Mushroom pics - 2016 edition

[troutddicted]

As the mushroom season comes to an end ( at least for me ), lets keep the mushroom spirits going high with some of your favorite mushroom pictures from 2016. 

The more pics, the merrier.

[John Smalldridge]

Looks like you had a great season.

[alatos]

[eat-bolete]

For me the season is actually just starting, here are some photos from today.

[John Smalldridge]

Nice photos eat-bolete.

[eat-bolete]

Thanks John

[Matt_Ga]

[Bradley]

Ok so a few of these are from 2015 but mostly this year. 

Cheers!

[dualsetters]

Bradley,

did you ID the large orange ones in pic 12. I found something similar a few years ago and couldn't ID it. 

[Bradley]

Yeah! Pic 12 is ganoderma tsugae. Aka reishi mushroom. That one is at the stage where the lips are a choice edible. 

The mushroom in your picture could be a type of ganoderma but not taugae. Taugaes only grow on hemlocks. 

[dualsetters]

Must be buttons, the pic makes em look bigger. That was about 5" across and never changed for a month. 

Hemlock reishi 

been there done that. Might be healthy , but just give me indigestion and a stomach ache lol.

 

[Bradley]

I know what you mean about the tea. I never could figure out how to make it taste good. Although reishi wine is a different story. Fruity and delicious!

 

The lower "button" was at least 8" wide and 4" thick. 

Bad pic but this is them 2 weeks later. 

When they're at the proper stage the sautéed tips are liked by all mushroom eaters!

[troutddicted]

Wicked photos everyone - lovin' the salamanders

[dualsetters]

I'll have to keep my eyes open this year. All I've ever found is the full varnished shelves. Wine eh? Sounds interesting. 

 

[John Smalldridge]

Lots of nice photos! Looks like we need a photo gallery on the website.

[Bradley]

Yeah reishi wine is amazing! And much more natural than a tincture. 

Catching the reishi when the lips are prime is tough but for several weeks the perimeter can be trimmed off with a sharp, clean knife. If done correctly the mushroom will continue to grow although slightly deformed. 

[troutddicted]

A clump of trumps

[Dave W]

Bradley, nice to know the trimmed Ganoderma button keeps growing. I'll give the sauteed lips a try. Like others have said, Reishi tea did not sit well on my stomach. My understanding is that properly prepared Reishi --in the Chinese sense-- involves a multi-step process that may include fermentation. I've never before heard of Reishi wine. I'll scope out the internet for info. 

Lots of great pics! 

Here's a few more. 

Agaricus placomyces. A poisonous species.

Agrocybe firma. An autumn woodland species.

Possibly Agrocybe putaminum, or something close to this species. I found these in mulch/wood-chips on the corner of Main Street and North Street, downtown Wilkes-Barre, PA. 

Aleuria aurantia, the Orange Peel Fungus.

Amanita aestivalis is a white form of Amanita brunnescnes. 

Amanita amerirubescens is the name currently applied to a group of related species of NA Blushing Amanitas. 

Amanita bisporigera, the NA Destroying Angel.

Amanita crennulata

This gets me about halfway through the best of my 2016 photos for the letter "A". 

 

[CajunShroomer3578]

Beautiful specimens Dave. Looking forward to the alphabetical list of fungi. Been kinda depressing not seeing many post here. Still pretty active in South Louisiana just haven't been out foraging much. Currently enjoying the beauty that the Rockies have to offer. Hopefully I'll come across a few specimens while hiking this week. 

 

Managed to harvest a few oysters back home before hitting the road. Not quite sure how I'll be preparing them yet.  Also brought a pack of those oven dehydrated chantys I experimented with during the summer. Brought some fresh sea trout with me too so I'll probably be incorporating those two together.  Ought to be a great feast tomorrow!!

Merry Christmas to all from Colorado Springs!!

[Dave W]

Well, we'll see how far I get this year. What part of the Rockies, Cajun? Trout and chanties is a classic combination.

Here's more of the best of "A", 2016. 

Amanita flavoconia and Amanita frostiana are often confused with one another. Can you tell the difference? 

Amanita jacksonii is the classic American "Caesar's Amanita". 

Amanita citrina is the name of a European species. For many years this name had been applied to NA species. The research of Rod Tulloss has shown that, not only does the Euro citrina not occur in NA, the NA Amanitas formerly called citrina comprise a group of closely related species. These are currently classified as Amanitas comprising the "lavendula" species group; on account of the tendency of the cap surface to stain lavender. 

The always photogenic Amanita muscaria. The common yellow/orangish-capped eastern NA version is called variety guessowii.

Another NA muscaroid species is Amanita persicina. This species is most prominent in SE NA. The ones in this photo were found in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey.

Amanita polypyramis is a species of large mushrooms from section Lepidella. Previous to 2016 I had never encountered this mushroom. These were found in S New Jersey.

