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Witches butter |
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I am not an expert on fungi. This page is added only to illustrate some of the more common fungi that grow in the Sudbury area. Click here to go to an excellent web site describing Fungi (George Barron's Website on Fungi: http://www.uoguelph.ca/~gbarron/). Dr. Barron is a Professor Emeritus at University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Another excellent site is entitled "The Fungus Among Us". What is a fungus?A fungus is an organism that grows mostly below the ground. Only a small part of the fungus grows above the ground. A mushroom represents a small part of the fungus organism. Perhaps as much as 90% of the fungus grows below the ground. The underground part of the fungus consists of a network of very thin "threads". Individual "threads" are called hypha. A network of hypha are called mycelium. The fungus, with its mycelium, spread throughout the soil. The mycelium remain in the ground year round, where it feeds on soil nutrients and expands continuously. Under certain conditions, usually annually, the mycelium produce mushrooms, which we see above the surface. The role of the mushroom is to produce and disperse spores. New fungi develop from these spores. The mycelium feed by producing enzymes that break down organic in the soil, or dead log. That broken down organic material is the source of food for the fungus. So, when we speak of fungus, we are really describing both that part of the organism that grows underground - as much as 90% of the organism - and that part we see above ground - the mushroom. These two components comprise the fungus. Fungi grow in a range of organic material - soil, live trees, dead trees, and scat. The fungi that grow in coniferous trees differ from those growing in deciduous trees. Saprotrophic fungi feed on dead organic matter. Parasitic fungi feed on living organisms. Mycorrhizal AssociationSome fungi live in a special, co-dependent relationship with other plants. This relationship is called symbiotic and these fungi are called mycorrhizal fungi. The mycorrhizal fungi obtain some of their nutrients from the plants that photosynthesize their "foods". The plants provide carbohydrates formed by photosynthesis in its leaves. In return, the root fungi provides nutrients derived from the soil to the photosynthetic plants. The root fungi do not harm the plants. There are several plants that grow in bogs that live in a mycorrhiza association. Heaths, Labrador tea, Leatherleaf, laurels (plants in the order Ericales) are examples. Similarly, many orchids depend on Mycorrhiza fungi to germinate seeds and to grow after germination. There are some common mycorrhizal mushrooms. The edible Golden Chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius) is one example that is commonly picked for culinary purposes. The Black Truffle (Tuber Melanosporium) is another example that is harvested in Europe. Click here for expert information on fungus. Habitat:Mushrooms grow in various habitat, including:
Warning:Some fungi are deadly poisonous. Please follow these rules if you seek out fungi:
Disclaimer:Fungi can be difficult to identify with certainty. I cannot guarantee that I have correctly identified the fungi illustrated on this page. Please do not use these images as a guide to identify edible fungi. Fungi List:
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Bracket Fungi |
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Birch polypore or razor-strop fungus Found: on living or dead birch trees. Identification: Smooth, rounded caps. Cap: 5-20 cm diameter, round, hoof-shaped with narrow attachment to tree; surface is white. Season: all season.
Location: Burwash |
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Jelly crepidotus or Soft slipper toadstool Found: on dead or rotting branches. Identification: Elastic layer observed when cap is pulled apart. Cap: 2-7 cm in diameter, kidney-shaped to shell-shaped with narrow lateral attachment; pale yellowish brown, drying to paler colour. Gills: Radiating from lateral point. Stem: None. Season: Summer and fall. |
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Fruitbody: Like shelving, overlapping, thin, tough, 3-8 cm long and up to 5 cm wide, 1-3 cm thick; variable colour from light brown to brown. Stem: None; bracket fungi Other: Common on hardwood logs and stumps.
Location: Burwash |
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Turkey Tail on rotting log.
Location: Paddy Creek |
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Found: Living trees or on recently cut hardwood stumps or logs. Identification: Bracket-form, up to 50 cm long by 30 cm wide, woody. Fruit body: smooth, and concentrically grooved; grey-brown to dark brown zones; underside is white to cream coloured; underside becomes brown when bruised; narrow 4-6 mm layers on upper side. Stem: None, broadly attached to the tree. Other: A favourite for children to draw on the cream coloured underside. The stumps are about 40 cm or 15 inches in diameter. |
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Light-spored Mushrooms |
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Rufous milk cap or Red hot milk cap Found: On soil under coniferous trees or in sphagnum moss. Identification: Reddish brown cap. Cap: 4-10 cm diameter; convex to flat or depressed core with raised centre; dull red colour. Stem: 5-8 cm tall x 0.5-1 cm diameter; purplish-brown with white base. Interest: This is a Mycorrhizal mushroom. |
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Found: Forms groups on decayed conifer wood. Identification: Whitish toadstool. Cap: 3-15 cm diameter; firm, convex to depressed core; white to pale yellow; dry, smooth or breaking into fibrous scales; margin in-rolled initially. Stem: 2-11 cm tall x 1-2 cm diameter; cylindrical, solid, white coloured. |
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Fruitbodies: Brown to red-orange; flat, scattered, 1-2 mm thick, 2-4 mm wide; raised edge and wrinkled surface. Gills: None. Stalk: Not obvious. Other: A common bracket fungus that occurs on dead branches of poplar and willow.
