Mesmerized by fungi

There is a lot to say about fungi. They are slow, determined decomposers and complex creatures. What we see is only the fruit, all the rest is hidden. They come in all shapes and colours. They can kill or nourish us. This particular one- Auricularia mesenterica- was decorating with colourful frills a chunk of decaying wood, something that was, time ago, a lovely oak. Transformation is the mantra in nature, nothing ever dies forever. It only changes in something else.

gifts from Bill

Some women love when their husbands bring them bunches of flowers. My own dear man knows me well . . . He brings me interesting bits of nature to sketch! On two occasions last week, he found more unusual mushrooms while mowing and brought them to me.

The first one was brilliant yellow with an earthy-red top but I grabbed a pen loaded with water-soluble ink which darkened my first sketch. The second find was extremely fragile and translucent, something very hard for me to capture.

These orange mushrooms / fungi growing in the corner of our lot. So far, I haven't been able to positively identify them.

I drew them from a photo I took last week --- with a bit of a mishap adventure at the time. (story on my own blog)

A royal surprise

It's been hot and dry here so mushrooms were the last thing I expected to find in the woods at Howarth Park! Agaricus augustus is also known as The Prince. They are considered to be quite tasty but a seething mass of larvae got there first.

 

Read more about The Prince:
Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month, August 2002
California Fungi
Morel mushroom hunting
Wikipedia

Mushrooms!

It's been crazy dry here in northern California this winter. We had some promising rain early in the season and then high pressure systems wheeled around above us, pushing storms to the north or the south or the east, essentially anywhere but here. As a consequence, I haven't seen much fungi this winter, partly because there just wasn't enough moisture and partly because the lack of rain kept the fallen leaves from decomposing, leaving ankle deep piles of crisp, light leaves which, in turn, hid the mushrooms that did fruit. As I've walked through the woods I've occasionally seen withered old specimens uprooted in areas that have been disturbed by squirrels or other creatures rooting around for food.

However, the other day, as I walked through an area in Howath Park where children get pony rides on weekends, I noticed a large pile of horse manure with several mushrooms sprouting merrily out of it. Imagine my joy at finding mushrooms, any mushrooms! That they were fruiting in manure was an added bonus because it meant that I would be able to more easily identify them.

Most mushrooms are saprophytic. That is, they nourish themselves by growing on dead organic matter such as fallen trees, dead insects and animals, fallen leaves and excrement. In the process, the mushrooms decompose the material they feed on, providing what I like to think of as essential janitorial services for the forests and meadows that I walk in. Saprophytic mushrooms are often specialists, so if you find one in, say, horse manure, then it won't be too difficult to find out that you're looking at Panaeolus papilionaceus. Oh, and if you like learning new words then you'll be happy to know that mushrooms that feed on manure are coprophilous.

Disturbingly, during the research for this post I found that this is considered an edible mushroom. Uh, bon appétit?

The sketches were done with graphite, ink, watercolor, gouache, colored pencil on 8.5 x 11 inch Canson mi-teintes paper. The black circle at the top right is a spore print from one of the mushrooms, an essential identification aid.

More about the ways fungi nourish themselves:
The Royal Horticultural Society
The Hidden Forest

Especially the coprophilous varieties:
Wikipedia

And about Panaeolus papilionaceus:
Wikipedia
MushroomExpert
The Fungi of California


 

Fungi on stick

I was given this fungi on stick to draw. It was picked up off a footpath in Toowoomba, Queensland Australia and probably came from an oak or plane tree, as there are lots of those planted along the footpaths there. Unfortunately that is as specific as I can be.

For Christmas, I was also given lots of nature objects that my family had been collecting for me from the walks around the waterbird habitat, parks and footpaths. They had as much fun picking things up off the ground as I will have drawing them . These include seed pods, leaves, feathers , eggs, a nest, insects. (many are still to be identified......) The BEST Christmas present !

Why we like Lichen - Linda C. Miller

Linda C. Miller, Lichen
Originally uploaded by Linda C. Miller

During my Master Naturalist training, we spent one full day with Charlie Dubay and Hugh Beard, two of the most unique and gifted botanists you can ever know.  On that day, I learned so much and especially -- we like Lichen.  Seeing Lichen on our trees is a sign that our air is clean.  Lichen will not grow where there is air pollution!

Also this amazing organism is actually two organisms that live off each other in what is called a symbiotic relationship. Fungi are incapable of making their own food. They usually provide for themselves as parasites or decomposers. Lichen are composite organisms consisting of a fungus (the mycobiont) with a photosynthetic partner (the photobiont or phycobiont), usually a green alga. 



