use them in my classes? Yes, but only iNaturalist, because you get an additional layer of verification by actual human beings rather than just the initial algorithmic suggestions. And, more importantly, I stress again and again and again that apps are NOT to be the only tool you use, but need to be used in conjunction with field guides, online groups, and other tools, which we also discuss in class. This is especially true if you're planning to eat anything you pick.

I get incredibly frustrated by how ID apps are often touted as all you need to identify animals, plants, and fungi. (I've even seen them described as "a Master Naturalist in your pocket".) Yes, it's nice to have a convenient tool on your phone that allows you to take a picture of something and get a suggestion of what it is. But that's all it is--a suggestion. iNaturalist, Google Lens, PlantSnap, and other apps are incapable of critical thinking and observation skills. All they can do is take the visual, temporal, and location data that you give them and churn up suggestions based on whatever they already have in their databases.

Nature identification is a detail-oriented skill that takes time and practice to learn, and if you want to do it right there aren't any one-step shortcuts. Can an app potentially narrow down the possible species you're observing? Sure. But YOU still have to be the one to do the actual work in determining whether the species the app has suggested is the one you're looking at in person or not; you CANNOT just take the app at its word, because apps can often be wrong.

And this is even more the case when we're talking about edible mushrooms, many of which have lookalikes. (Trying to figure out which Little Brown Mushroom you have can be an exercise in frustration, to say the least.) While there are a lot of people getting into foraging who are willing to do the actual work needed to determine a given mushroom's species, there are unfortunately also those who just want quick and easy answers without a lot of effort, and those are the people who are going to go no further than the app's results. The articles that promote apps as the quick and easy answers these people want aren't helping, either.

By the way, I am ALWAYS happy to help people find resources to help them with identifying various beings in nature. I'm also fine with taking a look at photos and giving my perspective on what something may be (though, again, don't use me as your only source.) While I do teach foraging, I am first and foremost a nature identification instructor, and I want to help people go about learning the life forms around them correctly (and in the case of edible species, safely.)

[goggleboggly]

missing them again hi

[cicada-heart]

these printed patches have been added to my shop ❤️🌿

etsy

[destroyingangelneveragod]

my finch is a fashion icon if we are being honest here

[ajfbgkdjfg]

Just know that whenever idk what Elphaba's wearing in a fanfic I just imagine her wearing mushroom themed dresses like:

but then dyed black

also something I find really funny is how literally every single Munchkinlander except for Elphaba and Frexspar wear a lot of colors while they both stick to mainly black

[arrowheadedbitch]

Dionysus: would you like some wine, it has mushrooms

Athena: Why would i-

Dionysus: Oh! I'm sorry it has ✨️fungi✨️

[bumblebeebats]

I've started playing that Pikmin walking app in an effort to get out more and it's so embarrassing... all my local players seem to be children and they're trouncing me in every respect. I somehow(?) made friends with a high level Japanese player who keeps sending me these beautiful postcards from literal Mount Fuji etc and all i have to send in return is *checks notes* yep. another postcard from the abandoned swingset in the local village park

[deerspherestudios]

Ohnoh, there is no anon

Well, anyways

HEEEEEEEY IS THERE ANY CHARACTER.AI BOT FOR MYCHAEL??!? I NEED AAAAAAAAAAAAA

PD: I love the nickname "firefly" it feels so warm :')

I didn't make it, but I believe some fans have made a Mychael bot on the app?? I don't know how in-character he is (since I didn't make it) but from what I've seen people enjoy chatting w him ::-)

And ty!!! I'm really glad I stuck with it instead of changing it like I planned <3

EDIT: IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION THERE ARE MORE THAN I THOUGHT YALL REALLY WANNA TALK TO HIM

[idontcsharp]

an zhe

HELLO YES SO I’ll save the excuses for answering late to the tags. Here is An Zhe <3

Are you a Little Mushroom fan too? Say yes and I’m gonna need to initiate you as a bestie

Reasons why I love him:

1. He’s just a Little Mushroom!,!!!!

2. He’s so pretty, such eye candy

3. His fascination with humanity and thoughts are so interesting and feel so hopeful in contrast to the actual story in the manhua and novel

