Fungi Finds

Between rains this weekend I took off for a vigorous hike in the woods, only to be slowed to a snail's pace by all the little fungi that had popped up.  Every few steps I stopped to see another treasure.  The tiny coral mushroom above was especially cute, measuring an inch tall.  I sent the picture to Mark Bower who gave me a tentative ID of Lentaria micheneri.

Many coral mushrooms are edible although eating too many at a time will give some people a case of what my father called the "green apple quick step."  Testing Google once again, I came up with the definition of a dance move seemingly taken on by people who have to run to the bathroom with explosive diarrhea or the name of a 1990's Seattle grunge band.

Entoloma sp.?- Mark Bower

Mark got back to me with several of his finds.  First was this beautiful blue fungus that even he couldn't initially identify.  Like many mushrooms these are tiny and easy to miss.  His next step was saving the specimen and placing the cap gills down on a paper.  A subsequent spore print was pink suggesting that it is an Entoloma sp.

Spore print - Mark Bower

Spore prints are a common way of separating some mushrooms that otherwise look similar.  By putting the mushroom cap on dark and light paper the spores will show up whether they are dark or white.

Wikipedia says there are over 1,000 Entoloma species which are generally drab but this one is certainly the exception.  Mark's uncertainty is justified by no less that Michael Kuo's description on Mushroom Expert.

"Would-be Entoloma identifiers need, above all else, patience and the ability to Keep Calm and Carry On when their Entoloma collections do not match a described species very precisely. Since "patience and cool-headedness" are not likely to make the Top Ten List for anyone who knows me and is asked, "What are Michael Kuo's personality traits?" it probably goes without saying that I despise Entoloma and everything about it."

Calvatia cyathiformis - Mark Bower

Another highlight from Mark's morning slow moving head-down stroll was finding a fairy ring of the common Calvatia cyathiformis.  I saw at least 50 on my quarter mile morning hike in the woods, all three to six inches high.This is a puffball mushroom that can grow to the size of a softball or soccer ball.   Cyathiformis means flask-shaped although the basal narrowing can occur late and can disappear under the round globe. As it matures the center dries out to fill with spores that can explode out with pressure.

Fairy circle of Chlorophyllum molybdites - Wikipedia

A fairy ring is a circle of fungi, frequently recurring and expanding annually.  Most fairy circles occur in wooded areas and like Mark's which is on a slope, it is often hard to photograph the whole circle in one picture.  It is easier to see the complete circle in the photograph from Australia above.  I will let Wikipedia explain how this happens.

"The mycelium of a fungus growing in the ground absorbs nutrients by secretion of enzymes from the tips of the hyphae (threads making up the mycelium).   This breaks down larger molecules in the soil into smaller molecules that are then absorbed through the walls of the hyphae near their growing tips.  The mycelium will move outward from the center, and when the nutrients in the center are exhausted, the center dies, thereby forming a living ring, from which the fairy ring arises.^"

Frequently they will occur in an open grassy area or lawn without the mushrooms appearing, just showing a more exuberant growth of grass as shown above in Mark's yard.  Remember that the mycelium are all spreading in the soil and the mushrooms represent their fruiting bodies (think of the transient blossoms of a flower).  The Illinois University Extension describes the process below.

"Fairy ring fungi are not attacking the grass directly, but are breaking down organic matter in the soil. As a result, nitrogen is released that the grass above may use, causing the green ring. In cases where the mycelia of the fungus get dense and inhibit water movement into the soil, grass in the arc may turn brown. Mycelia may also deplete soil nutrients and produce toxic levels of hydrogen cyanide. The mushrooms that appear after rainfall are the fruiting bodies of the fungus."

There are many different species that can make a fairy circle.  In older cultures in Europe they were associated either with hazardous or dangerous places or with good fortune.  Go figure!

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Mark Bower discussed puffballs on this blog in 2016 and you can see what happens when grown adults encounter a patch of puffballs in this video.