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Flowerpot Parasol
Flower pot Parasol (Leucocoprinus birnbaumii). I must always find out what it is, whether a plant or animal that I’ve encountered on a trail or, as in this case, something that mysteriously popped up alongside one of my orchids. That’s just how my brain works. I love a mystery and must get an answer. This…
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Indigo Lactarius
Mushrooms intrigue me, particularly the ones that emerge in surprising colors. This one certainly fills that stipulation. Indigo Lactarius (Lactarius indigo). Mycorrhizal, or having a symbiotic relationship, with pines and oaks. Indigo Lactarius will grow in a large group or a small group, or alone in summer and fall. Found in North America from the…
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Jack-O-Lantern Mushroom
Watching For The Jack-O-Lantern I’ve been watching, not for the Great Pumpkin, but for a large cluster of Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkins, Omphalotus illudens. Day before yesterday, they popped up. I think if I had been sitting there watching and waiting for them, I would have seen them spring up from the dark, dry soil, since I have been…
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Turquoise Mushrooms!
The Last Day Of August I was out extra early this morning for my hike. That’s a mighty good idea during the summer, since there are rain showers or thunderstorms so often in the afternoons. This summer that has certainly been the case. It has been much more rainy than a normal summer, and I’ve…
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Blue Mushrooms, Really?
What a beautiful color! Recently some friends and I have been marveling over the beauty of the color periwinkle. Yesterday, as I hiked my mushroom covered mountain, I came upon a mushroom of that very color. What a thrill! Who would have thought there would be a periwinkle mushroom? Okay, okay, this color is perhaps leaning…