Paired Pelts

Day 25: Lichens can be very selective as to their preferred habitat, but at this particular location, the dominant genus is Peltigera. But which species? That's been puzzling me for some time as I viewed them in a less-than-optimal state of dryness. I had thought the grey, crisp mass might hold both young and old specimens of a single species since there were subtle differences, but I was surprised when, after a good soak in our abundant October rains, two Pelts made themselves apparent. Peltigera britannica (left) is characterized by its bright green colour and dark cephalodia which are easily scraped off the surface of its lobes (a feature which distinguishes it from P. apthosa), and Peltigera membranacea (right) by its thin tissue and rope-like rhizines. These two colonies seem to be campaigning for dominance of the rock face on which they are growing. It's much more to my liking to ponder which will become the next President of Lichenopolis.

Make No Suppositions

Day 24: There are two phrases you'll hear repeated among mushroomers. The first is that "there are old mushroom hunters and bold mushroom hunters, but there are no old, bold mushroom hunters." The second makes the point even more clearly as "all mushrooms are edible, but some are only edible once." I say, "Don't eat anything you can't identify with 105% assurance," and that's why I pass this one by. I know what it is...or at least I know its genus if not the species. At least I think I do. It bleeds a sticky orange sap when broken and otherwise fits the basic profile for Lactarius deliciosus with its carrot-coloured cap marked with green, but I'm just not "105% sure."

I'm reminded of Uncle Eddie, my fishing buddy's brother-in-law with whom we often went 'shrooming. Eddie would collect Rozites, great basketsful of them for canning and drying. I looked them up in half a dozen field guides, but couldn't quite convince myself that Eddie knew what he was talking about. However, if Eddie's eventual demise at a reasonable age was in any part due to liver damage from eating the wrong sorts of mushrooms, it was not apparent to me. Field guides don't always show regional morphological differences, so maybe he was right about Rozites.

My mother used to collect this Lactarius and presumably identified it correctly. Not so with some of the other 'shrooms she gathered! After I discovered that she'd been eating Russulas after having misidentified them as Blewits, I was careful not to eat any mushroom at her house except the Oysters which she dried behind her woodstove. In hindsight, I might have been more cautious. Now I am not "105% sure" she had those right either.

I like mushrooms. I like eating them, but even moreso, I enjoy seeing them in the forests. I do not have the palate to appreciate the distinctions of flavour in different species, so I am more than willing to pass by those which raise even the slightest doubt in my mind as to their identity. I choose to abide by another wise saying, gleaned from the culinary world: "The first bite is with the eye." For me with respect to all but a few species, that first bite is all I need.

Elfin Saddle, Youth And Age

Day 23: Helvella lacunosa is a member of the group of fungi commonly called Elfin Saddles. Sometimes they are lumped into the larger category of "false morels" which also includes the genera Verpa and Gyromitra. While true Morels fruit only in the spring, the false morels occur most frequently in autumn. Although some false morels are considered edible, a larger number are poisonous, and some are deadly. This particular Elfin Saddle is notable for the ridges and holes in the stipe (stalk). The center specimen is beginning to decay, overgrown with a secondary fungus which consumes the host.

During my patrol of Longmire Campground for this species, the various locations in which it was found insinuated themselves into my subconscious mind until they erupted as an observation: behind trees and in close proximity to the base; at the edges of campsites; within the confines of a small two-sided enclosure near a bathroom. While it still bears further study, I am inclined to believe that Helvella lacunosa has a preference for urine-tainted soils. Just sayin'.

Ramaria's Return

Day 22: My first encounter with Ramaria araiospora stopped me in my tracks with an exclamation of "What the *$&# is THAT?" And small wonder...this unusual species was first described scientifically in 1974 from a specimen taken locally. It is endemic to the Pacific Northwest, although similar fungi have been reported elsewhere in North America. Five years have passed since I saw it last in this particular location, and it thrilled me to see it making a return appearance.

Every year, I make patrols of the areas where I've observed it (all in the same creek drainage, although at different altitudes). I might have missed this example, hidden as it was beneath ferns, but for the fact that I was travelling off-trail in pursuit of an entirely different mushroom (chanterelles). I just happened to catch a glimmer of red among the fronds. Rare, beautiful, but regrettably edible, this coral is collected for the table (not by me!) with little regard for its status.

Specimen Press

Day 21: Although I do most of my "collecting" with the camera, there are occasions when I'm called upon to take a specimen for preservation in the Park's herbarium. Up until last spring, I had relied on the Encyclopedia Britannica to do service as a plant press, stacked volumes weighting the subject matter between several sheets of blotting paper. However, much to my delight, our 2015 Centennial Ambassador passed his press along to me with the comment, "I think this will do you more good than it does me." Indeed, it's stood me in good stead so far, and is much easier to accommodate while the specimens are drying. no longer will I have guests ask, "Why are your encyclopedias stacked on the table?"

The Flat Run

Day 20: The creek shall remain nameless in this essay because there's a 14" trout waiting for me behind that big rock, I'm positive. And I know what it will take to get it out.

My fishing buddy and I spent a lot of time on this creek, but even before I met him, I'd discovered the boons the Flat Run had to offer. Oh, it's flowing pretty good now because it's autumn and we've had a lot of rain, but in summer, it's slick and smooth. You can't see fish, but flip a beadhead water-boatman just to the left of that rock and let it drift. That ol' trout will take it in a heartbeat because he thinks he's safe down there. Nobody goes down the steep embankment to the Flat Run. Except me...and Sande, in his day.

When we first met, Sande was spry and sure-footed, but as the years went by, he no longer felt safe wading over the slippery rocks in the creek. I'd station him at the Flat Run and then go half a mile upstream. "I'll scare 'em down to you," I'd tell him...and sure enough, by the time I'd worked my way down to my partner, he'd have his dinner on the stringer. The Flat Run seldom let us down. But age is more than an inconvenience, and eventually, he was forced to find easier places to fish and I...well, I didn't feel right going without him.

Sande is gone now. He passed away this last spring. Looking down at the Flat Run, my thoughts were back with him on those sunny, summery days. There's a lunker down there with his name on it, and by golly, I'm going to catch it for him next year, just for old times' sake.

Slow Road To Riches

Day 19: "For each man who got rich by mining, Hundreds of others grew poor..." Well, I haven't decided to "try farming, the only pursuit that is sure" like the poor sap in the song "Acres of Clams," but I certainly haven't found any colour yet. In all fairness, I haven't really been trying too hard, but I figured gold-panning was a good skill to add to my repertoire. I did find a nice deposit of black sand which kept me amused for a while. It turned out to be magnetite and a small bottle of it went into my mineral collection, so the project wasn't a total bust. That said, a former neighbour turned up a few flakes in a local creek, a fact which keeps me hopeful. If you're wondering how the turkey baster figures into the search, remember that gold is heavy. It tends to settle into cracks and crevices as lighter material continues to be swept downstream. When fitted with a length of plastic tubing, the baster can be used to suck these deposits out after they've been loosened by a tool such as an old screwdriver. The small squeeze bottle is used for extracting bits of "colour" from the pan...if you're lucky enough to find any!