Lichen can live for many years and will actually go "dormant" in times of drought.

Hummingbirds use lichen to build their nests.

Deer and caribou eat lichen.

Lichen
Size: 7 inches high by 1.5 inches wide
Watercolor and Ink on 300lb HP Paper
Specimen: Williamsburg
copyright 2010

Have a great day with nature!
Linda

Linda C. Miller
Williamsburg, Virginia
Artist, Naturalist and Instructor

unknown fungi

unknown fungi
Originally uploaded by vickylw

I found these under my chives, growing out of the mulch, while watering my tiny herb / rose bed --- no idea what it is.

Scarlet Elf Cups ~ Sigrid Frensen

Winter seems a strange period to go hunting for mushrooms. But there are a few that only can be found in this period of the year. The Scarlet Elf Cup (Sarcoscypha coccinea) is one of them. It loves snow and freezing temperatures. This fungus grows on decaying branches in damp spots on forests floor. It's a rare fungus in the Netherlands... or so they say. Winter, snow, freezing cold and crawling under bushes isn't a very pleasant combination for most people, so it's not surprising it's not such a common sight.

I painted this little group of Scarlet Elf Cups like they were found. On the branches, with moss and dead leaves. I first painted the Fungi because I knew they loved the cold and damp.... not my dry and warm studio. The interior of the cups is bright red and very smooth. The outside is lighter and orange. later they turned even lighter, almost white. Maybe that had something to do with the dry, warm air. They are quite small, about 2 cm.
The hardest part was to paint the moss around the mushrooms. So delicate and fluffy. But I decided not to get into details too much since the focus should be on the fungi. I think I managed to do it. Creating this very tiny little world from the forest floor.

Looking for earth tongues

Every year, at about this time, I find earth tongues, quaint, tiny fungi that look like...well...tongues sticking out of the earth. This year I accidentally noticed that they were fruiting in a location other than the one I normally found them in. Which got me to wondering how common they really are. So, for about two weeks, I walked slow as a snail with my nose to the ground, looking for earth tongues. They are, indeed, quite common in some of the wooded areas, at least at Howarth Park. Aside from the two species I usually find, I got my first glimpse of a gorgeous green species when I found a few fruiting with some of the more familiar black ones. The drawing above is of Geoglossum sp. Without microscopic work, it's difficult to identify the Geoglossums to species.

One day I was admiring a Geoglossum that I found in a new location when I noticed a stick covered with little cup fungi, which are even harder to find (in my experience) than earth tongues. The largest one was only 9mm across. These cups are most likely Plectania sp. and, as you may have already guessed, fruit on wood.



Here's a link to a more detailed article about earth tongues.

Mushroom for brunch

It was supposed to rain early this morning but I took my chances and headed for Howarth Park to see what I could see. Luckily, and not surprisingly, the weather forecasters were wrong and there was only a little bit of drizzle here and there, not even enough to make the paper wet. Toward the end of my walk I found this mushroom, Agrocybe praecox, one of the harbingers of spring in these parts. I used the compact mirror, that I carry for just this application, to examine the underside of the mushroom and confirm my tentative identification. When I saw the slug munching away I knew that I had to get a quick sketch. I drew the slug first and was glad I did as it left soon after I got there.

Helvella

Helvella lacunosa are a fairly common fungus in northern California that seem to fruit longer than most. The fruiting bodies are quite sturdy and persist for a good long while. I'm told that they fruit with conifers but I find them mostly in association with one of our native trees, coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia). Helvella don't have gills or pores. Rather, they produce their spores on the upper surface of the wrinkly cap.

I had collected several of these, with caps in various shades of gray and black, planning to do several watercolor sketches. They languished in the refrigerator for over a week and today, when I finally got around to sketching, they were rather old and funky. Every time I moved one, or opened the container, spores swirled up, up and about the room. It was sort of like a dust storm. Blggghhh! They're still fruiting so tomorrow I'll try to find some that are a bit fresher.  Apparently they're edible. I've seen several suggestions of ways to cook and eat them while reading about fungi online lately. Not that I'm going to eat them myself! But I did lay them to rest in my backyard. We have a valley oak (Quercus lobata), which is a poor mushroom host, but maybe I'll get some to fruit in my yard next season! My very own helvella garden! How cool would that be? Oh, the sketch of the black capped fungus was done with ball point pen and the color sketch was done in ball point and watercolor.

