Black Knot of Cherry Black Knot of Cherry Beetle Larva in Black Knot of Cherry Black knot, Apiosporina morbosa of cherry and related trees (in this case on choke cherry).- is a fungal infection that causes lesions that look as if tar has been splashed on the branches.  These black knots- hence the name, are produced as the...

Schizyphyllum commune Schizyphyllum commune Schizyphyllum commune Lacey Shelf Fungus Well I don’t know fungi well, but was still astonished and very pleased to learn about this miraculous fungus.  Bill Yule, my go-to expert from CT on all things fungal, enlightened me.  This mushroom, a mini-shelf type, is Schizophyllum...

Lichen View Lichen Meeting Fall has done its thing, and the trees are bare, minus the pin oaks, red oaks and beech where the leaves hang in there.  I’ve  often wondered why, as if there might be an advantage to this for the trees.  Probably not.  In a field of browns, its now a great time to find some very attractive...

Jelly Fungus Jelly Fungus I’m going out on a limb here, along with this fungus, to preliminarily ID this as the Orange Jelly Fungus, Dacrymyces palmatus.  Found this on my hike today.  This fungi is in the family, Dacrymyceteae, reaching a few centimeters high, and up to about 6 centimeters across.  It grows in a “brain-like”...

Ganoderma applanatum Underneath of the Conk, the Pore Surface An Etched Conk, Upper Right Before Thinking back to college, Bio 101, and someone was talking about an “Artisit’s Conk.”  I made beileve I knew what it was rather then be embarsssed at the time, we’ve all done that before.  I think.  I was...

Birch Polypore Fungus Birch Polypore Fungus Birch Polypore Fungus Birch Polypore Fungus Breaking Out of Bark I knew these shelf fungi as a child, the Birch Polypore Mushroom, Piptoporus betulinus.  They always reminded me of the hoofs of horses.  Instead of rather flat perpendicular bracket mushrooms that grows out of the sides...

Russula Sp. The first mushroom that many learn to identify- a common and cosmopolitan Genus is the Russulas (name= red).  Although a few can cause gastrointestinal symptoms or worse at least a couple of species are edible.  One should always be definitive in their I.D. if mushroom hunting is your passion, and I’m one...

Maybe 3 Lichens Battle for Space on an Apple Tree Limb Circular Symmetry is Common in Some Types A Micro-Community of Cooperation on an Apple Limb Reproductive Bodies Make A Lunar Landscape I’d be doing a big disservice to try and rashly dump all the amazing things about lichen in one short post, so we’ll probably...

Golden Shroom Cluster The serendipity of stopping to walk the dog on the way to a butterfly conservatory  helped me find this beauty cluster.  Bright yellow/ocher against an afternoon sky over a farm field, massive tree.  What was this?  Not sure.  It was gilled, so I knew the mushroom’s.] main group, a Basidiomycetes...

Ashley Annicelli and the Ink-Staining Fungus A good friend, Chuck Annicelli from Connecticut, who is in the woods very often as a Herpetological Consultant, was lucky enough to stumble (I would have stumbled too!) over this great fungus find! Here, his future naturalist daughter, Ashley proudly displays the miraculous Meripilus!...