» 2006 » November
The destroying angel
This entry was penned by a student in PLPA 319, with some additions by the Editor.
The nightmare of inexperienced mushroom hunters everywhere, the Destroying Angel occupies the coveted position of one of the most deadly poisonous mushrooms known to mycologists. The mushroom gets its common name from its infamously pure white fruiting body. [...]
The Friday Afternoon Mycologist
Wherein we inaugurate a series of occasional outbursts from the Friday Afternoon Mycologist.
After you work at any job long enough, Friday afternoons take on their own feel. Sometimes your energy level keeps you going right to the end of the day with the task you are supposed to be doing. At other times, the stress [...]
I survived the “Destroying Angel”
In one of our most popular posts, RIchard Eshelman tells the story of his near-death experience after eating the destroying angel mushroom, Amanita bisporigera.
Flash Fungus Fun
A note from Kathie, the Editor
Jakub Dvorský of Amanita Design brings us mysterious little flash games with lovely fungus-laden scenery: check out Samorost and Samorost2. These two are cult classics in the flash gaming community. In each, your task is to puzzle and click your way through a quest: rescue your dog (abducted [...]
Stalking the Hen of the Woods
This story of Hen discovery was written by a Cornell doctoral student who took PLPA 319
It was a miserable day for collecting mushrooms: cold, and alternating between a slow soaking rain and an all-out torrential downpour. There was even a bout of frequent lightning strikes which, based on the volume and the timing of [...]
A spider’s nightmare
From your editor, Kathie Hodge
In the contest for Ickiest Thing, spiders and molds are about neck and neck. Personally, I’m rooting for molds. To demonstrate their clear superiority over spiders, I now present these two tableaux of death, captured in glorious detail by photographer Kent Loeffler.
This first little fungus, a mold called Nomuraea atypicola, [...]
The world in your oyster
The oyster mushroom has many secrets. Yes, the one you can buy in the supermarket (or find in the woods). It is a predator of sorts, but don’t worry, it normally goes for lesser prey than you.