Not An Egg

Day 223: It's the time of the year when birdies are nesting, and predators (squirrels and larger birds) looking for an easy lunch know it. It was not surprising, therefore, when I saw what I thought was an egg on the ground, bits of its broken shell right beside it. I knelt down for a closer look, planning to make note of any distinguishing feature so I could look it up in one of my favourite references, "A Field Guide to Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds," and that was when I noticed that the shell was abnormally thick. It took a second or two for my mind to change gears from birds to mushrooms (kinda like shifting from second to fourth) as I realized I'd been fooled by Mother Nature. The "egg," slightly larger than that of a robin, was leathery and somewhat brittle: a cup fungus, one of the Pezizas. Without a microscope and tissue stains, that's the best I'll manage. Peziza is a large genus, and most members are nondescript, occurring in various shades of translucent brown or tan. Most are considered "inedible," which is to say they're not poisonous, but neither are they particularly desirable.

Myriosclerotinia caricis-ampullaceae

Day 235: Updating this: Originally identified from the photos as Myriosclerotinia dennisii by one mycologist, this specimen was referred out by my botany partner Joe to another mycologist who in turn brought in several other experts to study the images. Based on their replies (and they did not necessarily agree with each other), I am amending the identification to Sclerotinia sulcata.

Newer update: this 'shroom has gone 'round the globe! The consensus among the mycological community is that it is in fact Myriosclerotinia caricis-ampullaceae, a rather rare species globally and only recorded in Mount Rainier National Park in 1948. The 1948 specimen is in the University of Illinois herbarium.

Another score by "Team Biota" (Joe and Crow), several dozen were found growing at the edge of a small seasonal pool in the Hudsonsian zone, some with their feet in the water. The height of the tallest was about 5", a 1" cup wobbling on a narrow stipe surrounded by adjacent grass. The others were in various stages of development, and those with larger cups had a tendency to fall over when the support of the grass was removed. The flesh was very thin and brittle, textured with depressions which brought to mind of the hammered metal cookware of the 1950s. Definitely one of the oddest "Freaky Fungi" in Crow's Catalogue, I'm grateful to Joe for tracking down the identity of this unusual 'shroom.

Cup Fungus, Aleuria Aurantia

Day 37: Aleuria aurantia is fairly common in the Pacific Northwest, and easy to identify. It has no stalk, and is thin and leathery, and brilliant orange as the Latin "aurantia" suggests. Specimens range in size from tiny to several inches across. It often forms colonies on decaying wood, and may also be found sprouting through the compacted soil of road verges. It is not poisonous, but neither is it particularly edible.