I found these on my lawn in Surrey. I'm doing spore prints as I write this --- will upload when ready. If anybody can help me ID them I would appreciate it. ;)
Left image --- spore print for the larger, greyish fruit-body (middle two images above). Right image, spore print for the smaller, light brown, conical-capped fruit-body (leftmost and rightmost images above).
1st and last look like types of mycena? 2nd and 3rd not sure. Do u have any images of their stype near the very base? Or any closer images of the gill formation? Great spore prints!
I've never done spore prints before. I just read about the technique recently and decided to give it a try. The fainter prints accumulated over 2 hours, the darker one 12 hours. And the color is very distinctive, isn't it? Unfortunately it didn't occur to me to photograph the gills. For future reference, whats the best way to photograph gill structure? Cut the cap like a pie and photograph a 'slice of the pie' from the side? I'm a plant lover who recently decided to pursue his passion even through the dark months by finding and/or growing fungi of various types during the season when the green plants are out of play, so I'm not very knowledgeable, yet, but learning fast. What was it that tipped you off that it might be a mycena>?
When I do my prints I put my paper up high in a dry non bumpable spot in my house (cat and kid proof!). As soon as I get the mushrooms home I put them on half white/half white paper...the sooner the better. Then impatiently wait till the next day to see the results. Sometimes what SEEMED white will actually then be cream or pinkish...or what seemed black will actually be brown or rust. For the gill photos...I always get close ups of the edge of the cap, a full view of the inside of the gills...(to show how wide spaced) and then a close up of where the gills meet the stype.......THEN i cut the cap in half...and get a full side view. Sometimes doing this will also show u if they're lactating gills also. Another huge help though? Is close ups and full views of the stems, if you have a larger mushroom, even a cross-section of the whole stem is a plus at times as color variations happen with some when cut/bruised/plucked... I'm just taking a guess at the Mycena? LBM's (little brown mushrooms) to me often look alike but the M. family have a distintive cap/gill structure to me...as well as the stem. However most have a white spore rather then brown. There are over 500 world-wide identified in this species soooo..... Most are, though, very small like this one...have the delicate stem, conical cap and are just beautiful! Please don't accept that this is for sure a mycena? Especially with the brown spore. It just highly resembles many that I find here in KS.
Ok, thats good info. I'll use that technique to photograph gill and stem structures on my next specemins. Unfortunately I threw out my samples and so I can't provide pictures of these ones. We had our first frost last night. I'm guessing this should trigger fruiting of many wild fungi? That's what I've heard. I know when I'm cultivating mushrooms I need to reduce the temperature to cause the mycelium to start making fruit bodies. All we need is a big rain now and it'll be mushrooms galore ... ;)
We got our first frost last night also, and although it didnt' do much good to my garden, the mushrooms in my area LOVE it! The rest of our week here will be warming up so there will be a ton of chances to see/witness new fellows out there. I personally carry paper sandwich baggies with me when hiking...they fold easily into a pocket or just dumped into a basket I carry. They're cheap and light, and will help keep each specimin seperated...especially the toxic from the edibles. I've a couple from yesterday I've no clue on yet....deep dark caps with white stems...yellow gills. None of the 3 'mature' ones I collected left any visible spore print. ugh Happy hunting!
When exactly is the best time for finding the most fresh mushrooms anyway? Is it right after a rain? A few days after a rain? When it rains and then warms up? Yeah, I'm going to go hiking perhaps near Chilliwack lake as soon as we get a decent rain and hope to collect some then. I found another couple small ones on the lawn this morning --- making prints now.
Every area is different I'm sure? But for me it's about a day after a rain...and preferably when it warms just a bit. I've found tons here in the spring and fall even durring rain showers...but for better specimin collecting/photographing I'd reccomend when it's NOT dripping water on you're camera. You're neck of the woods I'd think would be amazingly rich in fungi...u've such old growth forests up there. My area is all just in the last 100 or so years. Nothing over 200 here and yet? I still find such abundant beauty. Keep an eye especially around conifers and Oaks....I capitalize Oak? Because for me...those are the Kings of a forest. I find the majority of my fungi life around them.
I read somewhere that some mushrooms actually live where people are in greater abundance than in the wild because people use bark mulch a lot. Where is Atchison, just roughly? The states?
Greetings Thomas, Your spore prints look too dark to be Mycena species: Mycena's have white or pale spores. Are you aware of the Fraser Valley Mushroom Club? http://www.fvmushroomclub.ca/ A great way to learn mushrooms is to foray with experienced mushroomers: I don't know if they have any forays coming up soon, but their next meeting is next week. cheers, frog
Thanks for that link, Frog. I might very well go check them out. I'd feel a lot more confident of eating my finds if I had somebody who knew what they were doing. I'm new to mycology, but eager to learn.
Atchison is in NE Kansas...not many people here..thank goodness! However...where I go not many people would dare to be caught dead in...more or less caught hiking. :o) I've dragged people from all over the state as well as others from Missouri and a couple other locations just to see how abundant my area is. Everyone has been amazed. We've not much forest...but light woods. Our Oaks are young but yet? We have lots of fungi here....lots of edibles and non. I've been finding...that? Even when I hike with knowledgeble people? I still don't learn a lot as most will still talk in 'Scientifics' rather then Human...lol In other words? They're getting the proper names and I'm still digesting commons. Agreed with Frog...definately not thinking it's Mycena.......however? There are still new members added to that family every year. Group hiking can bring more finds...but I like to hike alone...as I tend to be chatty and then get distracted. But the group hiking can also bring more knowledgable people which I need more of around me.
