FRIENDS OF EDGEWOOD NATURAL PRESERVE
|
FRIENDS OF EDGEWOOD NATURAL PRESERVE
|
|
|
DEATH CAPS SHOW UP IN EDGEWOOD By Bill and Louise Freedman In a December 1999 article, we commented on the unusually small number of Amanita phalloides, the Death Cap, in Edgewood. Now, 2 years later, we have identified many of what is probably the most dangerous fungus in history. On our foray of 12/31/01, we found 36 varieties of fungi, 19 of which we had never found before on the Edgewood Trail and the Sylvan Loop. One gray mushroom with attractive pink gills, Entoloma nitrodosum, is poisonous and smells just like nitric acid. Another charming small fungus with a pleated cap setting off a brown central area is called a Japanese Parasol. Its gills and spores are black. A large, fleshy yellow spore-bearing mushroom which bruises a brilliant blue color is called the Butter Bolete because it melts in your mouth. Volvariella speciosa (no common name) is a tall stately shiny white species with pink gills and a cup at its base. It is edible but can be confused with Death Cap and cause severe illness. A dirty white fungus, Inocybe sororia, with a streaked cap which smells strongly of corn silk (that’s its name) is saturated with poisonous muscarine. A clump of yellow-capped mushrooms growing at the base of a stump signaled the presence of the “Jack-O-Lantern” (Omphalotus olivascens). The gills of these fungi glow pale green in a darkened room. Collectors of wild fungi for the table have occasionally become very ill thinking that these are chanterelles. A diminutive fungus with chocolate-brown spores, Agaricus semotus, turns yellow when handled, smells like anise, and tastes like licorice when it is cooked. We have found about 108 different fungi in the park (vs. 41 reported 2 years ago). Our hearts leap to see members of the Third Kingdom popping up before our eyes. Let us admire and appreciate these “Wildflowers of Winter.” |
|