Gliophorus laetus

https://www.mushroomexpert.com/Gliophorus_laetus.html

Ecology: Precise ecological role uncertain (see Lodge et al. 2013); growing scattered to gregariously in woods (especially in boggy, wet areas) or, in Europe, in grasslands and heaths; summer and fall, or over winter in warmer climates. Originally described from France; common in Europe; widely distributed in North America; also known from Central America. The illustrated and described collections are from Michigan and Ohio.

Cap: 1.5-3.5 cm across; convex at first, expanding to broadly convex or nearly flat, with a shallow central depression; bald; slimy; medium brownish orange over the center, but paler pinkish orange elsewhere; the margin becoming translucently lined with age.

Gills: Running down the stem, or beginning to do so; distant; edges with a thin gelatinous band; creamy; short-gills present.

Stem: 3-4 cm long; 2-3 mm thick; equal; bald; slimy; pale orange; hollow.

Flesh: Insubstantial; whitish.

Odor and Taste: Odd and fishy or soaplike—or not distinctive.

Chemical Reactions: KOH pink on cap surface.

Spore Print: White.

Microscopic Features: Spores 6-9 x 3.5-4.5 m; ellipsoid to sublacrymoid; smooth; hyaline in KOH; inamyloid. Basidia 35-40 x 3-5 m; cylindric to subclavate; 4-sterigmate. Pleurocystidia not found. Ixocheilocystidia forming a sterile band; 30-50 x 1-2 m; filamentous; apices rounded or subacute; smooth; hyaline in KOH; partially gelatinizing. Pileipellis an ixocutis; elements 2.5-5 m wide, smooth, hyaline in KOH.

Fomes fomentarius

https://www.mushroomexpert.com/Fomes_fomentarius.html

Ecology: Parasitic and saprobic on the wood of hardwoods (especially birches and beech); causing a white rot; growing alone or gregariously; perennial; fairly widely distributed in northern and north-temperate North America

Cap: Up to about 20 cm across; shell-shaped to hoof-shaped; with a dull, woody upper surface that is zoned with gray and brownish gray.

Pore Surface: Brownish; 2-5 round pores per mm; tube layers indistinct, brown, becoming stuffed with whitish material.

Stem: Absent.

Flesh: Brownish; thin; hard.

Microscopic Features: Spores 12-20 x 4-7 ; cylindric; inamyloid; smooth. Hyphal system trimitic.

Gyromitra caroliniana

https://www.mushroomexpert.com/Gyromitra_caroliniana.html

Ecology: Officially saprobic, but potentially also mycorrhizal--or, like the true morels, donning both ecological hats in the course of its life cycle; found under hardwoods--usually near rotting stumps and downed trees; spring; widely distributed in eastern North America from Kansas to the East Coast, but especially common in the south and in the Mississippi and Ohio watersheds (the northern edge of its range appears to be the southern Great Lakes).

Cap: 5-11 cm high; 6-12 cm wide; variable in shape but usually more or less round; not lobed; tightly affixed; tightly wrinkled; bald; reddish brown; undersurface not exposed, whitish to grayish, bald or finely dusted, ingrown with stem.

Flesh: Whitish to grayish; brittle; chambered.

Stem: 4-10 cm long; 2-10 cm wide; white; becoming ribbed with vertical ribs up to 1 cm across; bald or very finely dusted; sometimes discoloring grayish on handling.

Microscopic Features: Spores 22-35 x 10-16 ; with 1 large oil droplet and 2-3 smaller ones; ellipsoid; smooth at first, and often remaining so well into maturity--or, in maturity, developing ornamentation as ridges and projections that can extend 1-2 from the surface of the spore, or 2-5 at the ends of the spore, where projections appear as 1-5 apiculi; the ornamentation eventually sheathing the spore completely. Asci 8-spored. Paraphyses clavate to subcapitate; 5-7 wide; septate several times; orangish to reddish.

