Stinkhorn

By celie | Published June 27, 2012September 18, 2014

A stinkhorn smells like a rotting carcass, and brown goo seeps from its pores and attract flies to the inside of its cage-like structure to spread its spores. A marvel of nature, the stinkhorn is disturbing to many park users because its smell penetrates a large area. Rebecca found one of these while walking Shadow in Hampton Park early in the spring and brought it back to the house where it stunk up the yard for a few hours, but quickly shriveled up. Another one popped up later in the park that she was able to photograph in its location. She remembers finding these in her hometown of Florence.

Yellow Slime Mold

By celie | Published June 27, 2012September 18, 2014

Not a true fungus, yellow slime mold is a colony of protists often found in piles of wood chips. It dried up quickly in the heat of the sun. When its time has come to fruit, the cells move into pools and form single-stalked fruiting bodies. Some are sacrificed as the base of the stalk and others will escape into the Hampton Park air. This is what looks to be the “dog vomit” variety.

Boletes and kombucha at the u-district farmer’s market, Seattle

By celie | Published June 25, 2012September 18, 2014

Chanterelles and saffron milkcaps on the Long Beach peninsula

By celie | Published June 25, 2012September 18, 2014

Riding a bike along the road, looking into the ditch is how we found these chanterelles. We found several patches and carefully cut the fruiting fungus parts off. Normally it is not advisable to pick mushrooms so close to the road, but on windy Long Beach, after the town of Nahcotta and Ocean Park, there is little traffic the farther up the 28-mile long peninsula you go. Eventually it dead-ends at a state park where there is a no-pick rule to protect the variety of indigenous species.