Location: Burwash |
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Sac Fungi |
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Sac fungi - variety Ascotremella faginea Fruit body: Swollen, gelatinous, purplish to brown, violet tints, tightly clustered. Form: Complex, lobed mass up to 5 cm across and several cm tall. Stem: None Other: Not common. This specimen occurs in an area that was logged and contained mixed hardwood and conifers. The soil was clay-rich and moist.
Location: Burwash |
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Sac fungi - variety Devil's Urn Fruit body: Black coloured, up to 12 cm tall and 3-8 cm across; circular mouth and goblet-shaped; toothed margin; supported by a slender stalk that is seldom seen because the stalk is often deep in moss. Form: Goblet-shaped and circular. Stem: Stalk is not often observed because the stalk is buried in moss. Other: Develops on buried wood and fruits in spring.
Location:
Killarney Highway |
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Fruitbody: up to 15 cm tall; head is brown to dark brown; up to 5 cm tall, bell-shaped; margin of cap is free from stalk. Stalk: Yellowish; up to 10 cm tall. Other: Widespread and common in deciduous forest. Note the small spring beauty wildflower at the bottom left for scale.
Location: Burwash |
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Fruitbody: Up to 25 cm tall; heads are dark brown, folded and wrinkled like a brain and red-brown to brown. Stalk: Paler brown compared to cap and up to 15 cm tall. Other: Widespread in spring in deciduous and coniferous forest. Poisonous. See following photograph.
Location: Burwash |
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Several individual false morel growing in a area that was recently logged. The size of the cluster is about 20 cm wide.
Location: Burwash |
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Fruitbodies: Bright yellow; 3 mm across; saucer-shaped; smooth. Gills: None. Stalk: Short and not obvious. Other: A common woodland cup fungi; the fruits may occur in large numbers.
Location: Trout
Lake Road area |
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Fruitbodies: Bright orange; up to 8 cm across; cup-shaped; wavy margin as they age. Gills: None. Stalk: None. Other: A common cup fungi; occurs on disturbed soil at the edges of roads in summer and fall.
Location: Paddy
Creek Road |
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Gill Fungi |
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Caps: 5-20 cm across; convex to flat; shell-shaped to semi-circular, smooth; whitish to brown. Gills: White, close, well-spaced. Stalk: Lateral, short, white, often missing. Other: Grows on dead logs or stumps.
Location: Burwash |
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Caps: 7-20 cm across; looks warty; hemispherical to convex initially and becomes flat; covered with white to buff patches; cap is pale yellow to orange-red in the boreal forest, but is reported to be bright red in colour on the west coast. Gills: Free, close, white to cream coloured. Stalk: Up to 15 cm tall and 2-3 cm wide, white or yellowish, scaly near base. Habitat: Common in coniferous and deciduous open woods. Other: Poisonous.
Location: Elbow
Lake area. |
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Fly agaric profile.
Location: Elbow
Lake area.
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Fly agaric new growth
Location: Elbow
Lake area. |
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Jelly Fungi |
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Witches butter or Yellow brain fungus Found: Dead branches of deciduous trees Identification: Orange-yellow colour, gelatinous flesh, and irregular brain-like shape. Fruit body: 1-8 cm across, folded and lobed; drys to dark orange colour and horny shape. Stem: None Season: Fall and winter.
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Found: Found on twigs and branches of hardwoods. Identification: Olive-brown to black in colour; forms a series of cone-shaped, gelatinous masses that coalesce; masses may extend up to 25 cm. Stem: None This example was growing on Speckled Alder.
Location: Burwash
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Coral Fungi |
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Coral fungi, possible Grey Coral Found: Found on the ground in conifer and mixed forests. Identification: Fruitbodies are branched, up to 5 cm tall, pale grey; masses may extend up to 10 m. Stem: None
Location: Highway
69, south of Sudbury, but north of Estaire.
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Coral fungi, possibly Variety Clavaria fumosa Found: Found on the ground in hardwood forests. Identification: Fruitbodies are unbranched, up to 12 cm tall and up to 6 mm wide; occurs in dense clusters; pale flesh-coloured to pale grey. Stem: None
Location: Burwash.
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For more
information email: ajfyon@vianet.on.ca
http://www.ontariowildflower.com/fungi.htm
© 1999-2008
Andy Fyon
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Page Created By: |
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Date last modified: |
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Andy Fyon |
January 12, 2008 |
