Specimen # 13 Teeth Fungi

Name: Hericium coralloides -Comb Tooth FungiFamily: Hericiaceae  Collection October 4, 2011

Fig. 1 Growing on a decaying log
(Kuo, 2003).

Habitat: Found on fallen decaying log on a hillside.    

Location: West Wood Park
Description: Grows alone or in colonies; fruits from fallen trees, on the stump and branches (rarely found growing on living hardwoods). It is widely ditributed and very common. The fruiting body is 8-35 cm across, consisting of branches that arise from a more or less central core, with spines about 1 cm long hanging in rows along the branches; white, or in age discoloring brownish to yellowish. white spore print (Kuo, 2003).

Collector: Brooke Warren
Keys used: Arora, D. (1986). Mushrooms Demystified. New York: Ten Speed Press.
Keying steps:
Key to the Basidiomycetes1A. Basidia and spores borne externally (on the exposed surfaces of gills, tubes,
spines, branches, lobes, etc.); spores forcibly discharged at
maturity, i.e., a spore print often (but not always) obtainable; fruiting body with a cap and stalk, or clublike,
or branched, or bracketlike, or crustlike (without a stalk or sometimes without a cap) or lobed  or bloblike, etc. ... 2
2B. Not as above... Hymenomycetes, p. 58

Key to the Hymenomycetes
1B. Not as above; pores and tubes absent... 3
3B. Gills absent (but spines, warts, folds, veins, or wrinkles may be present)... 4
4B. Not as above... Aphyllophorales, p. 548

Key to the Aphyllophorales, p. 548
1A. Fruiting body with a layer of downward-pointing spines or "teeth" on underside of cap or with icicle-like spines
hanging from branches or a cushion of tissues... Hydnaceae, p. 611

Key to the Hydnaceae
1B. Not as above; not growing on cones; stalk if present usually thicker...2
2B. Not as above... 3
3A. Growing on wood... 4
4A. Fruiting body a branched framework or unbranched cushion of tissue from which spines are suspended (i.e. icicle-like);
lacking a distinct cap... Hericium,p. 613

Key to Hericium
1B. Fruiting body branched, the spines hanging from the branches or branch tips (sometimes scarcely branched and
very compact, but if so, then usually growing on conifers)... 2
2B. Growing mainly on hardwoods; fruiting body white when fresh (but may turn yellowish in age); widely distributed...3
3B. Not as above; spines often long (up to 4 cm), arranged mostly in tufts or clusters, especially at the branch tips;
branching open or compact.... H. coralloides (see H. abietis)





Fig.2 Growing on a woody substrate.
Giving an idea of the size of the fungus
(Kuo, 2003).



Fig. 3 Giving an idea of the size of the fungus (Kuo, 2003).

Fig. 4 This toothy fungus is white when fresh,
but over time will eventually discolor and
become yellowish or brownish (Kuo, 2003).

Additional References:
Kuo, M. (2003, October). Hericium coralloides. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/hericium_coralloides.html

Links:
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/hericium_coralloides.html
http://www.messiah.edu/Oakes/fungi_on_wood/teeth%20and%20spine/species%20pages/Hericium%20coralloides.htm
http://www.arkive.org/coral-tooth/hericium-coralloides/

Specimen # 13 Agaric (gilled) Fungus

Fig. 1 View of both the gill and cap side of the
shelflike fungus (Kuo, 2009).

Name: Hohenbuehella atrocaerulea
Family: Pleurotaceae
Collection date: November 8, 2011
Habitat: Growing on a decaying log
Location: Hiram field station
Description: The cap color ranges from nearly black to dark brown or tanhas (can be consistently darker and sometimes demonstrate blue shades) It grows on the dead wood of hardwoods and, occasionally, conifers. The gills are whitish and eventually become a dull yellow. It grows gregariously or in shelf-like clusters throughout summer and fall. It is widely distributed in eastern North America, and reported from California. The cap is about 2-5 cm across, convex, fan-shaped to semicircular or kidney-shaped. It is rubbery and moist, fairly smooth, it can be finely fuzzy in area, especially towards where it is attached to its substrate. The stem is absent but can sometimes have a pseudostem. It does have a white spore print(Kuo, 2009).
Collector: Brooke Warren
Keys used:Arora, D. (1986). Mushrooms Demystified. New York: Ten Speed Press.
Keying steps:
Key to the Basidiomycetes
1A. Basidia and spores borne externally (on the exposed surfaces of gills, tubes,
spines, branches, lobes, etc.); spores forcibly discharged at
maturity, i.e., a spore print often (but not always) obtainable; fruiting body with a cap and stalk, or clublike,
or branched, or bracketlike, or crustlike (without a stalk or sometimes without a cap) or lobed  or bloblike, etc. ... 2
2B. Not as above... Hymenomycetes p. 58