A decaying log hosting a lot of fungi

These fungi are fruiting on an old log in a little dell that I like to visit in Howarth Park, a beautiful city park in Santa Rosa CA, with some lovely trails meandering through mixed woods. Mixed woods mean more mushrooms because fungi and trees form relationships that are beneficial to each and the more types of trees, the more fungi. I would have had to draw a much bigger picture to fit all of the fungi that were actually on this log, but I focused on the lacy white entity on the left of the picture. It's called Hericium abietis and is one of the tooth fungi.

The mushrooms to the right of the Hericium abietis are Mycena haematopus, identifiable by a stalk that "bleeds" red juice when cut or pinched.

Finally, the black lumps behind the Hericium abietis are called Annulohypoxylon thouarsianum with a common name of cramp balls, presumably after someone tried to eat them? They're very common and persist even in dry weather so are especially easy to find.

The reason all of these fungi are on this log is because they're all wood-rotters, the under appreciated composters of our forests. It's interesting to watch a log as it decomposes because different fungi appear at different stages of decomposition.

One of my favorite mushrooms

These pretty little mushrooms appear around Christmas here in northern California and are called Marasmius plicatulus. One rainy December I saw a huge troop of hundreds or more, all in one place. Mostly, where I walk, they appear in smaller groups and you have to look very carefully to find them because they blend so well with the leaves. I drew some a week ago in black and white because I love working in black and white, but I wanted to try to capture the lovely colors, so today I made a little watercolor sketch. It was very cold and I kept waiting for the sun to come out and make it warmer. I finally gave up and packed my things to go home and finish up. As I walked out of the park, the sky cleared.

a visit to Arkansas - Vicky Williamson

We spent the weekend visiting friends living at Norfolk Lake in Arkansas. The above sketch is from their backyard; the list is all the birds and animals I saw from their deck in one day --- I was especially excited to see and hear the two pileated woodpeckers talking to each other! Too bad I didn't have a camera or sketchbook in hand at that moment.



Also in the backyard, I sketched this twig with its teeny-tiny cup fungus, still unidentified. The upper two sketches are during the drive home; Jeanette Sclar identified the seed pods as bladdernut.

Fungi Family - Sigrid Frensen

A few weeks ago I was in the beautiful forest of Roden. There were thousands of mushrooms, so many different kinds and all so pretty. I made some photos so I could maybe draw them at home. Bertus was with me so I couldn't sketch there. I picked this one for a drawing. It's not very detailed. I just don't have enough time and energy to do that. I made it on (bad) paper with coloured pencils and soft pastels.

Bracket fungi - Elizabeth Smith

Bracket fungi, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

Bracket fungi

These little shelf or bracket fungi were nestled at the base of a Sea Grape tree. It seems that all of the mushrooms I’ve seen lately remind me of food – these were the most delectable shade of caramel!

The ground is finally drying out after our September rains. We’ve been enduring a heat wave, breaking records yesterday and today with temperatures in the middle 90’s. It’s been a long summer, and we’re ready for a change.

You can click on the image to see it larger on my Flickr photostream.

~ Elizabeth Smith, Naples, FL USA

Fungus - Elizabeth Smith

Fungus, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

In my yard I found this interesting-looking mushroom; it looked just like a piece of pastry with a nibbly edge. I sat on the ground and did a quick sketch of it with my travel set of watercolors and aquabrushes.

I know very little about wild mushrooms beyond bracket fungi and morels, so I have no idea what kind this might be. In the amazing manner of synchronicity that runs through life like a silver thread, I had just watched a fascinating documentary on the Sundance Channel about fungi!

You can click on the image to view larger on my Flickr photostream.

~Elizabeth Smith, Naples, Florida, USA

The Ugly, Smelly Mushroom & Button Clover

This funky mushroom popped up in my yard yesterday. It was about 4 1/2 inches tall with an orange stem and an odd shaped cap. The cap looked like it was a cream color but that layer had mostly peeled back revealing an orange layer. Through both layers, were several “sink holes” in the cap with a brown slimy fluid. That same fluid had gathered at the base of the fungi forming a little moat. This mushroom had an odor (not pleasant) and the flies and gnats were very active and visiting the slimy stuff in the holes and the moat. 

I have no idea what this was.... I do know that I sure wouldn’t want to eat it! 

I also found some of this Button Clover in the yard. I was pretty excited about this because I think it is such a cool plant with the spiral seed pods.

Both sketches are Ink & watercolor on hemp paper.

Giant Puff Balls

I've only seen pictures of these in books . . . . until the recent rains. Then there were THREE of them in my yard, with a wonderfully rich, earthy smell. A type of gasteromycetes, the largest one measures 5 x 6" and was still growing larger with each new day. Until Bill mowed yesterday.

Wonder just how big they might have got?