Pholiota Mushroom

This cluster of golden mushrooms vibrantly glowed in the afternoon sun this fall. They were popping out of the side of a willow tree growing in the wetlands. Its sunny, yellow-orange cap was adorned with orange scales and was moist and sticky. This gelatinous quality of the cap was referred to as viscid in the mushroom guides I have. Underneath, it had wonderful gills radiating out from a scaly stalk.

This mushroom is classified as a saprobe—a group of fungi that act as decomposers. They get their nutrients from feeding on dead and decaying wood, leaves, litter, and other organic matter. It was interesting to see them growing from the sturdy trunk of a live tree. I wondered if a mischievous forest gnome had glued the stalks to the side of the tree. Later, I read that some of the species of Pholiota grow on live trees. That said, farther up the tree on the end, it was damaged and decaying which maybe has worked its way down into the center of the tree where these mushrooms were emanating.

Identifying mushrooms is tricky business. Every time I read about them, the guide books refer to look-alikes and needing to look at spores along with other factors such as habitat, time of year, etc. So I only feel comfortable identifying this one down to the genus Pholiota.

I have been struck by the abundance and variety of mushrooms this year. I wondered if the weather conditions this year had brought forth more mushrooms. This seemingly would make it easier to notice ones that are usually there this time of year because they are in greater numbers. Either way, I am especially enjoying encountering them throughout the landscape this fall.

Fungus Gnats

A little flurry of insects whirled upwards when I approached this mushroom to have a closer look. I sat down for a few moments and they settled back down. I had heard about fungus gnats before and I wondered if these tiny insects on this mushroom could be them. As I attempted to take a few photos, I realized that they weren’t all the same. Maybe I found a tiny mixed flock of gnats just like small songbirds form in the winter. As I sit here at my desk trying to discover what these tiny creatures are, I realized that identifying small insects is challenging. So for now, I have decided to let them flit around in my curiosity and let them settle in the not sure category.

That said, I will give you a little information on what I learned about fungus gnats. They are decomposers and help to recycle nutrients back into the ecosystem. In their larval stage, they consume things such as fungi, algae, root hairs, and decaying plant matter in the soil. The adult fungus gnats eat very little, only consuming water or plant nectar. The adults are drawn to mushrooms because of the ideal, damp habitat for reproduction. It provides for a suitable place to lay their eggs and have the larvae hatch in a moist environment rich in organic material in the soil to feed upon. Fungus gnats also provide a food source for animals such as birds like all of the kinglets here at the arboretum for the winter.

Interestingly, when investing many insects, much of the information out there on the internet begins with defining them based on if they are “harmful” or “beneficial.” In other words, do they “damage” plants that people are trying to grow for food, clothes, housing, such as, apples, cotton, or trees, or are they “helpful” in eating these “harmful” insects. I read that fungus gnats can infest greenhouses or mushroom operations but I didn’t see it mentioned happening out in nature.

We need to start shifting back to the paradigm of living in harmony with the earth where all life is respected. Where we are filled with thanksgiving, wonder, curiosity, and awe at all of the beauty and diversity of life. Where we see ourselves as a part of nature and its caretakers for future generations. Thank you to all the people out with there trying to make it happen. Thank you for reading my blog.

Nature is an inexhaustible source of wonder. I hope to see you out there!

Hare's Foot Inkcap

There have been heaps of these mushrooms growing out of a blanket of wood chips that was scattered on the ground behind the White Oak Pavilion during the cleanup process after the ice storm a couple of years ago. I am really new at trying to identify mushrooms and many can only be reliably separated with microscopic examination. I think these are hare’s foot inky caps, Coprinopsis lagopus, because they are a common mushroom known for appearing in urban settings on wood chips and they fit the description and match the photos in the field guide. As it first emerges, it looks like a hare’s foot, but it quickly loses that fuzzy resemblance. I generally saw them last only for about a day or less as they quickly mature and turn into a black, ink-like mass.

