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 watching for them daily.  But there they are.  A huge clump of them.  Really a wonderful sight to see!

Wild Color

For several years now, growing at the base of a long dead oak tree, there has been a patch of  mushrooms, a color best described as radioactive orange.  They grow in a cluster, much larger than most mushrooms I’ve seen, and they emerge later in the season than many other mushrooms.

Wild In Other Ways

Not only do they have a wild color, but their gills glow in the dark.  Mighty cool, don’t you think!  A perfect name for them – Jack-O-Lantern – since they are such a Halloweenish color and they glow in the dark.  And those of you who might have thoughts of eating this mushroom — do not!  This mushroom is poisonous!  I’ll enjoy watching them while they are still around this season and I will watch for them again next autumn!