Comox Valley Nature

From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on November 22.

Alison M. has put together an informative overview of some of the toothed fungi: hydnums and hydnellums.

[Click a photo to enlarge it.]

Alison’s notes

Well into November there are still gilled mushrooms popping up in the valley – species of the Inocybe genus and Stropharia tend to be among the later fungi in the sequence. I still have chanterelles appearing. This however is the time when some of the toothed fungi come into their own, fungi that have little spines (rather than gills) as the spore-bearing part of the mushroom.

So first the Hydnum genus – commonly known as the hedgehog. Hydnum is the Latinized from of Greek hudnon,   a word Theophrastus appears to use for “truffle”, so I am not entirely sure why it was chosen for the genus name. In the valley the smaller Hydnum umbilicatum  is common (photo #1 from Tsolum River Road) and also in the lower elevation areas over at Buttle Lake. Its name comes from  its depressed cap like a belly-button. Hydnum repandum (#s  2,3) has a paler, less regular cap, and is larger, growing up to 25 cm in diameter ( 3 times the size of  H. umbilicatum). It tends to grow at higher elevations. Photo #3 illustrates the spines. The dense flesh will tolerate several degrees of frost, and it is an  excellent edible (the little spines tend to come off in the cooking, and can be rubbed off in advance if you are concerned about aesthetics).

Next the Hydnellum genus – the formation of the name suggests a diminutive form of Hydnum (but as with the name hydnum itself the formation doesn’t entirely make sense to me). Jocie has already illustrated the best known Hydnellum peckii in its attractive early stage (#4), which  is often called strawberries and cream, cranberry scone or …, but although it looks inviting, it is extremely acrid. As it grows the coloured droplets disappear, the cap becoming wrinkled and folded, sometimes covered in a whitish hypomyces, sometimes with darker droplets merging to give the impression of a jam tart, and the spines on the underside develop (#s 5- 7). Eventually the cap becomes a dark brown, and it becomes like other members of the genus as they age. Other species include Hydnellum aurantiacum (orange- #s 8-9) , which also shows droplets, this time golden orange in its early stages, and H. careruleum (blue- #10), though in the latter case the blue/grey cap does not have obvious droplets. There are three further members of the genus noted in the SVIMS list which I have not yet found.

Finally, Pseudohydnum gelatinosum  = “jelly-like false hydnum”,  better known as cat’s tongue, or spirit gummy bear (#11). In the jelly fungi category, its teeth or spines make the naming obvious. You will find it commonly on dead logs or branches on the ground from late fall into winter in most of our forested areas in the valley.

From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on November 21.

Photo 1 shows a harvest of winter chanterelles or yellow foot (Craterellus tubaeformis) from Kate. This is a smaller, more delicate species of chanterelle that often has a dimple in the middle of the cap. It is a good edible, if you can find it!

Photo 2 is a coral fungus (possibly one of the crested corals in the genus Clavulina) taken by Kyle from the Beaver Lodge lands. Note the strange blue-grey colour taking over the base. In one of my books (Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast) it says that Clavulina can be parasitized by a fungus called Helminthosphaeria clavariarum (isn’t that a mouthful?) which “distorts the fruiting body to a bluish gray to dark gray color.” That is my guess on what might be going on there, but if any of you have thoughts/suggestions on this let us know!

From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on November 18.

Here’s a note from Sharon that will be of interest, along with a lovely photo of gumweed, a “late bloomer” [click the photo to enlarge it]:

The Kamloops Wildflower Project and especially Clapperton Ranch have some interesting winter/fall photographs on their Facebook page.  I shared one of their posts on the Comox Valley Nature Facebook page also.

I walked through Kin Beach Park a few days ago and was struck by the winter colours and how striking the silvers and rusts were against the green of the mosses. 

From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on November 14.

Cortinarius is the biggest genus of gilled mushrooms in the world, with thousands of species. The Pacific coast is a hotspot for “corts,” with a rich abundance and diversity. A few distinct features of this genus:

• Many have a “cortina” (from the Latin word for curtain) that forms a cobweb-like veil over the developing gills. Traces of the veil often appear as a ring-like band of fibrils on the stipe (stem).
• Spore prints are typically rusty-brown.
• All grow in soil or humus (never on wood) and are ectomycorrhizal.

Species in this genus come in a variety of sizes and colours. Some have brightly coloured gills (yellow, orange, red), and others have shades of green, lilac or purple. In a shaft of sunlight the gills can be spectacularly bright and satiny. Many more species are brown & dull, and these have a more subtle beauty.

Here are some examples of Cortinarius that I have seen this fall. These are all from four locations: Buttle Lake area, lakes north of Campbell River, the Merville Woods, and Miracle Beach Park. Note that #6 & 7 are a review of the lilac and purple corts discussed by Alison earlier in her debrief on green, blue and purple shrooms.

[Click a photo to enlarge it.]

1. This yellow-gilled cort might be Cortinarius croceus.

2. An orangy-gilled cort, possibly Cortinarius cinnamomomeus.

3. A red-gilled cort, likely Cortinarius smithii.

4. Close-up of the red gills of the above.

5. A beautiful “viscid” cort that looks like it is covered in a glaze (which reflects the canopy above!) Possibly Cortinarius vanduzerensis. Note the purple blush at the base of the stipe.

6. A lilac-coloured cort (there are many different lilac-toned species, which all look very similar!). Note the cortina on the stipe, which shows nicely here.

7. Violet cort (Cortinarius violaceus).

8. A brown-gilled cort…of some sort!

From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on November 10.

[Click a photo to enlarge it.]

Here are some fly agarics (Amanita muscaria) growing in an unusual spot! (More down the hole, but I didn’t look too closely.) You never know where this cosmopolitan shroom will pop up!

I have seen a variety of button forms of this iconic species…some studded with warts, some hot-orange without warts, and others the size of an orange. Always interesting! Here are photos of some fly agaric forms:

• Warty button

• Wartless button

• Orange-sized 

• Classic amanitas (from the edge of a Comox parking lot)

There is nothing else that really looks like the fly agaric, though I was almost fooled by a tricholoma (I think this might be Tricholoma zelleri which in some books is the same thing as Tricholoma focale) at Merville Woods the other day. It was large and bright orange, but had a more slimy cap, and scaly stipe.