I posted a picture of these mushrooms in my previous post and they were just little, orange buttons. Now, a few days later they have “mushroomed” into flat heads as you can see in this photo.
I don’t know why, all of a sudden, I am so interested in mushrooms, but I find myself on the lookout for them at this time of year especially when I am walking in the woods.
Maybe it’s because I am surrounded by places where they are easily found, but I just never paid much attention.
The Open Mushrooms
I have no idea what type of mushroom this is. If I had to guess from the pictures and description in my book maybe they are the Jack O’Lantern. But they are not bright orange.
Or, they could be Omphalotus illudens which are also poisonous. Found in June – November they grow on dead logs.
I currently live surrounded by woods so searching for interesting nature is fun. My landlady’s house is on 13 acres, but I usually stay close by or travel up the road to the Girl Scout Camp. There is no shortage of wilderness to explore.
The New Hampshire woods are always full of interesting items to see. In Fall we get to find some new types of mushrooms.
I don’t know what kind of mushroom these are, but I came across them as I was hiking the woods around my place. See my next post where they are more open and flat and I take a guess at their name.
Unless you pay close attention when walking in the woods, you will miss these little bunches of fungi. I take my camera (no iPhone at the time – hence the lack of photos to share) and don’t touch them because most likely they are poisonous. If I can remember where they are growing I might try to return in a day or two and see how they have changed.
One thing I’ve learned from reading about (and viewing) mushrooms is that they will change their look quite quickly – some of them. They may only last a few days or they can last into winter and beyond. Some are delicate and easily broken or mashed and others are as hard as a rock.
As I photograph the mushrooms I see in my area, I look them up in my books for identifying. That is not easy I have found. In order to really be sure of a mushroom name, close observation of all parts is needed. Read this article with excellent photos, at NH Garden Solutions to see what types of mushrooms you may find in the Fall season.
My Audubon “Field Guide to New England” only lists a few mushroom types and warns that at least 10 of the mushroom species in New England are deadly poisonous to eat so making a mistake in choosing can cost you your life. I will only be photographing and not picking to eat.
*Blog update: It is 16 years later as I update these old blog posts and I am always struck by how easy it is nowadays to share photos online. In 2010 I carried my camera with me (if I remembered) and took only a few photos at a time. Growing up and using film cartridges that had to be mailed away, only to return 12 or 24 photos is ingrained in me, I guess. Back then we had to be discerning about what pictures we decided to take. Space for preservation was very limited. Even though I had progressed to a digital camera, I never took loads of photos of the same thing! Now that I have an iPhone, I tend to be the same way, unless it is something I really want to be sure I capture correctly.
These old posts are not very well written, or SEO compatible, but I’ll be keeping the ones that I can save as a memory of what I used to do.
