Summary of Colgate Lake walk – Sunday, July 1.
From the mushrooms perspective, I can sum this one up in a word, dry. From the human’s perspective, we had nice walk in the woods with quite a few new folks, several children who were remarkably well behaved and genuinely interested and two canine friends, Jojo and Clancy who were also well behaved. The ground was crunchy and most of the mushrooms collected were older specimens, except for two Aminitas that were picked out by some sharp eyes, not sure who’s. Comparing this walk at Colgate Lake to last year’s where we trudged through a continuous deluge and timed our dash through the ¼ mile of open field to avoid getting struck by lightening, I get the feeling that the fungi kingdom is taking a wait and see approach to procreation this year, moisture dependent.
With a group of about 20 to 25, we made our way through the field and just at the edge of the woods someone spotted a group of 3 whitish looking mushrooms just off the trail. This mushroom had an obvious bulbous base that bruised red and with the tan patches on the top, it sure looked to be Amanita rubescens. Most of the walk we found aged bracket fungi including a great Chaga haul by the forward group led by Barb Plume. Also found was a somewhat tattered specimen of what appeared to be a spent Platterful mushroom with attached gills. On the walk out, another pair of sharp eyes picked out a small very fresh orange-tan colored mushroom, again with a bulbous base with a very distinct sac around the base. With the distinctly furrowed margin and lack of a partial veil, this one fit the description of Amanita fulva.
After the walk, a number of people took a swim in beautiful Colgate Lake and some of us sat and shared whatever food we brought and had a good chat. Welcome to the new members who joined after the walk; hope to see you more on future walks.
Species found on July 1, 2012 at Colgate Lake, Greene County
Amanita rubescens – The Blusher
Amanita fulva – Tawney Grisette
Inonotus obliquus – Chaga
Fomes fomentarius – Tinder Polypore
Piptoporus betulinus – Birch Polypore
Tricholomopsis platyphylla – Platterful mushroom
Trichaptum biformus – Violet Toothed Polypore
An unidentified small parchment shelf from last year.
Although I encourage everyone to get out in the woods as often as you can, we like to make the walks as successful as possible. There is an upcoming walk in 2 weeks at Joralamen Park, west of Ravena, which is a long drive for many. If there are no substantial rains before this walk we may reschedule the walk for later in the summer when conditions are hopefully better. We will post updates on the facebook page and send e-mail updates to all current members. And don’t forget to check out facebook and the website for info on next week’s joint walk with COMA in Hyde Park.
Til next time, stay engaged with Mother Earth and be happy.
Gerry