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A few days ago on our walk we spotted a very unusual looking growth on the side of the road.



I've never seen an orange mushroom with a grey stalk.  

Although most fungi are not deadly, there are some species that contain dangerous neurotoxins. Generally, poisonous mushrooms are characterized by the presence of white spores, a cuplike volva at the base of the stalk, a ring or annulus on the stalk, and remnants of the universal veil on the umbrellalike cap. Because some of these traits are evanescent (quickly fading from sight), they are not always reliable depending on the age and condition of the fungus. Placing a silver coin in a pan of cooking mushrooms to see if it turns black is not a reliable method of testing poisonous mushrooms. Unless you understand fungal terminology and know how to use a good taxonomic key (such as Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora, 1986), I usually do not encourage self indulgence on wild mushrooms.

The beautiful, red, fly agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria) is unmistakable with its bright red cap covered with white scales. It contains the toxic alkaloid, muscimole, which is derived from ibotenic acid--an amino acid. In Europe these mushrooms were reportedly left in open dishes to kill flies; however, according to some authorities, flies are merely stunned or stupefied by the toxin, and may even regain control and fly away.



Then today while Dudley was washing the motorhome he dicovered another strange fungus growing on a dead tree stump by where we park the motorhome. Never in our lives have we seen a bright red/orange fungus like this one.  Here is the picture of it. 
I supposed all this is occurring due to all the rain we have had here in the last few days.



Lichens: Nature's Perfect Marriage

But of all the marvelous species of fungi on earth, the lichens are perhaps the most fascinating of all. Several hundred million years ago, a most remarkable marriage took place between the vast kingdoms of algae and fungi. Although these diverse kingdoms have survived more than a billion years of evolution, their union into a symbiotic life form called "lichen" enabled them to colonize practically every conceivable habitat on earth. Throughout rain-soaked forests of the world lichens hang in festoons from the tall branches, clothe the trunks and limbs in shrouds of green and gray, and carpet the ground in colorful shades of yellow, orange and red. Lichens flourish under the most extreme conditions, from windswept alpine peaks and frozen Arctic tundra, to sunbaked desert boulders and wave-battered rocky seashores. Lichens have also made themselves at home throughout our urbanized environment, including fence posts and roofing shingles, metal and painted surfaces, concrete and masonry, tombstones and statues, stained glass windows, and on the President's faces at Mount Rushmore National Memorial. But in spite of their amazing tenacity, many lichens are extremely sensitive to atmospheric pollution--a serious human blight that may lead to their extinction in the wild.

 

 

 

 

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