September 10, 2023- Fantastic Fungi Foraging with Photography!
On September 10th, we were joined by naturalist and community scientist David Cowl for our Passport to Nature: Foraging Fungi Photos event. We embarked on a mushroom hunt through Grant’s Woods Nature Reserve to identify a diverse range of fungi on the forest floor, and learn why foraging with a camera is a much more sustainable option than foraging to harvest.
Fungi are extremely important parts of our ecosystems. They are responsible for a large portion of the composting and decomposition work that must go on in order to allow other organisms to grow. You see mushrooms on decaying wood, in the soil, sometimes on plants, or even on the carcasses of dead animals. They are breaking down those substances, or other substances found within them, into nutrients that can be absorbed by other plants and animals. Mushrooms are just a small part of the entire fungus that is needed for reproduction, while much of this work is done behind the scenes (within whatever substance they are eating) by mycelium.
Fall is the perfect time to examine mushrooms in our region. A huge variety of mushrooms ‘bloom’ in our forests due to increased moisture and cooler temperatures.
While foraging mushrooms to eat can be appetizing, this is not allowed on our Nature Reserves. This practice can deplete mushrooms as a resource in natural areas because it removes the fruiting body, the cap of the mushroom which holds spores, from the environment. Those spores are important for spreading new mushrooms, like seeds in plants. Over time, if mushrooms continue to be removed from an area, the mycelium, the body of the mushroom lies in the soil or in the substrate that a mushroom grows on, can start to die back resulting in fewer mushrooms.
It is also dangerous to forage mushrooms for eating unless you have extensive knowledge in identifying mushrooms. There may be several species that look very similar with only one among tem edible, while the rest are poisonous to consume. Misidentification leads to hospitalizations and deaths every year.
Please enjoy this Fall’s Mushrooms safely through observation and photography!
Thank you staying tuned through Spring and Summer Notes From The Field this Year. Welcome to Fall!