Help!
When I was younger so much younger than today
I never needed anybody's help in any way
But now these days are gone I'm not so self-assured
Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors. . .
- Lennon/McCartney
Okay, OK, OK, calm down a bit now. Yes, I need help. I'll explain that. But, really, I'm not that desperate. :) I do really like the song, though. Really, who of us that grew up in that era doesn't? Anyways. . . . .
While I was trudging around Wazee Lake County Park this Saturday (see my previous blog-entries) I happened to notice quite a few late-season mushrooms and other higher fungi. This really surprised me, as I figured it was a little too late for them. As a result, I was not prepared to do anything but photograph them in situ. Next time I'll actually collect some, bring 'em home, and study them far better so I can get an accurate identification. That being written, what follows below are some photos of some of the fungi that I saw. If any of you out there recognize anything or have any corrections of what I've got here; PLEASE LET ME KNOW - my curiosity is very piqued on these, especially on the first set of photos.
So, let's get to the photos, shall we? :) Here ya go:
These two photos show something that has boggled my mind ever since I noticed them on the ground. Are these fungi? Are they plants? I certainly don't know! They look cool as heck, though; but I really, really would like an identification on these. This is where I need YOUR help the most. I've looked around a little on the 'net, thinking that these were some type of club fungi or something close to that; but I could not find anything even closely resembling them. There were about 2 dozen of these brown whorls in about a 10 foot by 10 foot area along a walking trail through a mixed-wood forest, predominantly coniferous. These photos show a good representative sample of what the rest looked like. Note the quarter for size-reference.
These two photos show a very common gilled mushroom that I saw on my walk. They were scattered all along the trails I was on in various habitats and were easily the most common 'shroom that I saw. I realize that these photos are not much to go on; but, like I wrote, they're all I have. The only thing I'll exclude is a Russula species, as the stipes were relatively soft compared to what I've read about Russula. Again, this is in mixed forest, predominantly coniferous. These photos were taken from a roadway, the road is no more than 10 years old. I saw lots and lots of different kinds of mushrooms in between the road itself and the actual wooded area of the woods (about 15 feet on average). The soil here, by the way, is almost nonexistent, consisting of sand with very little organic cover on top of that. In the open areas, grass takes a while to get growing well and still grows fairly thin. But, hey, I'm used to the very nice black clays/loamy soils of glaciated central Minnesota.
After a bit of research, I do believe that this is Suillus Luteus, aka "Slippery Jack". These caps weren't viscid, but were sticky. Again, photo taken from the roadway area.
This is one I'm much more certain on. Suillus Americanus. Everything I've read about it points to this species. And, btw, YUCK, what an awful mushroom. :) I will write that these particular samples appeared a bit greener than the texts said, and the photos don't really show that well. Prolly just a bit of regional color variation. There were about 3 dozen caps of this growing in a 5 foot by 5 foot area just outside the tree-line in the roadway.
4 Comments:
I inherited "The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms" from my dads library and tried to find something that looked like that first shroom photo and the closest thing I could find was "pretzel slime" Hemitrichia serpula. But I'm trying to read in dim light with reading glasses so who knows.
Dad was a Gemini, too, and loved mushrooms. Got a kick out of your blog. Your kinda a funny guy. All that nice shit said, where do I find the big walleyes on White Iron???????
sincerely,
A Super Duper Deranged self-centered fisherwoman from Hibbin'
6:07 PM
Hiya Lori! As ever, I'm so happy that you stopped in here to visit. As you well know, you are always welcome here.
Thanks for the compliments, and for the information. I'll check out this H. Serpula on the web here and see. Thank you for the help!
As for the big walleye, well, I'll answer you back on your blog. :) That's where THAT conversation started. :)
And, BTW, in no way do I consider you self-centered or deranged. You are a kind-hearted soul living in the area of the country where I'm from originally. I consider you a good friend and always look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks again, Lori! Take care, until I hear from you again.
7:34 PM
Uncle Jiffy,
Seems like this is the easiest way to communicate with you. Any luck with the job hunting?? We will be in BRF sometime during the Thanksgiving holiday - maybe Friday until Sunday. I assume we'll see you there?? Take care.
Jackson!
9:50 AM
Hiya again, Jackson!
Yes, this is probably the easiest way to get ahold of me for now. Thanks for the heads-up on the holiday plans. I hope everything is going good with you and yours!!
I've been talking with Mom & Dad, and my plans are to now go to college at Eau Claire. I'll take some geology courses - hopefully they'll help me get into the job up in Babbitt. We'll see.
Thanks for visiting! I hope you like my blog, I'll BCNU come Thanksgiving to talk then. Until then, take care!
2:30 PM
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