Amanita praecox is the "Spring Amanita". While visiting Western Pennsylvania this past May, I found a large example. The species often persists into mid-summer, and possibly beyond. Other similar Amanita species --some likely unnamed at present-- become more numerous as the season progresses, and identification becomes confusing. One feature which helps to identify Amanita mushrooms to subgenus Amanita (as opposed to subgenus Lepidella) are the truncate short gills.

Amanita species from section Amidella (subgenus Lepidella) are potentially confused with section Vaginatae (subgenus Amanita). In each case, the mushroom has a persistent basal sac (volva/universal veil), and lacks a ring (partial veil). The only completely dependable way to distinguish between the two sections is to test the spores for amyloidity (need Meltzer's reagent... good luck getting some). But other features may be used to make this distinction, and given a little persistence, one may gain the knack to easily distinguish between the two sections based on readily observable field characteristics. The one photo shows a button which has not yet broken through the universal veil.

More later. Still a good chunk of "A" to finish. 

[troutddicted]

I"M MELTINGGGGGGGGG

Happy group.

[CajunShroomer3578]

Dave, we're visiting the Colorado Springs area. Went up to Mt Princeton a few days, everything was frozen, no fungi to be found. 

 

 

[Dave W]

How did those oven-dried chanties turn out, Cajun? 

Trout, that's a really nice photo of the cluster of Mycenas. I think they may be the species M. niveipes. 

This will not quite finish off the best of my 2016 Amanita photos. Previously, I posted a photo of A. jacksonii. This is a classic NA scarlet red "Caesar" with a yellow stalk featuring orange patches and a yellow ring. There are other NA Amanita species in section Caesareae. All types have a membranous basal cup (vovla), ring on the stalk (partial veil), and distinct striations along the cap margin. Cap color and overall size vary greatly by species. Some are known to be good edibles, but many are presumably untested. Here's one for which I was unable to settle upon a species name. Not red/orange enough for jacksonii, but cap margin pale and size seemingly large for A. banningiana, our locally most common Caesar.

Amanita section Vaginatae is a subdivision of genus Amanita featuring a multitude of different species, many of which are undocumented/unnamed. All types (in NA) have saccate volva, striate cap margins, and lack partial veil (ringless).  A handful of eastern NA species/groups are documented. Here are a few examples. 

Amanita rhacopus group. Fairly dark cap surface, gray patches on the cap, and a gray basal volva that quickly disintegrates except for a band of material "strangulating" the upper stalk base. More than one species in this group. Over the years, the species names strangulata, inaurata, ceciliae, and borealisorora have been used. Hopefully, once this group is sorted out and documented/acceptable species names are available, these names will correlate with observable differences.The one seen here features very short marginal striations.

Amanita amerifulva is a name applied to a group of tan/brown/tawny-capped mushrooms. There is more than one species in this group. All types feature a white membranous volva that stains brown. 

Amanita sinicoflava has a Chinese curry-powder colored cap which usually features an umbo once mature. The basal volva is membranous, turns gray, and may partially disintegrate with age. A fairly distinctive species, except when the cap color is off a bit, confusion with other species is possible.

Older NA field guides generally include a "species" named Amanita vaginata. Aside from this being a European name that does not apply to any NA species, there appears to be a multitude of these silvery/gray/pale-capped species featuring striations of variable length. Some types have white basal volvas that may persist as "cups", and others have volvas that readily fall apart as the mushroom matures. In some cases the stalk base is buried 1-2 inches below the surface, and excavating the intact volva is virtually impossible. There are at at least two (probably more) of these species that routinely occur on my 4-acre property. Spore size/shape also varies among the different species in this group. 

Other Amanitas from section Vaginatae. Are the yellowish-capped ones in the amerifulva group? Are the grayish ones with the very dark cap center the same as one of the ones formerly called "vaginata"? It will probably take quite a while for this diverse group to be straightened out. (Actually, it was a kinda down year for this section in my area. Usually there's even more diversity.) 

Finishing off Amanita section Vaginatae is a species that I would never have guessed fits into this section... just another oddball mushroom species from the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. This doesn't really look like the others from this section. Basal volva disintegrates/collapses onto the stalk base as one or more membranous patches. Cap is fairly thick-fleshed with short striations that are well-spaced. There are actually two different of these oddball Pine Barrens Amanita species. I think the one seen below is Amanita vulpecula.

 

[Tasso]

Thanks to everyone who posted pictures. Nice to see while waiting for the off season (for most of us) to conclude. Happy New Year to all and full baskets in the coming season.

[CajunShroomer3578]

Dave, they came out really well. Just lacked a lot more flavor than I was hoping for.  Sautéed in a little bit of olive oil, coconut oil, and butter with onions. I thought I was going to have to reconstitute in broth or something of that nature, but when thawed out they were moist. So, I just threw them in the skillet like that and cooked. Texture was still really great. Thanks again for all the tips over the summer ??

I'm back home in the south, with lots of rain in the forecast so hopefully I'll have some specimens to add by the weekend. 

Happ New Years everyone!! Wishing everyone full baskets in 2017!!