In Mushrooms Demystified David Arora says this about inky cap mushrooms:
”MEMBERS of this genus are called inky caps because the gills and often the cap digest themselves at maturity, turning into an inky black fluid that drips to the ground. The autodigestion or deliquescing of the gills plus the black spore print are the main diagnostic features of Coprinus… The autodigestion process is a unique method of spore dispersal that should not be confused with the normal process of decay that occurs in most mushrooms. Rather than maturing at an even rate, the spores near the margin of the cap ripen first. Enzymes are simultaneously released which dissolve the surrounding tissue, causing the edge of the cap to spread out and curl back. This pulls the gills apart, enabling the spores to be discharged into the air…”

The edition of Mushrooms Demystified that I quoted is from 1986. Due to recent DNA studies, the genus of mushrooms Coprinus has been split into four genera: Coprinus, Parasola, Coprinopsis, and Coprinellus. At the time I guess it made sense to group of all these mushrooms together based on this characteristic process of spore dispersal as the mushrooms matured and turned into an inky substance.

Inky caps are saprotrophs which are organisms that derive nutrients by decomposing dead or decaying organic matter. They are essential for a healthy ecosystem in recycling nutrients back into the soil for other organisms to use.

I loved seeing all of the beautiful forms that this mushroom underwent as it quickly grew and matured. Check out all of the photos I took below over a couple weeks of returning to this spot over and over.

Resources
Arora, David. Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi. Second edition, Ten Speed Press, 1986. K10plus ISBN.

Coprinoid Mushrooms: The Inky Caps (MushroomExpert.Com). https://www.mushroomexpert.com/coprinoid.html. Accessed 19 Nov. 2025.

Trudell, Steve, et al. Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press, 2009. Timber Press Field Guide. Open WorldCat.

Fruiting Fertile Earth

The essence of the earth is flowing out of the center of this mushroom cap with its rich, fertile brown. A fruiting body conjured up by the spirit of the rain—a reminder of a wondrous, subterranean world. Small creatures gathered under its umbrella. Had they come to mingle and dine, to give thanks to the mystery of life and to honor Mother Nature’s wellspring of beauty?

California Poppy Fungus

Upon seeing the orange peel fungus, a friend of mine thought that it looked like a California poppy flower blooming out of the ground. I agree. Lots of organisms in nature have multiple common names, and I think California poppy fungus would be an apt name to add to the list. They are both in bloom at the moment at the arboretum and have a beautiful orange glow in the afternoon sun.

Diversity & Beauty of Fungus

The diversity and beauty of fungus is miraculous. While walking on the hillside trail looking for Douglas-fir cone fungus Strobilurus trullisatus (Post: Douglas-fir Cone Fungus, 11/25/24), I came across this sparkling Douglas-fir cone. I knelt down on the ground to take a closer look. I magnified it with my camera and found that it was frosted with small, white cups that appeared to have tiny beads of water clinging to their surfaces. Their translucent, white bodies glowed against the dark brown scales of the cone. A fungus had found a home inside of this Douglas-fir cone and blossomed during the recent rains. It decorated its humble abode with small fairy lights to brighten our paths in the waning light and pale gray skies of fall in the Northwest. Thank you.

Candle-snuff Fungus

The fruiting bodies of fungus have an unbelievable amount of diversity. With its charred, slender body and ashen-white tip, Xylaria hypoxylon is likened to the wick of a snuffed out candle.

In Mushrooms Demystified David Arora describes the fruiting body as “2-8 cm high, very tough, erect, slender, cylindrical or narrowly club-like but usually becoming anterlike (branched sparsely or forked at the tip) in age.” Its body did feel very stiff and tough to the touch which was different than what I expected. I tend to think of mushrooms as being mostly tender, so I was a little surprised by how sturdy and sinewy this one felt. The powdery white branch tips are the asexual spores and contrast beautifully with the black stalk.

David Arora describes its habitat as: “Scattered to densely gregarious or clustered on rotting logs, stumps, buried sticks, etc; widely distributed and common.” In this little patch, I found them on small sticks and on wood chips that were probably spread there during all of the chipping of branches after the ice storm a couple winters ago. This is a small mushroom and they blend in well. It took my eyes a little time to adjust to seeing them in all of the litter of fir needles, twigs, leaves, grass, and other vegetation on the ground.

Good luck on your quest to find them. I hope you are enjoying the fall.

Resources
Arora, David. Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi. Second edition, Ten Speed Press, 1986.

Trudell, Steve, et al. Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest. Timber Press, 2009. Timber Press Field Guide.

Oak Mazegill

There is an oak snag on the hillside that has these interesting mushrooms cascading down the side that appear to have been crafted by forest gnomes—they resemble the pointy hats that they wear. Underneath each one is a maze that is the entrance into their mysterious world if you know how to solve it.

