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Phallus ravenelii: the common stinkhorn, Ravenel’s stinkhorn
Stink stink stink, we love stinkhorns. A little about their sordid history and biology here. What’s not to like?
Pilobolus and the lungworm
Pilobolus is interesting enough all by itself, because it can shoot a big black bullet. We’d also like to introduce you to the lungworm. The lungworm takes an unusual route to get back into a cow. It travels through snot, dung, and–most surprisingly–by fungus.
$#%!&! Red Russulas
Beginning mushroomers often think a field guide is the key to all knowledge. But there are some kinds of mushrooms that even intrepid field guide authors fear. The little brown ones (LBMs, we call them), yes, but also these big handsome red Russulas (JARs: sigh, Just Another Russula).
Dyeing with Lichens & Mushrooms
Dying with lichens and mushrooms! We gave it a good shot with help from a local expert on natural dyes. It was fun.
Frogblog2: Origin and spread of the frog chytrid
Part deux of our two-part series on the frog chytrid, a fungus that is wiping out amphibians all over the world.
Frogblog1: Chytridiomycosis and global amphibian decline
Poor, poor froggies. Although we love fungi, we definitely do not love the chytrid fungus that is busy killing frogs and other amphibians all over the world. It is an evil and highly unusual fungus (not that some other fungi aren’t evil), in that it is the only known vertebrate pathogen among chytrids. Here is a primer in two parts.
Phylloporus, a gilled bolete
Phylloporus rhodoxanthus is a mushroom with gills, but here we reveal its secret allegiance with the tribe of boletes. Boletes are normally not gilled, but instead have pores or tubes that form a spongy layer beneath their caps. Sneaky Phylloporus.
The destroying angel
The destroying angel is a notorious mushroom, because it’s quite deadly. It’s also very handsome and stately. When you are learning mushrooms, this is a good one to learn early on. Spore print color, the annulus, the volva…all these things can help you tell it apart from friendlier mushrooms, if you know what to look for.