During my time at my natural spot
the weather was great and there was absolutely no rain and clear skies. But
with these clear skies, it brought very low temperatures and dry cold air
within the forest. While I walked through the conifer forest in the early
afternoon, birds were singing everywhere and robins could be seen flying from
branch to branch. As I stepped over fallen logs and decomposing plants to reach
my specific observation area, I noticed many new species of small fungi have
emerged from decomposing logs and wood scraps from recent windstorms. There
were still spots that were covered with yellow bigleaf maple leaves but many of
them have started to rip apart and die off for good. As I sat down and looked
at my surroundings, I noticed that many logs have lost there bark and have
exposed rotting wood sections. This might be due to some animal activity or
just weakening in the wood that caused it to fall off as it decomposed. The
moss of the forest floor was still prominent and showed no signs of dying or
weakened growth. The Devil’s club in the area was almost completely gone and
the Skunk cabbage has begun to die off as well. Brown holes have appeared in
the large wide leaves of the skunk cabbage as it droops downwards. It seems
that most of the skunk cabbage that’s dying is in the wettest areas. This could
be due to fungal infections of just temperature changes that are causing the
death of the skunk cabbage. I walked over to the pond in my area after I took
notes and wrote down my observations of my natural area. Once I got there I saw
a male and female Mallard duck. I recognized the distinctive green head of the
male and the brown feathers of the female. It is important to distinguish the
mallard from the merganser because they have similar colored heads in the males
yet the beak of the merganser is curved down towards the tip. The chipmunk
activity wasn’t too high during my time there most like due to the large amount
of people in the reserve.
One of the most prominent mushrooms
in this area would be the Shrimp Mushrooms or Russula xerampelina. This fungus has a reddish pink cap with a darker
disc or center in the middle. The color of the cap becomes lighter as it nears
the margin or edge. The cap is slightly sticky and slick especially after a recent
raining. The gills of this mushroom attach to its creamy white stem and annulus
that usually yellows with age. These mushrooms usually emerge in decomposing
conifer litter in lowland mountain ranges. It tends it enjoy warmer weather but
continues to grow into the cold months of fall.
Another fungus that is emerging in
numerous places within the Redmond Watershed Preserve is Goat’s beard or Hericium
abietis. This fungus is a whitish grey that
has hundreds of filaments clusters of spines that have pointed tips. The spines
begin to turn reddish orange with age. This mushrooms usually grows at the foot
of large conifer trees and thrive in conifer needle litter. Also, this fungus
can coexist with other smaller fungi and is usually surrounded by decomposing wood
and logs as well. This fungus grows in lowland mountain ranges in the fall and
winter months when it’s cold and rainy.
The other fungus that I noticed in
extremely wet areas was the turkey tail or Trametes veriscolor. This mushrooms is very distinctive due its
multicolored bands and white underside. The bands tend to become darker and
darker as it goes up towards the sun. The surface is slick and somewhat shiny
with bumps and rough in some areas. Also, this fungus uses dead and decomposing
nurse logs as support and as a place to grow. The surrounding habitat is
usually very wet and this specific fungus was found on a log in the pond. This
fungus also grows year round and can endure many different temperatures and
weather.
Another interesting fungus that I
noticed emerging in my area was Witch’s butter or Tremella mesentercia. This fungus is very easy to spot in this dark and
brown forest since it has a specific bright orange color and gelatinous
structure. This fungus has numerous lobes and blobs that form and large mass
that attaches to decomposing logs. This mushrooms grows in lowland mountain
ranges in either the fall or spring and it enjoys large amounts of rain yet
somewhat temperature weather. The surrounding habitat of this fungus is usually
conifer liter and dead trees and logs.
One of the largest mushrooms in my
natural area would be the short-stalked white russula or Russula brevipes. Its large gills angled upwards can characterize this
fungus and it’s smooth white top that is curved and warped. The stem is also
very large and has a slight annulus that connects to the stem and then ends at
the volva in the decomposing dirt. This mushroom usually grows in conifer leaf
litter and in wet dirt underneath large conifer trees. Also, the surrounding
area is usually next to trails and disrupted natural areas.
Another fungus that uses nurse logs
as support in my area is Angel wings or Pleurocybella porrigens. This fungus is usually always found on decomposing
logs that have either fallen or rotting inside. It tends to grow along with
mosses and on damp decomposing wood. This mushroom has a smooth white cap that
emerges from the woods bark. There are separated white gills underneath each
cap. This fungus usually grows in lowland mountain ranges and tends to grow in
extremely damp and wet places.
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