In Mushrooms Demystified, David Arora calls it Thick-Walled Maze Polypore, Daedalea quercia. According to iNaturalist, this species was transferred to the genus Fomitopsis in 2024. It also has the common name Oak Mazegill.

Under habitat in Mushrooms Demystified, David writes, “Solitary or sometimes in shelving groups on dead or living hardwoods, especially oak, chestnut, and chinquapin; widely distributed, but especially common in Eastern North America. I have seen it in Northern California and Oregon, but have yet to find it in our area. It causes a brown heart rot, and the tough fruiting bodies occur year-round.”

Mushrooms can be tricky to identify, for me. I haven’t really spent that much time identifying them and getting to know them. I do find them beautiful and fascinating and they always attract my attention this time of year. After all, the mushroom festival at the arboretum is this month. In Mushrooms Demystified, David writes, “Pores usually greatly elongated and pocket- or mazelike, sometimes even forming gills; whitish to buff, tan, or dull ochre; tube walls (or “gills”) thick (1 mm or more), the spaces between them at least 1 mm broad; tubes 0.5-3 cm long, the layers not distintly stratified.” What I find curious is that they are “pocket- or mazelike, sometimes even forming gills.” I found other mushrooms growing out of the end of a fallen oak tree that had been cut to clear the path. They were similar to the ones on the snag but the pores looked more like gills. iNaturalist also suggested they were the Oak Mazegill which would align with David’s description of sometimes forming gills. I am surprised that they can form so differently, as long as they are the same species. I included an example in the last photo below. Maybe I can catch up with a mycologist at the mushroom festival and ask about it.

Resource
Arora, David. Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi. Second edition, Ten Speed Press, 1986.

Pisolithus

I saw one of these and thought it was a decaying piece of wood. Then I walked past another one that was similar but was crumbling and deteriorating into a fine, powdery dust. As I was investigating these interesting forms, my friends Patrick and Nellie walked up. I showed them these intriguing objects and Patrick said they were mushrooms!

The genus Pisolithus comes from the Greek words piso, meaning pea and lith, meaning stone. These small, pea-shaped “stones” known as peridioles can be seen in younger specimens and contain the spores. As the fruiting body ages, the peridioles break down and release a dusty mass of brown spores.

As I read about this fungus, I found it confusing enough to want to not list a species. For example, in David Arora’s book Mushrooms Demystified, he has an entry for Pisolithus tinctorius in which he states at the end: “Its wide distribution and variable features have resulted in a plethora of aliases including P. arenarius, P. arrhizus, and Polysaccum picocarpium.”

The young mushrooms were unexpectedly fascinating on the inside. I cut one open and it revealed the beautiful peridioles forming rich, earthy golds, blacks, and browns. I am continually amazed at the abundance and diversity of life forms that can be found in my own “backyard” at Mt. Pisgah.

Nature is an inexhaustible source of wonder. I look forward to seeing you out there!

Resource
Arora, David. Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi. Second edition, Ten Speed Press, 1986.

Turkey Tail Fungus

When this organism first caught my eye, I thought it was a moth. Realizing it wasn’t a moth, I went in for a closer look. I was so struck by the beautiful bands of brown and the velvety texture. Elegantly nestled in the moss, it was attached directly, without a stem, to a decaying log. I lightly touched it, still imagining it would fly away. I looked it up when I got home and found that it was possibly a turkey tail fungus. I went back today to look underneath to see if it had pores, which it does. I found one on the ground, that had probably been broken off, and I was able to bend it. Flexibility is one of the traits of turkey tail fungus. Turkey tails also have a velvety texture on top, which I reaffirmed today. I’m so glad that these magnificent, little creatures are apart of my awareness now.

Bird's Nest Fungus

The fruiting body of the bird’s nest fungus forms a small cup that reminds me of the remains of an old barnacle shell. I see them perched on small twigs on the forest floor along the Incense-cedar trail. When these cups form, they contain spore sacks, known as peridioles, which resemble tiny eggs. Raindrops fall into the cups and splash the small sacks out into the surrounding area spreading the fungus. I’m uncertain as to when these formed, and I wonder if the small, light brown formations around the cups are associated with the fungus. Maybe these fruits popped out with the first rains at the end of summer. I’ll try to check in on them throughout the fall to see what happens.

This creature is pretty small. It’s about the size of the cap that goes on a bicycle tire,. They are not too tricky to spot if I take a minute to carefully scan beside the trail.