Post on 16-Oct-2021
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Bellevue Park Fungi Walk
October 03, 2020 By James Watterworth & Ev Simon
Evelyn and James led a educational, mushroom
walk, not to be confused with a foray which gives
the guise of a edible walk. This was in no way a
session focused on edible fungi but instead an op-
portunity to look for and attempt to identify all fungi
that we happened upon including ones that are not
palatable and ones that could potentially cause
harm. Remember, every mushroom is edible
….once.
James gave a briefing on the collection and identifi-
cation basics. All senses are used including smell
and touch which are often diagnostic in mushroom
identification. Many mushrooms require a spore
print and potentially some microscope work for a
positive ID.
As Ev always says “There are old mushroom hunt-
ers and there are bold mushroom hunters. But
there are no old, bold mushroom hunters.” Caution
is paramount.
James & Ev make no claim to be expert mycolo-
gists. Instead they consider themselves mushroom
enthusiasts and are happy to share their
knowledge. They encourage participants to put the
effort into learning how to identify edible mushroom
species themselves using some of the excellent
resources available (see p.3).
Bellevue Park was relatively cold hovering between
1 and 100 C that day, however there were lots of
fungi to see. As there were no experts in attend-
ance, many people shared their knowledge. As a
group we got down to a Russula or Lactarius family
with the help of David Arora's book, All That the
Rain Promises and More .
Continued ….
Elfin Saddle—Helvella crispa
James (in yellow) in search mode
Pigskin Poison Puffball—Scleroderma citrinum
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Our group of 18 managed to located an impressive variety of fungal species with the highlights being White saddle or Elfin saddle (Helvella crispa); Ravenel's stinkhorn & egg (Phallus ravenelii) and Dryad’s saddle (Cerioporus squamousus). See species list next page.
Dryad’s Saddle— Cerioporus squamousus
Ravenel’s Stinkhorn egg —Phallus ravenelii
Resinous Polypore— Ischnoderma resinosum
Shaggy Mane— Coprinus comatus Tricholoma sp. Ravenel’s Stinkhorn—Phallus ravenelii
Webcap—Cortinarius sp.
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FUNGAL FORAY - BELLEVUE PARK OCT 03, 2020 Disclaimer: Species listed are identified by mushroom enthusiasts, not experts. There
could be errors. Never eat any fungi from the wild without multiple sources of positive
NAME COMMON NAME
Armillaria mellea Honey mushroom
Cerioporus squamosus Dryad's saddle
Clitocybe sp. possibly Club-foot clitocybe
Coprinopsis atramentaria Common ink cap; inky cap; Tippler's bane
Coprinus comatus Shaggy mane
Cortinarius spp. Webcap; cortinar; 2 species
Ganoderma applanatum Artist's bracket; artist's conk
Helvella crispa White saddle; elfin saddle or common helvel
Hygrocybe sp. Waxycaps
Ischnoderma resinosum? Resinous polypore
Lactarius sp. Milkcaps
Lepiota sp. possibly Stinking dapperling (L. cristata)
Lycoperdon perlatum Common puffball; Gem-studded puffball
Marasmius oreades Fairy ring mushroom
Marasmius rotula Pinwheel mushroom
Mycena spp. Bonnets; 2 species
Phallus ravenelii Ravenel's stinkhorn
Pluteus sp. possibly Deer mushroom (P. cervinus)
Psathyrella sp. Brittlestems
Russula puellaris Yellow brittlegill
Schizophyllum commune Splitgill mushroom
Scleroderma citrinum Common earthball; pigskin poison puffball
Trametes pubescens NA
Trametes versicolor Turkey tail
Tricholoma sp. Trick/Knight/Cavalier
Mushrooms demystified, all that the rain promises and more by David Arora
Mushrooms of the northeastern USA and eastern Canada by Timothy J. Baroni
Mushrooms of the redwood coast by Noah Seigel Christian Schwarz
Mushrooms of Ontario and eastern Canada by George Barron
Mushrooms and other fungi of North America by Roger Phillips
Audubon society field guide to North American mushrooms by Gary Lincoff
Mushrooms of the Midwest by Micheal Kuo and Andrew S. Methven
Mushrooms of northeastern North America by Alan Bessette. Arleen Bessette and David Fischer
Mushroom References: