St. Petersburg is having a problem with people getting lost while mushrooming. No, you counter-culture freaks, they just get lost in the woods. Though the BBC link is a little more fantastic sounding - "Dozens disappear in St Petersburg mushroom mania."
I'll gesture to bianca and point out a True Smut Fungi.
I went looking for the identity of the fungus growing on the tree that went down and found all sorts of delightful sites. I'm thinking that the tree fungus might be Laetiporus cincinnatus, or "The Chicken of the Woods" (a name which, for some reason, horrifies me).
Do you want to learn the deadly mushrooms? How about how to have fun with puffball mushrooms? No site was more *cough* exuberant than this pet fungus page.
While you're at it, and check out the ever-fascinating work of taxonomy and Linean naming schemes in all its exciting splendor. I love the idea that names have to be "conserved" and there might be battles over which way to keep or remove extraneous names from the Latin naming pool. Taxonomy is such a human (and Sisyphusian) pursuit.
Speaking of tree rootage, the stinking sumac is my least favorite. It is easy to hate, particularly for its smell. Also hated: Smilax rotundifolia, a Liliaceae family plant, and worst of all, something whose name I haven't found - small oval green leaves spaced along branches similarly to sumac, with spines at junctures and a henious root system. John took about four hours to dig up a small 4' plant. I guess web taxonomy isn't perfect yet (the Virginia Tech site is nice), or I'd be able to instantly figure the name out.
Posted by argus at September 19, 2003 07:19 PM