Clavariadelphus lignicola

https://www.mushroomexpert.com/Clavariadelphus_lignicola.html

Ecology: Probably saprobic; associated with Engelmann Spruce; growing gregariously in large troops, sometimes in clusters--or merely scattered; currently recorded only from spruce-fir elevations in the Four Corners region (however, the range of Engelmann Spruce extends to the Pacific Northwest, and specimens from this area may have been labeled Clavariadelphus ligula); late summer and fall.

Fruiting Body: 1-3 cm high; about .5 cm wide; narrowly club shaped; surface finely dusted or more or less smooth, becoming wrinkled with age; at first pale yellowish or cream colored, darkening somewhat with age; not bruising; the base attached to copious white mycelium that binds needle duff or woody debris and is often aggregated into tiny whitish strands; flesh whitish, soft.

Odor and Taste: Not distinctive.

Chemical Reactions: Surface negative in KOH; greenish with iron salts.

Spore Print: Pale (precise color not recorded--by me or in the literature).

Microscopic Features: Spores 16-21 x 5-7 ; long-elliptical (reminiscent of bolete spores); smooth.

Gymnopus spongiosus

https://www.mushroomexpert.com/Gymnopus_spongiosus.html

Ecology: Saprobic; growing alone, scattered, gregariously, or in clusters on forest litter under hardwoods (especially oaks) or conifers; summer and fall (or over winter on the Gulf Coast); widely distributed east of the Great Plains.

Cap: 1-3.5 cm; convex with a central bump and an incurved margin when young, becoming broadly convex or flat; dry or greasy; bald; sometimes becoming slightly wrinkled with age; reddish brown when young and fresh, quickly fading to pinkish tan or pinkish buff.

Gills: Attached to the stem or nearly free from it; close; creamy.

Stem: 2-6 cm long; up to about 4 mm thick at the apex; more or less equal, with an enlarged, spongy bottom portion; dry; densely hairy with reddish brown hairs from the base nearly to the apex; pale above, reddish brown below.

Flesh: Whitish; thin.

Odor and Taste: Not distinctive.

Chemical Reactions: Ammonia or KOH promptly olive, green, or black on cap and stem surfaces.

Spore Print: White.

Microscopic Features: Spores: 6-8.5 x 3.5-4 ; smooth; lacrymoid to elliptical; inamyloid. Pleurocystidia absent. Cheilocystidia often difficult to differentiate, but when present cylindric, subclavate, irregular, lobed or knobbed; up to about 50 long. Pileipellis a tangled cutis of cylindric elements 3.5-10 wide, not encrusted but with yellowish brown internal pigment in KOH. Hyphae of the stem not encrusted with dark brown material.

Fomitopsis mounceae

https://www.mushroomexpert.com/Fomitopsis_mounceae.html

Ecology: Saprobic on the deadwood of conifers and hardwoods; also sometimes parasitic on living trees; causing a brown cubical rot; growing alone or gregariously; perennial; originally described from Alberta, Canada; widespread in North America from roughly the 40th parallel northward. The illustrated and described collections are from California, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

Cap: 7-24 cm across and 6-17 cm deep; more or less semicircular in outline; convex or, over the years, becoming hoof-shaped; with orange to red, varnished zones of color toward the margin (and overall when young); red to dark brownish red or gray-brown toward the point of attachment when mature; with a fairly thick white to pale yellowish marginal zone; varnished areas bubbling and melting with flame.

Pore Surface: Whitish to slightly yellowish; not bruising significantly—or, when older, bruising slowly yellowish to brownish; appearing "stuffed" when young; with 3-5 round pores per mm; annual tube layers usually fairly distinct, up to 1 cm deep.

Stem: Absent.

Flesh: Creamy; unchanging when sliced; faintly zoned; leathery to woody.

Odor: Strong and fragrant when fresh.

Chemical Reactions: KOH on cap, flesh, and pore surface red to brownish red.

Microscopic Features: Spores 6-7 x 3.5-4.5 m; subellipsoid; smooth; hyaline in KOH; inamyloid. Basidia 4-sterigmate. Cystidia sometimes present; 20-40 x 4-5 m; sublageniform to fusiform; smooth; thin-walled; hyaline in KOH. Hyphal system trimitic, with thin-walled generative hyphae, thick-walled skeletal hyphae, and branching, thick-walled binding hyphae.

