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memoriesofthepark · 3 days

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Beansprout conecap 》 Conocybe deliquescens

Found these weird little guys while walking my dog this morning. This was my first encounter with the Conocybe genus.

"The cap of this mushroom is very slimy, flimsy, and rusty brown; its weight soon causes the weak stem to bend over and collapse. The gills are rusty brown and are usually fairly well formed, but they can also be vein-like, fused, or nearly unrecognizable as gills. Both cap and gills dissolve into a mushy mess very quickly." - Michael Kuo, mushroomexpert.com

Southeast Texas, 24 April 2024

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memoriesofthepark · 4 days

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Meadow mushroom 》 Agaricus campestris

A wild species closely related to the cultivated button mushroom 》 Agaricus bisporus. Seen in the parking lot at school.

Southeast Texas, 18 April 2024

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memoriesofthepark · 5 days

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Firerug Inkcap 》 Coprinellus domesticus

Unfortunately I seem to have missed the main flush which had already deliquesced by the time I came by.

But I believe I can make out some remnants of the ozonium - the "fire rug" for which this species of inkcaps is named. This structure presents as a mat of orange, aboveground hypae which is not always present and may occur in the absence of mushrooms. It is possible they may also be Coprinellus radians as these are the only two species known to form ozonium and are visually indistuguishable except by their spore size.

Southeast Texas, 17 April 2024

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memoriesofthepark · 6 days

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Update! A couple of these shelves fell so I got to take a closer look at them!!

At first I suspected they were Hairy Hexagonia 》 Hexagonia hydnoides due to their color and fuzzy upper surface, but I didn't see any examples of that species growing in such robust formations.

I believe they are actually a very old and crusty specimen of Shaggy brackets 》 Inonotus hispidus which according to a couple of sources do turn a dark brown/black color with age, and I can see a bit of that rusty red hue still peeking through. And as a lovely bonus, this darling little zale moth 》 genus Zale was resting amid the shelves.

I was so glad to have the chance to get to know these guys from up close after admiring them from the ground for a while. Fate hath truly smiled upon me. 🧡

Southeast Texas, 19 April 2024

This is your reminder to look up while you're out on a foray!

I tend to keep my nose in the dirt while I'm shrooming, but look what I found on campus! I wasn't able to get a good enough look for an ID, but we have some big beautiful polypore shelves here.

The past week has been very up and down emotionally but I'll focus on the highlights.

I got to drive up to Austin and see Merlin Sheldrake's new documentary Fungi: Web of Life at the Bullock museum!! It was fantastic and the first 3D movie I've seen in maybe a decade. It was very beginner friendly (and too short imo lol, about 45 minutes long) but still wildly interesting! I can't imagine what it must feel like to hold a sample collected by Darwin himself!

After the doc we found a cool vegan food truck in town, and I got to try lions mane for the first time! It was fried and soooooo good. 🤤

The doc seems to be running in a lot of museums nationwide thru August. I highly recommend checking it out if you get the chance!

Southeast Texas, 26 Mar. 2024

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memoriesofthepark · 7 days

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Charcoal burner 》 Russula cyanoxantha

The parks are full of brittle gills!

This was a new one to me. Also known as the blue and yellow russula.

Southeast Texas, 17 April 2024

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memoriesofthepark · 8 days

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Salt marsh moth 》 Estigmene acrea

I thought for sure I had posted the moth pics here before, but I can't find the post.

Either way, salt marsh moths are so cute! Their caterpillars.... maybe not quite as cute. 😅

I've always had an aversion to hairy caterpillars but I'm trying to work on that. His little face munching on a clover is very cute, but something about his hair makes me recoil.

Southeast Texas, 5 Mar. 2024 (moth), 12 April 2024 (caterpillar)

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memoriesofthepark · 9 days

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Wolf's milk 》 Lycogala epidendrum

Another slime mold I've seen a lot on my dash that I finally encountered in the wild!

Slime molds are not fungi, but exist in their plasmodial stage as single celled ameoba-like organisms that phagocytize (engulf and digest) fungal/plant spores, bacteria, and protozoans. When conditions are right, these individuals use chemical signals to aggregate, forming the fruiting bodies shown here! Upon maturity, the paste inside these fruiting bodies becomes a mass of spores.

Slime molds are so whacky and interesting! Such a unique form of life.

Southeast Texas, 10 April 2024

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memoriesofthepark · 10 days

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Trinkets! Bits and bobs! Shinies!

A small selection of colorful baubles from my collection of Stuff.

Including driftwood, opalite, bismuth, rose quartz, a dried fringed sawgill mushroom, some dried flowers (I don't remember what kind), a pair of vintage clip-on earrings I thrifted, an art nouveau matchbook from my Nana's collection, a tooth pendent from my grandpapa's old jewelry-making supplies, a rose shaped floating candle, a small gold box encrusted with rhinestones, an acorn cap, and some other random stones.

This is my first such post, I hope y'all see something that makes you happy!

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memoriesofthepark · 12 days

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Elegant stinkhorn 》 Mutinus elegans

A new-to-me species of stinkhorns!! These guys go by many common names including dog stinkhorn, headless stinkhorn, and the devil's dipstick.

When I found them they were quite damaged. You can see the remains of its slimy spore mass coating the stalk and a couple of immature eggs waiting to emerge. As with most (if not all) fungi in the Phallaceae family, its gleba is gelatinous and foul-smelling, a feature which serves to attract flies and other insects that feed upon the gleba, thus aiding in spore dispersal.

Southeast Texas, 10 April 2024

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memoriesofthepark · 13 days

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Coral slime mold! 》 Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa

Featuring a smooth land slug, genus Deroceras, enjoying a coral slime breakfast.

Found out on the trails while foraging for wild onions! I've seen pictures of this genus on my dash but this was my first time encountering it in person!

Southeast Texas, 12 April, 2024

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memoriesofthepark · 14 days

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Spent yesterday morning out on the trails collecting some wild onions. I found a very hairy caterpillar that I'm trying to identify. Scrolling through endless pics of hairy caterpillars is helping me to overcome the visceral reaction of NOPE that they ellicit in me, but no sum of money would convince me to touch one. 😅

Pics to come and an exciting first encounter with a new-to-me species!

Southeast Texas, 12 April 2024

#forager #foraging #wild onion #pond #not a fungus #not fungi #amatuer mycology #foraging texas #texas wild plants #species identification #creek #flowing water #special interest #goblincore #nature trail

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memoriesofthepark · 15 days

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Luna Moth caterpillar 》 Actias luna

Look at this big fella! This was my first time seeing this species in person, in any stage of life.

This guy appears to be in their 5th instar (the period of time between molts, of which Actias luna has five) and their presence on the ground and not in a tree suggests they are looking for a place to pupate! Soon they'll be a big beautiful moth!

Southeast Texas, 10 April 2024

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memoriesofthepark · 16 days

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Birch brittlegill 》 Russula betularum

!!!! Three brittlegills! Fused into one! Fungi are constantly giving me little gifts like this and I can't express how grateful I am for each and every one. This one will be added to my collection. My personal fungarium is expanding slowly but beautifully. 🧡🍄

Southeast Texas, 10 April 2024

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memoriesofthepark · 17 days

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Brown American Star-footed Amanita 》 Amanita brunnescens

Y'all should have seen my face when I found these. I saw something on the ground in this stand of trees on campus and kinda eyed it as I stalked around the sidewalk, trying to decide if it was a fallen twig of leaves or something fungoid. Once I made out the cap shape and realized "That's a big ass mushroom!!!" I picked up my bag and ran to it. And it had some smaller friends as well! So incredibly exciting. I was almost late to my english class because I was taking these pictures.

The spring mushroom season is in full swing and I just can't stop finding amanitas! I had a very busy walk this morning and I've got lots of stuff to share, including some personal first encounters! :3

Southeast Texas, 9 April 2024

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memoriesofthepark · 17 days

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The blusher 》 Amanita rubescens

I'm always excited after a heavy rain and I'm rarely disappointed. These were not the only amanitas I found yesterday. They greeted me as I was coming in from the parking lot and really lifted my spirits before a stressful math exam. 🧡

This species along with several related amanita species are named for their tendency to bruise pink when damaged.

