Mushrooms Galore!

July 21^st, 2012. We set out to look for more routes with gravel roads - preferably not mowed - that would be good places to look for wildflowers. We found ourselves in Greene County, Georgia – not far east of the Scull Shoals Experimental Forest. In fact, if we continued on the forest road we use to get to the Scull Shoals EF, we would reach this area. We just don’t go this way often – that may have to change.

It’s probably also important to note that, after months without any rain and temperatures in the 90s F, we’d had about five very welcome inches of rain. I hadn’t thought much about it, but these are ideal conditions for mushrooms to appear.

After leaving the Amanita jacksonii, we continued on gravel roads and turned on a road that traveled through a heavily shaded area beside a small creek that was flowing fast after the recent rains. We found quite a variety of mushrooms – seven in all - more than we’re used to seeing in a short section of road. They were growing on an embankment separated from the road by a slippery ditch so I couldn’t get close to them to determine if they had gills or were polypores.

Possibly a polypore.

 Another polypore

Cantharellus cinnabarinus The caps were about 1 inch in diameter I did straddle the ditch briefly to get closer to these.

This mushroom looks very like one that grows at Fort Yargo State Park. They frequently hang just below the lip of the bank above the lake with only the cap showing.

 Another Boletus sp., Boletus campestris?

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 An Amanita sp. It’s interesting how the partial veil was disintegrating

Yet another mushroom that only showed its cap

The road emerged from this shaded area into planted pine forests where we found…

A young bolete.

The remainder need some perspective…

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The cap on this mushroom was 6-7 inches in diameter

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Another Boletus sp.? The perspective shot for this mushroom seemed somewhat humorous. There are two more mushrooms above and to the right behind some pine needles. It’s as if they’ve sent this mushroom out and are waiting to see what happens before they come out.

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This was a captivating sight. This mushroom looked a little alonely among the young pine tress. It was 6-7 inches tall and looks like an Amanita sp.

I wish I knew more about American mushrooms. It’d be fun to be able to identify them all.

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Related post: 

- American Caesar’s Mushroom (Amanita jacksonii) Revsited