Jelly Fungus

This little clump of jelly fungus was on the side of a tree at the John A. Phillips Open Space Preserve on Saturday. Jelly fungi (order Tremellales) are so-called because of the gelatinous consistency of their fruiting bodies. This may be the species known as brown witch's butter (Tremella foliacea), also known as jelly leaf. That species occurs late in the season and grows on both hardwoods and conifers. The species parasitizes other fungi that grow on the same trees.

Bracket Fungi

These white bracket fungi covered the side of a tree at the Great Swamp on Saturday. Since I am a novice at identifying fungi, I am not going to venture a guess as to what they are.

An Abundance of Mushrooms

Over the past month, New Jersey has received an extraordinary amount of rain. Most of it came in the course of two storms: a drenching rainstorm on August 14 and Hurricane Irene on August 27-28. Since then, the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee and other have kept the ground moist. The results of this month-long saturation were evident during my walk in Cheesequake State Park on Saturday. While the birding was slow, mushrooms were varied and plentiful. I do not know mushrooms very well, so these will go unidentified for now. If you recognize one, please leave a comment.

The star of the show was this red mushroom.

This was a close second because of its rich orange color.

Some mushrooms were tiny.

Others were large and cup-shaped.

At first I thought this black cup-shaped fungus was just a version of the one above that was past its prime, but then I realized there were a lot more like it.

This fungus resembled a flattened white blob, like someone spilled dough or batter on the ground.

This orange fungus grew from the end of a fallen branch.

This white fungus looked dainty compared to some of the others.

An Eye-catching Mushroom

Unlike a lot of other wildlife preserves that maintain native wildflower meadows, the fields at Cold Brook Reserve are sowed with corn. The corn is planted and harvested by a local farmer, who works under contract with the county. While corn monoculture is not ideal for producing a diverse array of insects and breeding birds, it presumably leaves behind ample food for migrating and wintering birds.

On Saturday, there were a lot of these eye-catching mushrooms nestled in among the rows of corn. There are a few species with a similar shape and color, but I think these are Phallus rubicundus, also known as devil's stinkhorn. These are distinguishable from the similarly-colored Mutinus elegans by having a separate spore-bearing head (more evident in the photo below). These mushrooms have a red shaft and a pointed head that is covered with a greenish brown slime that contains the spores. The slime's odor attracts many insects, such as the picture-winged fly in the image below.

Phallus rubicundus is native to warmer regions and is widespread outside of North America. It is suspected that the mushroom spread north to the Midwest and Northeast via commercial mulch suppliers. It is associated with parks and gardens, as well as other sites where mulching is common. It is especially conspicuous in New York's Central Park.

September Showers Bring... Mushrooms

The heavy rains that fell across New Jersey today brought a fresh crop of mushrooms. The photo above is the stump of a dogwood tree. It bears two different fungi.

The first, above, is Trametes versicolor, or Turkey Tail. That fungus has been growing on the stump for some time now, without much indication of disintegration. It seems remarkably durable.

I do not remember the second of the two being on the stump yesterday, so it probably sprouted today. I believe it is Hypholoma sublateritium, known as Brickcap. To me it resembles another species, H. capnoides, more than H. sublateritium, but H. capnoides grows on conifer rather than hardwood stumps.

There was also a stinkhorn elsewhere in the yard. This one looks a bit like a lobster claw. It may be the rudely-named Phallus rubicundus, or perhaps one of the Mutinus species. This is another new arrival; one of the sources I checked mentioned that stinkhorns are known for appearing very rapidly in the wake of rain.

No doubt more mushrooms will appear in the next few days. Feel free to argue with my identifications.

A Fungus Among Us

This evening I found s few of these fungi growing in a compost pile:

Here is a view of the bottom of one of the smaller ones:

I looked around for an identification in mushroom guides and on the internet. The best match I could find is Calvatia rubroflava, also known as Orange-staining Puffball. (If anyone has a better identification, please leave a comment.) The linked site notes that although the mushroom is edible, "it is distinctly unpalatable and the odor of the mature mushroom is very disagreeable." The smell of this one certainly matches the description. I could smell it from several feet away!