Southeast Texas, 9 April 2024

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memoriesofthepark · 19 days

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My collection of dried mushrooms!

In order of appearance we have:

1. Scaly shield 》 Pluteus petasatus

2. Western deer mushroom 》 Pluteus exilis

3. Little nest polypores 》 Trametes conchifer (left), Onion stalk parasols 》 Leucocoprinus cepistipes (right)

4. Silver-blue milkcap 》 Lactarius paradoxus (top), Barometer earthstars 》 genus Astraeus (bottom)

5. Fringed sawgill 》 Lentinus crinitus

I thought it would be fun to share my specimens with y'all! Each of these have been featured in previous posts from when I found them.

Question: I have been enjoying seeing these posts in the crowcore/goblincore tags where people arrange and showcase their collections of Things they have acquired on their travels. I certainly have my fair share of trinkets, odds and ends, that sort of thing... Would y'all be interested in seeing similar posts on here? It would mostly be rocks, bones, dried flowers/bugs/mushrooms, and other random things. I could try making a side blog for such posts but I doubt I'd be making them often enough to justify a whole separate blog. I'd love to hear what you think.

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memoriesofthepark · 21 days

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Apologies if you've been asked this before but! What got you into mycology and/or mushrooming? I know it's common to grow up learning about it in more North & East European countries, but I haven't really heard of it being a widely done thing in the US, so I'm curious.

Thanks!

No need to apologize! This is an excellent question and one I have not been asked before!

I grew up in a very rural area and was always very close to and appreciative of the natural world around me. I was very happy playing in the mud and climbing this one choice tree across the road from my Nana's house. I was fascinated by flowers and bugs and have always cared very deeply for animals of all kinds. The first two major special interests I remember having were dinosaurs and horses. All this is to say, I was always enamored by life, in all its forms.

When I got to be an older teen, I found nature-based spirituality and that connection deepened further. Then in 2019, a little documentary you may have heard of called Fantastic Fungi came out on Netflix and it just completely blew me away. In 14 years of public education I could not recall being taught anything about fungi other than the fact that they serve a role as decomposers. Despite how massively integral they are not only to life today, but to the entire evolutionary trajectory of life on this planet. And yet, no one was teaching about it! A whole kingdom of life completely ignored. I was hooked.

Not only the fact that the more visible structures produced by some types of fungi (lichens, mushrooms) are pleasing to observe with a very diverse range of morphologies, but the study of fungi brings up all kinds of bigger questions about relationships between organisms, the substance-based perspective from which modern biology views the world, and what it even means to be an individual. Life cannot exist outside its relationship to other forms of life, and this is true all the way down, from the earth as a whole to the ecosystems that exist inside your own body. The study of fungi requires one to consider these things. And we still know so little about them. It is rare to find such a citizen-driven field of scientific study and I am so excited to see what we will learn in the coming years as mycology grows as a traditionally neglected science.

This was a VERY long answer, lol but I have no chill when it comes to this stuff aaaaaaaaaaa

TLDR: I always loved to observe the life that was around me, and it was the Netflix doc Fantastic Fungi that introduced me to the wonderful world of mycology!

The works of Peter McCoy and Merlin Sheldrake have continued to feed my obsession, I recommend them highly. Journey of the Universe by Brian Swimme and Mary Tucker is not about fungi specifically, but is a beautiful little book about life and existence in general that provides some eye-opening perspectives on relationship and connectivity.

Also, I'm just gonna leave this here.

youtube

Thank you so much for the ask! I really enjoyed answering! Wishing you a kind and gentle weekend. Mush love. 💚🍄

#ask #amatuer mycology #mushroom hunting #mushrooms #mycology #fungi #mushrooms of texas #texas mushrooms #wild fungi #fungarium #fungi of texas #special interest #merlin sheldrake #goblincore #wild mushrooms #mushroom #fungus #rot

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