Aleuria Aurantia

Day 361: It's only natural that we associate autumn with the colour orange. Farmers' fields are filled with ripe pumpkins, the leaves are turning, those delicious Chanterelles are springing up alongside other orange mushrooms and fungi, including the thin-fleshed, delicate Aleuria aurantia, commonly called Orange Peel. And that's what it looks like: little bits of orange peel discarded by some thoughtless hiker. Unlike citrus peels, Aleuria is short-lived in the environment. If not exactly ephemeral, they disappear within a couple of weeks of their appearance, the brittle flesh breaking into bits quite readily. "Aurantia" is Latin for "orange" (as in the colour). The root word "aurum" means "gold," and of course you already knew that the chemical symbol for the metal is Au on the periodic table. Occasionally, the outer surface of young specimens of Aleuria aurantia may be covered with a whitish fuzz. This disappears rapidly as the cups mature. Orange and forest green have always been two of my favourite colours. No wonder autumn is the season I love best.