September 14th. (Continued
from…). 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 This is a rewarding
walk for viewing wildflowers and I’ve been walking it every week
The early spring wildflowers have finished blooming; it’s time to
watch the developing fruit. Summer wildflowers were still blooming but it was
time to turn attention to the fungi in the woods. There were quite a number on
this walk including more tooth fungi.
The Resurrection Fern (Pleopeltis
polypodioides) fronds near the beginning of the ‘Rock Garden’ trail were
showing the tell-tale ‘bumps’ indicating that the fern had produced sori
(clusters of sporangia). Inspection of their undersides showed that they had
already released their spores.
The seed capsules on the Wild Yam (Dioscorea villosa) vine just below the Resurrection Fern had opened
during the previous week. They open at the top of the capsule and the seeds
remained nestled deep within them.
Near
the end of the Rock Garden trail, I found a most unusual mushroom. I posted
pictures to the Facebook
Mushroom Identification Forum and was provided with an identification.
This was a Drab Tooth (Bankera fuligineoalba) mushroom
It had thick, ‘corky’ flesh and…
teeth instead of gills.
Below the Old Fort, the Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis terniflora) vines were
developing seeds.
A Yellow Bear (Spilosoma virginica) caterpillar, the larva of the Virginia Tiger
Moth, was making its way over the vines.
Another surprise. Nestled among the
other plants in this location was a small Spotted Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) plant in bloom. I
knew that a few Spotted Jewelweed plants grew under the road bridge, but these
were inaccessible except by boat. I was delighted to find this plant in an
accessible location, even if it had only a few flowers.
I turned back along the trail. At
one place, on my way north along the trail, I saw some odd growths on the slope
just above the trail. I wasn’t sure if they were plants or fungi. I took the
time on my way back to take a few photos. These I also submitted to the Facebook Mushroom
Identification Forum for an identification. It turned out that these were…
the False Coral Fungua (Sebacina schweinitzii). This fungus is
also known by the scientific names Tremellodendron
schweinitzii and Sebacina pallida.
References:
Mushroom
Observer (Judi T): Sebacina
schweinitzii
Related posts:
- Summer
At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, August 18th, 2015 (Part 2)-
Summer
At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, August 18th, 2015 (Part 1)
