bryophytes & wildflowers & fungi

A way to document my personal discoveries and attempts at identification while out in the woods.

[themosshunter]

Unidentified Mushroom

Is this the gilled bolete, Phylloporus rhodoxanthus?

Found in Northwestern CT forest growing in soil under a hardwood

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Clavaria zollingeri 

Violet Coral Fungus

found in Northwestern Connecticut in hardwood forest within 50 feet of a pond

Thought this color was brilliant. Saw lots of other coral fungi this day but none violet! My first time seeing this guy in nature. A beut!

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Two different kinds of “wintergreen” in the heath family, Ericaceae

Image 1: Chimaphila maculata - Spotted wintergreen

Image 2 & 3: Gaultheria procumbens - Wintergreen

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Kalmia latifolia - mountain laurel

Found near Brattleboro, VT small mountain near the Connecticut River

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this isn’t a plant ID it’s just a lil snail baby I found on a piece of moss, enjoy! I did.

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Laetiporus spp.- Chicken mushroom or “Chicken of the Woods”

Found this big boy with my biology of fungi class. You can see the bottom section has been carved off by an earlier forager, but they were gracious enough not to harvest it all for themselves, whatta find! Here it is surrounded by rock polypody fern (Polypodium virginianum)

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Pholiota squarrosoides - Sharp-scaly Pholiota

Found on deciduous wood (birch) Chittenden County, VT, October

Could also be P. flammans, the Yellow Pholiota tbh I can’t really tell the difference but I think these cap scales are too dark and pronounced.

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Armillaria mellea - Honey Mushroom

Honeys! I think! Such awesome formations made by these mushrooms.

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Leotia lubrica - Ochre Jelly Club

Hardwood forest, Burlington, VT, September

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Strobilomyces floccopus -  Old Man of the Woods

Gray shaggy-scaly cap, partial veil, black spore print, angular pores. Edible when young. 

Found in Burlington, VT early September

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Hygrocybe cantharellis - Chanterelle wax cap

Here is another time I found the actual species, again, unconfirmed. This time in a with sphagnum and cranberries in a bog in VT, mid September.

[themosshunter]

Rickenella fibula - Orange Moss Agaric

Originally ID-ed this one as Hygrocybe cantharellus (syn. Hygrophorus cantharellus), the Chanterelle wax cap. Upon further digging I have changed my mind but am still not certain.

Found early June on Camel’s Hump in Vermont.

Unfortunately I didn’t get a close enough look or take a sample because my hiking partner had no time for my mushroom/moss photo ops and was pushing us along. Oh well, next time I’ll make sure to take some notes. 

...But also... just thought this was a lovely mossy fungi-y stump to look at.

[themosshunter]

Clintonia borealis (Blue-bead Lily) of Liliaceae, the lily family.

Found early June on Camel's Hump mountain near Richmond, VT.

Montane forest, ~2500ft elevation, along trail

Once this lily flower has past the fruit remaining is a single dark blue berry, hence its common name.

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I have yet to find an ID for this sphagnum moss. I am quite sure it is in the section Sphagnum. But I don’t really have much experience identifying past section. Found in a classic low-nutrient bog in Eastern Massachusetts, alongside many other species of sphagnum, pitcher plants, sundew, high mountain blueberry, and cranberry.

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Amorphophallus aphyllus of the Arum family (Araceae)

Floodplain forest along the Niger River

Siguiri Prefecture, Guinea, West Africa

The tuber of this plant is eaten on occasion in Guinea and Senegal, however it contains high concentrations of calcium oxalate, an extremely bitter and pain-inducing toxin. If the tuber is prepared correctly this toxin can be expelled from the plant. Traditionally it is also said to have been used to poison arrows, but other sources say it can be used as a snake bite remedy. Not sure which or if all of these are true.

[themosshunter]

Parkia biglobosa (African locust bean)

Siguiri Prefecture, Guinea, West Africa

While serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guinea, it was always a delight to see these trees when traveling across the country. Until I was able to find the species name, I simply referred to them as “Christmas bobble trees”, for an obvious reason. (Note the massive termite mound at the base of the tree (so cool))

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Arisaema triphyllum (Jack-in-the-pulpit)

Have been seeing these everywhere in New England this spring! Such an exciting plant to find! I thought this photo of the spiderwebs pulling up the spathe to reveal the spadix was particularly cool :D