Need help from all of you with Mycology expertise! With the steady stream of precipitation this year we’ve had green everything all summer long; the first time since 1998. We went out into the back yard forest last night and discovered that mushrooms are popping up EVERYWHERE! I will capture more in the upcoming days but these were some of the different mushrooms we have thus far. We typically only get the large puffballs, which we have a couple in the front yard right now.
There are a bunch more varieties, but they are all pretty much brown and mostly smaller; pictures didn’t come out too well. These are the most interesting ones…
The next two I believe are the same, they are in close proximity to each other. One is by itself while the other is in a pair. The cap is about an inch-inch and a half in size.
There are a couple of these in the taller grass. Where the gills intersect with the top of the cap they are at the highest point. The top of the cap is light brown.
There are about 7 of these growing over a 20 foot semi circle area. Each cap is between 5 and 8 inches in diameter.
This one was cool, really pretty yellow/orange with white spots on the cap. I’ll check this one again in case the cap opens up in a few days. The cap is about 2-3″.
UPDATE. Several days later I made a trip completely around the yard. There are a ton of mushrooms, they are everywhere! My neighbor came out and asked me what I was doing; then he pointed me to a few in his yard too!
Puffball Action!!!
Dave,
It appears from all your sites and videos that we are kindred spirits who have yet to meet! I myself am a musician and writer, mycologist, and (relatively new) mineralogist. I would love an opportunity to meet, hike and/or camp, and hit up mother nature together for some mushroom hunting as well as mineral digging. We could probably teach each other a great deal.
Concerning your mushroom photos, first let me say great photos and they made me miss having a decent camera with which I might geek out.
The drippy one is edible when young (well before THAT happens) as long as you’ve not consumed and have no intention of consuming alcohol within about 72 hours time before or after consuming the mushroom. Ink Caps are deliquescent, which happens to be one of my favorite words!
Any and all of those mushrooms with patches are Amanitas– the red as well as the yellow-orange ones both being different subspecies of Fly Agaric.
The “sponge-capped” (rather than having gills) mushrooms are Boletes. Some of them look to be edible varieties while a couple look like the worst ones you could find to eat, and the whitish covering on some of them is a parasitic mold that is pretty common.
The rest are Russula and perhaps one or two are Pluteus varieties which, if edible ones are great pan-fillers for some foraged meals.
Anyhow, I’m enjoying browsing your material. We will likely pass each other at some point on the roads through Rampart Range and the Tarryalls, but I would much rather us hang out and get some business/fun done together! Let me know if you need a digging partner ANY TIME as I have none. I’m 30, quite fit and able to hike up anywhere and bust some rocks. Have a good one and keep those outdoor videos and photos coming…
-John, (815) 535-7387
Just took another quick glance at those mushrooms photos and you have Chanterelles in one of those groupings– the creamy yellow ones with the relatively tough gills that descend a bit down the stalk. One of the most sought out wild edibles. I need to finds me some o them!
Thanks John! You definitely have much more experience than I with the mushrooms; it has been a great, wet summer and we’re getting mushrooms all over! I’ll try to update the pictures based on your analysis. Again, thanks! I go rockhounding mostly unplanned hence why I don’t usually have others in the pictures. If you let me know when you are heading up sometime perhaps we can meet up. Point me to your music site…please, would love to listen!
I’d have to e-mail you the music. I’ve been trenched and failing in the artist marketing himself battle for years now.
I about blew off the ridge line at Rampart last weekend and my pocket closed out on me anyhow so I’m done up there for the year, but I’m still diggin’ digging so this weekend I am hitting North Table Mountain for zeolites if you want to come. Other plans before snow hits front range are barite out east of Ft. Collins. The zeolites are calling though!
John. I was up on Rampart recently as well; found a nice seam of crystals that I am organizing and starting to clean up now…probably blog about it later this month. If the weather stays nice I will hopefully able to go up again before they close the gate; we’ll see as coaching season starts soon. Not much interest in NTM, but Stoneham does sound intriguing!
I hear you on the music marketing front; there is only so much time in a day and so much effort I want to spend; rock-stardom does not interest me anyway! 🙂 Actually working on mastering an old record for CD now which will likely come out this spring…and starting work on another full length project now (mostly recorded, but edits, mix and mastering to go). Have a label expressing interest; so minimal marketing required :).
How’d you do with crystals this summer? Any amazing or fun finds?