Story and Photographs By Joan Herrmann
Whereiwander… this day, it is into the woods in search of treasures. The treasures that I am seeking may be found throughout the woods or in numerous habitats. The rain these past few days has helped to bring forth those treasures. These, which I seek, also thrive in gardens, meadows, and fields. Even though many of the people who are out searching are hoping to find edible mushrooms, I prefer the colorful and mostly inedible types of fungus. In the past, I spent many years teaching Art Appreciation to elementary students, beginning with the Elements of Art, which are Line, Shape, Color, and Texture. Those elements are the features that I hope to photograph within the many different types of mushrooms that I will be hoping to find. The names of many of these mushrooms I seek don’t even have names that sound appetizing. For example, I am hoping to find Skirted or Netted Stinkhorn (Dictyophora duplicata). Because of its foul-smelling stench, this mushroom attracts numerous flies, and that is the sole purpose of its nasty smell. It is a large mushroom that is more than seven inches tall and has a pitted head that is covered with an olive green sticky, slimy and smelly “spore-mass”. Its rotten smell attracts flies, which will eat the spore mass and carry away the spores, which will begin a new reproductive progression for the mushroom. Below the “head” of the mushroom is the “skirt,” which has the appearance of being crocheted, and it provides a waiting site for more flies.
Numerous mushrooms may be found this time of the year. Some mushrooms resemble sea coral, while others look like tiny umbrellas, and some resemble jelly or gummy bear candies. For identification purposes, mushrooms have been divided into groups according to the appearance of the fruiting bodies and reproductive structure. The groups that are most prominent at this time of the year include jelly fungi, puffballs, polypores, coral fungi, tooth fungi, boletes, stinkhorns, and chanterelles.
One of the prettiest mushrooms is a brilliant yellow color, and it looks like it has sugar crystals adorning its cap. It is actually a very poisonous and totally non-edible species, but it is very photogenic. Its common name is Yellow Patches (Amanita flavoconia) and it may be found near Oak, Birch, and Conifer Trees. On a hike with some friends recently, we discovered a group of Alcohol Inky (Coprinus altramentarius) that prefer to grow in tall grass, wood debris, or near buried wood. They have a curious name which I learned is derived from the fact that even though they are edible, they can cause a strange reaction if you should drink any kind of alcohol within one to two days. If you do drink alcohol within thirty minutes, you may experience flushing of your face and neck, tingling of your fingers and toes, headache, and nausea. This is because the mushroom activates an enzyme that detoxifies alcohol in the body. Recovery is usually spontaneous within a few hours.
Polypores are generally found growing on both living and dead trees. Artist fungus (Ganoderma applantatum) is easily recognized and fairly easy to find. It is the one that many artists have used as a canvas for their artwork. A friend of mine used to like to create mini landscapes on artist fungus. She shared a story with me about her grandfather, who was a doctor in the Adirondacks in the late 1880, and his drawings on Artist Fungus are still a family treasure. Quite often while attending a woman about to give birth, he would fill the waiting time, by creating tiny landscapes on an artist fungus and sign and date them.
While hiking in the woods, there are several other polypores that you may also discover. Tinder polypore (Fomes formentarius), which resembles a horse’s hoof, may be helpful when starting a campfire. Hemlock Varnish Shelf (Ganoderma tsugae) is a unique polypore that looks like it has been shellacked. Another interesting one is Resinous Polypore (Ischnoderma resinosum), which appears to have raindrops or dew upon it, but don’t touch it because the resin is sticky and very difficult to remove from your fingers.
Mushrooms are considered members of the plant family, differing from most plants because they do not produce chlorophyll but, instead, rely on organic material for nutrition. Their nutrition is accomplished in three different ways, which include saprophytes, parasites, and mycorrhizae. Saprophytes live on dead organic matter of leaf litter, dung, and dead wood or the dead tissue of trees. Parasites assail living animals or plants. Mycorrhizal have a symbiotic (mutually benefitting both) relationship with plants. The part of the mushroom which is seen above the ground contains its reproductive parts and spores. The shape of a mushroom may appear as a cap, a ball, a fan, or a club, which is seen above the ground; however, the rest of the fungus is underground and is the vegetative body, which is made up of multiple fine filaments known as hyphae.
Dead Man’s Fingers (Xylaria polymorha) may be found pushing up from the ground or on decayed wood. The club-shaped “finger” or a group of two or three black to grayish colored digits may be found growing together during late summer through November. Fuzzy Foot (Xeromphalina campanella) is found growing in numerous dense clusters on tree stumps, especially after a few days of rainy weather, from July through October. Fuzzy Foot is extremely tiny and has brownish orange colored caps and hairy tufts at the stem base which give them their common name. Coral fungi are very noticeable throughout the woods this time of year. Look for Spindled-shape Yellow Coral (Clavulinopsis fusiformis) and also Yellow-tan Coral (Ramaria aboetoma). You may also find coral fungi that are purple, pink or white. Each of these fungi looks like an underwater sea treasure.
Fungi are essential and exceedingly important in our lives, particularly when we become aware of the role that they play in our ecosystem. The decaying of wood, in which fungi break down the lignin and cellulose, returning astonishing levels of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, is truly amazing. Fungus plays a large part in getting us and keeping us healthy. Certain medicines like antibiotics that are used in healing and anti-rejection drugs that are used in organ transplants also rely on a type of fungi.
Joan Herrmann has taught and done programs for Schools, Garden Clubs, Libraries, and Nature Centers for about 38 years as a Professional Nature Photographer, Naturalist, and Outdoor Educator. After moving from the Rochester area in 1995, she began her Photography business, Essence of Nature, and became a co-owner of The Artworks in Old Forge, New York. As a docent at Munson, Williams, Proctor Arts Institute in Utica, New York, she has been educating children and adults for nineteen years.
In 2007, she began working with the Black River Outdoor Educational Program (BROEP). In 2013 and 2014, she did a week-long summer program at BROEP with Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC).
Using her love of nature and photography, she created a Flora/Fauna outdoor educational program teaching students (ages 6 to 14) the joys of nature and creative photography skills.
Joan’s love of nature has been a lifelong study of Birds, Wildflowers, Mosses, Ferns, Trees, Amphibians, Reptiles, Grasses, Insects, Spiders, Tracks, Scat, and Galls. She has assisted in cataloging all trails used by the hiking Coaches and photographed and identified seasonal Flora.
Since October 2016, she has written a bi-monthly nature column with Adirondack Express Newspaper. In October 2019, she began a bi-monthly column with the My Little Falls newspaper. You may reach her at jmhphoto8442@gmail.com.