Anybody Seen My Focus?: Craterellus cornucopioides

Showing posts with label Craterellus cornucopioides. Show all posts

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Black Chanterelle (Craterellus cornucopioides)

June 8^th-15th. I found these mushrooms quite by accident. I had stepped off the trail to take photos of some seedpods and was about to step back onto the trail when I realized I was about to step on some mushrooms.

It’s easy to see why I almost stepped on them. They were the same color as the soil around them. They blended right into their surroundings. I photographed them on the 8^th and, after identifying them, photographed them again on the 15^th of June to get better images of the ‘gills/. It was cloudy on the 8^th and sunny on the 15^th; the light conditions that are reflected in the different colors of the images. Although, from one perspective, it’s disappointing to have these different colors rather than a single set of images, it shows how different they look under different light conditions.

It was just a small patch of mushrooms, about two to three square feet in area. I didn’t know what they were but they looked like…

brown chanterelle-like mushrooms.

The caps were inverted or vase shaped and varied from…

almost smooth to…

relatively scaly in appearance.

The caps of the largest mushrooms were about 2 inches in diameter; the stems tapered down to about 0.5 inches diameter at the base. Some of the smaller mushrooms looked more like cyclinders. The caps were inverted or vase-shaped. They were about 2 to 2.5 inches tall. The gill surface showed almost no features; they had the most shallow of folds – if they could be called folds. They were not fleshy like the yellow Chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius).

The task of identifying them presented a challenge. I had seen the yellow Chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius) in several locations and these mushrooms looked similar in shape with , rather than gills, running down the stem. but didn’t know, at that time, that there were Black Chanterelles. It took a bit of ‘googling’ to finally identify these mushrooms as Craterellus cornucopioides.

Originally, three Craterellus species – C. cornucopioides, C. fallax, and C. konradii – were recognized. C. cornucopioides was considered not to be a North American species, but that the species C. fallax was the ‘equivalent’ species in the eastern U.S. and that a different (unnamed) species in the western states.

Recent DNA studies have shown that the three species - C. cornucopioides, C. fallax, and C. konradii – are the same species C. cornucopioides.

Black Chanterelles are considered to be delicious and hight prized by mushroom hunters. Luckily these mushrooms were in a state park where collection is forbidden and where they may be appreciated by all – if you can find them.

References:

- Mushroom Expert: Craterellus cornucopioides

- FloraFinder: Craterellus cornucopioides/Craterellus fallax/Craterellus konridii – Black Trumpet, Horn of Plenty, Black Chanterelle, Trumpets du Mort.

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, June 15th, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, June 8th, 2015 (Part 1)

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, June 15th, 2015 (Part 1)

June 15th. I started to walk again at Fort Yargo State Park in Winder, Georgia. One of my favorite walks is from the Group Shelter A to the Old Fort and back.This is a rewarding walk for viewing wildflowers and I’ve been trying to walk it weekly and document the wildflowers I see.

The route, which I described here, here, and here.

The early spring wildflowers have finshed blooming; it’s time to watch the developing fruit. A few late spring/summer wildflowers are blooming now.

It’s not often that a walk starts out like this. An early morning disk golfer had started a Raccon (Procyon lotor) that had taken refuge up a tree. Poor little thing. It was way higher than it needed to go to be safe from us – as if we were a threat to it.

It was another sunny morning. Even the mornings are warm now and the sun is hot. The benches placed at strategic spots are welcome, particularly on the return walk.

I was surprised to find a Pigeonwings (Clitoria mariana) bloom in the woods at the beginning of the trail. I’d never seen one here before.

The seed capsules were still developing on this Strawberry Bush (Euonymus americanus). The seed capsules seem to stay at the same size forever.

Several Starry Rosinweed (Silphium astericus) were blooming by the trail near the Strawberry Bush, and the…

Lanceleaf Loosestrife (Lysimachia lanceolata) plants were still blooming. There were about five plants and they’d been blooming for a couple of weeks already; I was surprised that they had bloomed for so long.

The berries on the Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum) plants just before the first bridge were still developing nicely, as were the…

seed capsules on the Pipsissewa (Chimaphila maculata) on the rise just after the bridge, and the…

berries on the Deerbery (Vaccinium staminium) bushes were still developing.

