Wednesday 18 September 2013

Fungus are sprouting everywhere

No flash
Lightened with iPhoto
I put together a number of recent mushroom photos. I've quite a few photos of fungus, too.
No, I don't eat any of them. I've had enough trouble with poisonous plants in my wetland!

They are amazing, fungus. Soft, gentle, ubiquitous, all growing in their own time and place.

I've photographed the same fungus in these top three photos. We'd had a heavy rain before that walk. The water droplets were inviting!

The one on the upper right I had to lighten, as it was a dark day and I eschewed the flash out of a wish for true colours. The green lichen didn't appear at all!

With the flash
Yes. Fungus. Invisible spores; embedded in a tree, on a dead root, they wait for the right temperature and humidity; only to mysteriously blossom when the time is right, with beautiful texture and colours. Shades of gray, beige browns, to orange and reds. Soft, ribbed, rainbow designs that delight the soul.
For those of us with a curious bent, we want to identify our find.

The fun guys all around us can be identified. There are many sites that offer an easy key. Then there is a visual key to search by genus and group. Another source: major mushroom groups.

I haven't worked at identifying these much. This is a winter project, methinks. I've concentrated more on fauna than flora. You'll notice this beige/white one, growing horizontally on a fallen
Granddaughter Izzy was fascinated!
This one growing out of
an old elm tree root.
birch tree.
Almost like fudge
Poor old elm trees

Foley Mountain stump
a wee one on a stick
My favourite!
soft grays
Bright white
Even in winter!
Three kinds!

3 comments:

Billy Blue Eyes said...

That fungus you grandaughter is looking is big enough for her to sit on.

Jenn Jilks said...

It's true, Bill! They're pretty fragile, though!

Red said...

We seldom take a look at fungus. We also should know more about fungus. But who am I to talk when I've made no effort to learn about fungus.