4. He baited me into reading a viscerally tragic apocalyptic science fiction (and it’s still my favourite)

5. It’s incredibly funny telling people that one of my favourite characters ever is a mushroom, not even an anthro mushroom like Toad. No. An Zhe is just a conscious mushroom that happened to mutate like that because of the fucked up shit in the story (fucked up shit that is SO cool and well-explained and well-executed)

6. The cute but horrifying vibes with him are OFF. THE. CHART. You see my obsession with Lin Ling/Nice? My interest with An Zhe is VERY similar in fact it’s played a big part in my current love for body horror and identity fuckery (for lack of better words)

Bonus: I made fanart last year. Only reason I haven’t made more is because the manhua is already doing him SO much justice I couldn’t hope to even try (except for fun like below)

[skurtberry-shortcake]

Finally got the red mushroom dress to match their red mushroom hat :D

Look how adorable they look💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

[guqin-and-flute]

I've found that outright "banning" certain behavior from myself doesn't work (no Youtube, don't write in this part of the house), but setting stipulations that help me stay closer to what the actual goal I hope to achieve does.

So I have a new rule; I can only watch Youtube or Netflix if I'm doing something creative with my hands while doing it. No matter how tired or how much I just want to zone out and veg, I need to be sewing or knitting or drawing or needle felting or making a flower crown or whatever. If I really want to decompress and lay there, I can listen to a podcast or read a book or take a nap. Because the whole goal of not going on Youtube is so that I don't get sucked into just idly wasting hours of my day and not being in the mood to do creative things. So by keeping the creativity present in relaxing, I'm making my stepping off point much more attainable.

It also has the bonus of, if I've sat down to write and I find myself wandering off to watch Youtube, I get to ask, 'Alright, so are you transitioning to another task? Then you'd better get up and get the stuff ready.' Which helps bounce me back because inertia to organize things is hard to initiate, but even if I do, I'm still doing something on my 'I wanna try this' list.

[caterpillarinacave]

for your prompt (I‘m bad at this I‘m sorry) — Christopher Lightwood + his scientific spirit + mushrooms (throw in some of the merry thieves or henry or grace or anna whatever you feel like)

——-

“It’s fascinating,” Christopher continued, holding the mushroom up to the light, “Fungi exist so entirely separately from the rest of the world. They aren’t plants, they aren’t animals; they can wreck crops and grow them, they decompose piles of debris like it’s nothing and can be squished beneath a boot. They’re the tool and the builder of the natural world, they save everything and they kill everything. We see them everywhere, as these tiny little things, as if the mycelium doesn’t stretch for miles beneath our feet, as if we aren’t so small compared to them.”

Christopher fell back into his chair, looking immensely satisfied, and upsetting tall glass full of strange shimmering liquid, that seemed to slosh around in its container at an oddly delayed pace. He did not seem to notice.

“Christopher-“ Henry began.

“No matter how many you pulled up, or what ground you burned, you could never kill- oh.” 

Henry, thankfully, had managed to lean across Christopher, narrowly righting the glass before it could tip its shimmering contents onto the table; the likes of which flashing with little streaks of color as it hit the sides of the container. Henry set it down on his side of the table, carefully away from the papers he’d been scribbling on, to search through a drawer for a lid.

Christopher looked sheepish; “I did not mean to do that.” 

“Do remember that you can, in fact, be killed,”  Henry responded mildly, ever agreeable, capping the glass bottle and offering it to Christopher “Gesture vividly away from the table.”

“Of course,” Christopher replied, looking a little abashed, but took the bottle none the less “Thank you.”

Henry hummer amicably in response, unbothered. “I believe you were saying something about the mycelium?”

“Oh, yes indeed” Christopher replied eagerly, sitting forward “Wait a second, I’ve got some about this in my notebook…”

—-

[thanatika]

i need to invent an oc world full of fairies and pixies so i can have there be a mushroom-themed dive bar called the dryad's straddle

[foxhats683]

Does anyone remember Moriah Elizabeth’s art app 🥲✋? I miss Spark due to how much it kept me motivated.

[olahresidence]

Finally finished the set of pinks/purples of huevember, oh my gooood why did the last one take me so long to figure out. (Because I stay silly.)

10 - Barbie Bootz

11 - In the Realm of Flamingos

12 - Popsicle Purple

13 - Monarchs, Mushrooms, & Mottles