Mushroom Blog Posts

A couple of days ago I went on a mushroom foray. I was able to collect two polypore mushrooms. I consider fungi to be one of the most interesting organisms because not only are they some of the world's best decomposers, but they're also extremely diverse in where they live. The three most known types of fungi are molds, mushrooms, and yeast. An interesting fact that holds true for all fungi is how they obtain their food, they absorb it form their surroundings. Because mushrooms are fruiting bodies when picked they do not die. Mushrooms are commonly found after it rains on the ground, in trees, and on trails. When going on a mushroom foray make sure to be aware of your surroundings. When collecting mushrooms it's important to look for spores and the shape of the cap. Also be sure to record where the mushroom was growing, it's location can give a lot of information. It's also good to make comparisons. For example, one of my mushrooms resembled a potato and we determined that it was an Inonotus rheades. Spore prints show the color of the mushroom's spores. Collecting a spore print is a fairly easy process and I've posted a link to a youtube video explaining this. The biggest problem our group had when identifying mushrooms were their similarities. For example, we picked up a small brown mushroom and could not identify it because it didn't have any distinguishing characteristics. When identifying a mushroom it's important to note the location, the color, size, cap and stem type, and it;s spore color. All of these characteristics play important roles in the identification process. This experience has taught me that when collecting organisms to identify the bigger the better. I found that it is much easier to identify a giant orange mushroom than a tiny brown one. Something I found interesting is that when searching for mushrooms you must venture off of the beaten path. You're much more likely to find an interesting mushroom in the woods than you are on a well worn trail. Spore Print Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fNHTmNy5to