arms, as though in a bowl (without a pedestal); a hole in the spore case that is not prominently lined; a circular ridge or depression around the hole; buttons that are only attached to the ground in one place (and therefore do not accumulate much soil and debris). geastrum fimbriatum is a similar mushroom...
is currently considered a variety of the eastern north american species lactarius argillaceifolius , but its differences are substantial and it would not surprise me if dna analysis were to reveal separate phylogenetic species--in which case the rules of taxonomy would dictate that the west-coast mushroom...
, while the north american mushroom appears to love western conifers--though mcneil ( ) uses the european name for a species meeting the morphological requirements in quebec, and his photo features conifer debris around the mushrooms. gillman & miller ( ) describe the mushroom featured here as "melanoleuca...
in question. some day, a taxonomist somewhere will give this little guy an official latin name, and hopefully it won't be "amanita ambystomoides." for now, though, you're stuck with my salamander comparison. although i've only collected it once, this beautiful little mushroom is easily recognized and...
like a bulging black eye, complete with eyelids, stuck to the side of a dead log. the eyelid is a veil that protects the young mushroom but soon ruptures to expose the spore-producing surface. the range of camarops petersii in north america extends from eastern north america to at least kansas and cuba...
distributed, and is frequently found in late summer and fall. like its close cousins, collybia cookei and collybia cirrhata , collybia tuberosa grows from the decaying remains of other mushrooms--often, species of lactarius or russula . sometimes, however, the host mushroom is so far decayed that it...