National Mushroom Month - Fungi and More

National (USA) Mushroom Month was created to highlight the health benefits and "versatility" of mushroom with the goal of more mushroom appreciation through education.

Okay.  Let's hear it for mushrooms. 
"Two, Four, Six, Eight... who do we appreciate?  Mushroooms!  Mushrooms!  Rah!"

I despise mushrooms as food.

I do appreciate finding them in the garden though.

So, I will be sharing photos of the mushrooms, and other fungi, found in my garden over the years. Most of them are unknown kinds.  Some of the photos have been seen on this blog before.

Do NOT eat any mushrooms you find growing in the wild unless you have experience!  I will not be mentioning if mine are edible or not.

Pleated Inkcap (Parasola plicatilis) 

Also called Japanese Umbrellas

These little mushrooms appear overnight, often in untreated lawns, and within 24 hours their stems collapse, and no trace of their existence remains.  They are most common in summer and fall, summer in my yard.

 Unknown in the grass

 Unknown in the grass

Gills of the above mushroom

Unknown in the grass 

This one looks just like a pancake overcooked on one side then flipped!

Unknown in rotting mulch, decaying asparagus stalks, and untreated wood.

Now, stretching the "mushroom" bit into other fungi...

Bird's Nest Fungi

My favorite fungus!

They are just SO cute!  

Rain falls in the "nest" cups (sporocarp) and scatters the "eggs," or fruiting bodies (periodoles).
Bird's Nest fungi helps break down decomposing woody tissue into fertile soil.

Shelf or Bracket Fungus

This is decaying my lilac from the inside.  Nothing to be done, I just enjoy each spring bloom as if it were the last, because it will soon be.  It won't spread to healthy plants.
It's really beautiful, like slices of agate.

Unrelated to fungi, but sort of the same thing from a gardener's viewpoint are the slime molds.  

These are actually shape-shifting organisms!  

Dog Vomit Slime Mold

 I'll tell you, it was a shock the morning I came out to my new green beans surrounded by what looked like barfed up scrambled eggs!  I'd never even heard of Dog Vomit Slime Mold, let along seen it.  We'd grown slime mold in home school (it does indeed shape-shift and move, it oozed right out of the Petri dish!!), but in the garden, seemingly out of nowhere?  It spreads via airborne spores, and thrive in moist, rich soils, like my new raised bed soil, and decaying plant matter, which it feeds on. They like compost piles as well.  It doesn't harm the plants, but I scooped it out just due to its unsightly looks!

That's my contribution to National Mushroom Month.  You'll have to wait until October 15th for National Mushroom Day.
It's also National Honey Month, and there is actually a connection between mushrooms and bees!

https://fungi.com/blogs/articles/september-is-national-mushroom-month-national-honey-month

Go find your own recipes, I find mushrooms taste like dirt. Fortunately, I had a mother who understood not everyone likes the same tastes, and would leave mushrooms out of my share of dinner.  After all, if YOU don't like a certain food, why force your children to eat what THEY dislike?

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