Mushroom Report (7/29/08)

I led my first walk of the summer last night. Low 80's... not many skeeters, and bright enough to see most of our specimens until darkness crept in around 8:00pm or so.

A few of the highlights: the usual array of Amanitas and Russulas, Exidia recisa, Lactarius hygrophoroides, Strobilomyces strobilaceus (Old Man of the Woods), Gyrodon merulioides (Ash Bolete), Cyathus striatus (Striate Bird's Nest), and a decomposing Phaeolus schweinitzii (Dyer's Polypore) which I've pictured here.

One thing I've noticed is that many of the mushrooms that normally fruit in mid-July did so in early July. I don't know for sure but all the rain we've had this year could have spurred things on more quickly. One Dryad's Saddle I find at the 4th of July every year had come and gone by the beginning of July.