Happy 4/20 for does who celebrate!

Today marks the day after Bicycle Day, celebrated on April 19th to honor Albert Hofmann’s first intentional LSD trip and bike ride home in Basel, Switzerland. Now, on April 20th, we celebrate 420, a day dedicated to cannabis culture and community.

Enjoy the spirit of exploration and consciousness expansion that both days represent, whether on two wheels or with green leaves in hand. Stay safe and mindful in your journeys!

- https://social.linux.pizza/@midtsveen/114365023166035885

Sarcoscypha austriaca

https://www.mushroomexpert.com/Sarcoscypha_austriaca.html

Ecology: Saprobic on decaying hardwood sticks and logs (but sometimes the wood is buried and the mushrooms appear terrestrial); spring; widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains.

Fruiting Body: Cup-shaped to disc-shaped or irregular; 2 to 7 cm across; upper surface bright red, fading with age, bald, often becoming wrinkled with maturity (especially near the center); undersurface whitish to pinkish or orangish, downy; stem absent or rudimentary, colored like and continuous with the sterile surface; flesh thin, whitish; odor not distinctive.

Chemical Reactions: KOH and iron salts negative on all surfaces.

Microscopic Features: Spores 25-37 x 9.5-15 ; ellipsoid to nearly football-shaped, with rounded or, not infrequently, flattened ends; typically with many small (< 3 ) oil droplets; when fresh and viewed in a water mount sometimes appearing partially sheathed at the ends (with "polar caps"). Asci 8-spored. Paraphyses filiform; with orangish red contents. Excipular surface with abundant hairs that are elaborately curved, twisted, and intertwined.

Spending the evening dedicating #books to loved ones. Among them the always amazing #Mushrooms at the end of the world from Anne Tsing. Always a good excuse for #drawing #shrooms

 Happy #BicycleDay!

Trip safely, practice harm reduction, and pay attention to your set and setting.

Today marks 82 years since Albert Hofmann, a Swiss chemist, intentionally took LSD and experienced its effects while riding his bike home in Basel, Switzerland.

DoubleBlind has a great video explaining Bicycle Day and why it’s celebrated:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InD5_Ml1OxQ

Boletus pseudosensibilis

https://www.mushroomexpert.com/Boletus_pseudosensibilis.html

Ecology: Mycorrhizal with oaks, and possibly with other hardwoods; growing scattered, or gregariously; summer and fall; widely distributed in eastern North America. The illustrated and described collections are from Illinois.

Cap: 4-16 cm; convex, becoming broadly convex; dry; finely velvety when young but soon bald; red to reddish brown or pinkish brown (most commonly reddish brown), fading to pinkish tan; when young sometimes bruising grayish where rubbed; the margin at first tucked under.

Pore Surface: Bright yellow when young, maturing to dirty orangish olive; when very young not bruising, or bruising only faintly, but soon bruising promptly blue, then slowly brown; with 1-2 circular to angular pores per mm at maturity; tubes shallow, 4-8 mm deep (rarely to 10 mm deep, in very large caps).

Stem: 6-10 cm long; 1-2.5 cm thick; usually tapered at the base; dry; solid; bald; yellow overall, with reddish tinges developing in the bottom half; bruising light blue where handled (then, over time, slowly brownish); not reticulate; basal mycelium pale to dark yellow, or sometimes whitish.

Flesh: Yellow in the cap; deep yellow or sometimes reddish in the stem; staining blue on exposure--sometimes faintly and erratically (staining usually more pronounced on older specimens).

Odor and Taste: Not distinctive.

Chemical Reactions: Ammonia flashing purplish blue to blue-green, then resolving to negative, grayish, or orangish on cap surface; negative on flesh. KOH reddish to dull orange or negative on cap surface; orangish on flesh. Iron salts grayish on cap; grayish or negative on flesh.