I keep my fingers crossed when I walk up to the…

Eastern Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus) plant, but no need to worry on this day. The fruit was still developing. It hasn’t changed size for a long time. I guess it has reached its maximum size and it will just take time to mature now.

The seed capsules on Wild Yam (Dioscorea villosa) vines were still doing nicely too.

On my previous walk, I’d found the mushroom that I had identified as Black Chantarelles (Craterellus cornucopioides). This was an exciting find. I have seen the yellow Chanterells (Cantharellus cibarius) in several locations but had never seen the Black Chantarelles. In fact, I didn’t know they existed until I found these. I had gotten relatively good photographs of them from above but I wanted to photograph them again from the side. I was delighted that they were…

still in good shape. I actually got the towel that I carry and lay on the ground to photograph them this time.

From the top, and…

from the side. The top image shows the depth of the characteristic inverted, funnel-shaped cap. The lower image shows how shallow or almost non-existent the folds or false gills are.

It wasn’t far to the witchhazel bush (Hamamelis sp.) to find that the seed capsules were still doing well.

There were still a couple of surprises before I left the cliff area for the Fishing Area, the ‘Rock Garden,’ and the Old Fort.

(To be continued…)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, June 8th, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The OldFort, June 8th, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The OldFort, June 3rd, 2015

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The OldFort, May 26th, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The OldFort, May 26th, 2015 (Part 1)

- Redring Milkweed (Asclepias variegata)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 18th, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 18th, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 11th, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 11th, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 6th, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, May 6th, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 30th April, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 30th April, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 22nd April, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 22nd April, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 16th April, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 16th April, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 10th April, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 10th April, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 4th April, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 4th April, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 26th March, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 26th March, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 20th March, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 20th March, 2015 (Part 1)

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, June 8th, 2015 (Part 1)

June 8th. I started to walk again at Fort Yargo State Park in Winder, Georgia. One of my favorite walks is from the Group Shelter A to the Old Fort and back.This is a rewarding walk for viewing wildflowers and I’ve been trying to walk it weekly and document the wildflowers I see.

The route, which I described here, here, and here.

The early spring wildflowers have finshed blooming; it’s time to watch the developing fruit. A few late spring/summer wildflowers are blooming now.

Littleleaf Sensitive Briar (Mimosa microphylla) plants were still blooming in the shade at ground level. It would be easy to miss them. I took a few minutes to stroke the leaves into closing up.

The seed capsules were still developing on this Strawberry Bush (Euonymus americanus). This bush has a lot of fruit.

The Lanceleaf Loosestrife (Lysimachia lanceolata) plants were still blooming.

A lone Carolina Wild Petunia (Ruellia caroliniensis) was blooming in the shade in an open area between the woods. It was one of the most intensely colored petunias I’ve seen.

Virginia Buttonweed (Diodia virginiana) plants were beginning to bloom also.

The berries on the Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum) plants just before the first bridge were still developing nicely, as were the…

seed capsules on the Pipsissewa (Chimaphila maculata) plants on the rise just after the bridge.

The berries on the Deerbery (Vaccinium staminium) bushes were still developing. They hadn’t increased in size.

The Eastern Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus) fruit was still developing and looked healthy.

I had been looking for seed capsules on Wild Yam (Dioscorea villosa) vines. I had wanted to watch them develop from the tiny flowers – only about ¼ inches in diameter - into the seed capsules that are about 1 inch long. I finally found some capsules but they were already large. It was great to find them but I’m going to have to wait until next year to see them develop.

I had stepped off the trail to photograph the Wild Yam seed capsules and as I stepped back onto the trail, I realized that I was about to step on some…

small mushrooms. They had deeply inverted, scaly caps and,…

similar to chantarelles, poorly developed – more like folds - gills running down their stems. It took a bit of sleuthing to discover that they were Black Chanterelles (Craterellus cornucopioides), also known as Black Trumpets or Horn of Plenty. Apparently they are highly prized as delicious edible mushrooms. I’m so glad that I found them and didn’t step on them. I suspect that most people, including me, wouldn’t see them unless they had some reason to look down at exactly the right time.

It was just a short distance to the…