Spore Print: Dull olive brown.

Microscopic Features: Spores 9-12.5 x 3.5-4.5 ; subfusoid; smooth; orangish brown to golden in KOH; brownish in Melzer's. Hymenial cystidia fusoid-ventricose; 20-35 x 5-10 ; hyaline or with orangish contents in KOH. Pileipellis a collapsing trichoderm of elements 5-12.5 (-15) wide, smooth, hyaline to ochraceous or golden in KOH; at first with primarily tubular terminal cells, but by maturity developing many subterminal and terminal cells that are septate at short intervals, with terminal cell tubular or obnapiform.

Globifomes graveolens

https://www.mushroomexpert.com/Globifomes_graveolens.html

Ecology: Saprobic and possibly parasitic; appearing on deadwood and from the wounds of living hardwoods (primarily oaks); causing a white rot; annual, or perennial for a few years; summer and fall&mdash;or year-round in warmer climates; originally described from Georgia; widely distributed in North America east of the Rocky Mountains. The illustrated and described collection is from Ohio.

Fruiting Body: 10-23 cm high; 8-16 cm across; 6-10 cm deep; a mass of tightly packed, overlapping individual caps arising from a central core.

Individual caps: 1-5 cm across; semicircular to fan-shaped; planoconvex to flat; often drooping; bald or finely fuzzy; dry; with vague concentric zones of color; reddish brown to brown, becoming dull brownish gray with age.

Pore Surface: Grayish, becoming brownish to brown; not bruising; pores round and small (2-4 per mm), with thick dissepiments; tubes 2-4 mm deep.

Flesh: Granular in the central core; tough and fibrous in the caps; pale to dark brown; unchanging when sliced.

Odor: Not distinctive.

Chemical Reactions: KOH slowly black on flesh of dried specimens.

Microscopic Features: Spores not found; reported (Gilbertson & Ryvarden 1987) as 10-14 x 3-4 m; cylindric; smooth; hyaline in KOH; inamyloid. Basidia 4-sterigmate. Hymenial cystidia not found. Setae not found. Hyphal system trimitic: generative hyphae 3-5 m wide, smooth, thin-walled, hyaline in KOH, with clamp connections; skeletal hyphae 4-6.5 m wide, smooth, thick-walled, brown in KOH; binding hyphae 5-10 wide, very thick-walled, aseptate. Sclerids abundant in granular core context; thick-walled; reddish brown in KOH.

Inonotus arizonicus

https://www.mushroomexpert.com/Inonotus_arizonicus.html

Ecology: Parasitic on standing Arizona and California sycamore trees (Platanus wrightii and Platanus racemosa), as well as on ornamental sycamore species; also saprobic on the deadwood of western sycamores; growing alone or gregariously, often from wound locations; causing a white rot of the heartwood; annual, with long-lasting fruiting bodies that can be found year-round; distributed in the southwestern United States and in California; also reported from Baja California. The illustrated and described collection is from California.

Fruiting Body: Usually featuring a well-defined cap, but sometimes effused-reflexed with only a short edge of "cap"; sometimes with caps piled up on top of each other.

Cap: 7-12 cm across and up to 10 cm deep; hoof-shaped or nearly flat; medium brown; fairly bald; with a thick, rounded, buff-colored edge.

Pore Surface: Brown to orangish brown; with 2-4 angular pores per mm; not bruising; tubes to about 1 cm deep.

Flesh: Reddish brown; tough; with faint concentric zones; not changing when sliced.

Chemical Reactions: KOH instantly black on flesh.

Spore Print: Reported as "bright golden yellow" (Gilberton & Ryvarden 1986).

Microscopic Features: Spores 5-6 x 3-4 m; ellipsoid; smooth; orangish brown in KOH. Setae present in hymenium; 30-45 x 12 -15 m; ventricose, with a "hooked" apice; thick-walled; orange-brown in KOH. Hyphal system monomitic; contextual hyphae 2-5 m thick; thin- to thick-walled; occasionally septate; hyaline to reddish brown in KOH.