Key to the Hymenomycetes1B. Not as above; pores and tubes absent... 3
3A. Underside of cap with radiating blades (gills)... Agaricales p. 59

Key to the Agaricalesy
1B. Not as above; spores forcibly discharged, hence a spore print obtainable if spores are being produced; gills
exposed at maturity; common and widespread... 2
2A. Spore print white to buff, yellow, yellow-orange, or lilac-tinged...3
3B. Neither volva nor warts present (but cap and stalk may have scales or fibrils)... 4
4B. Not as above; veil absent, or if present the ngills normally attached to stalk... 6
6B. Not as above; gills usually platelike or bladelike... 7
7B. Not as above... 8
8B. Not with above features... 9
9B. Not as above; gills not normally waxy; stalk central to lateral or absent; on ground or wood...
Tricholomataceae, p. 129

Key to the Tricholomatacea
1B. Not growing on other mushrooms, or if so then gills well-developed, thin, close... 2
2B. Not as above... 3
3A. Stalk absent, or if present then typically off center to lateral; usually growing on wood... 4
4B. Fruiting body fleshy, or if tough then not as above... 5
5B. Not as above; gill edges usually entire (but sometimes wavy)... Pleurotus & Allies, p. 132

Key to Pleurotus & Allies
1B. Not with above features... 2
2B. Veil absent in all stages...4
4B. Not as above... 5
5B. Not as above... 6
6B. Not as above... 7
7B. Not as above (larger or differently colored)... 11
11B. Not with above features... 12
12B. Gills some other color (white, gray, brownish, violet, etc., but may age or discolor yellowish)... 15
15B. CAp smaller, or if large then not as above... 17
17B. Not as above.... 18
18B. Not with above features; common... 19
19A. Gills pallid (white to creamy, yellowish, or gray)... 20
20A. Gills narrow (shallow) and crowded; fruiting body small to medium-sized... 21
21B. Not as above... 22
22A. Cap dark grayish-brown to bluish black; usually found in the wild... Hohenbuehelia atrocaerulea
(see H. petaloides group, p.136)

Additional References:
Kuo, M. (2009, April). Hohenbuehelia atrocaerulea var. grisea. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com
Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/hohenbuehelia_atrocaerulea_grisea.html
Links:
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/hohenbuehelia_atrocaerulea_grisea.html

Specimen #11 Puffball Fungus

Fig. 1 A stump colonized by the pear-shaped puffball fungus
 (Emberger, 2008).

Name: Lycoperdon pyriforme -Pear-Shaped Puffball
Family: Lycoperdaceae
Collection Date: October 4, 2011
Habitat: Growing in clusters on decaying wood
Location: Hiram, Ohio
Description: "The fruiting body is pear-shaped to nearly round, but usually with a stemlike sterile base; 1.5-5 cm high and sometimes almost as broad as broad in the widest part. Peridium (skin) whitish to pale brown when young, yellowish to dark rusty-brown in age; at first smooth or with a few small scattered spines on top, then becoming finely cracked to form small patches or minute granules or particles (making it rough to the touch), this rough outer layer slowly but eventually falling away to expose the smooth inner layer in which an apical pore or tear is very slow to form. The sterile base is small or well-developed, spongy when fresh, occupying the stemlike base (if base present); chambers very small; conspicuous white mycelial threads (rhizomorphs) usually radiating from the base and connected to others in the surrounding wood or humus. The spore mass at first is firm and white, then yellow to olive and finally deep olive-brown and powdery. They tend to be scattered to densely gregarious or clustered on stumps, rotting logs, sawdust, and in lignin-rich humus; widely distributed and common, fruiting mostly in the fall and winter, but old bleached-out fruiting bodies can be found anytime. It is edible when young" (Arora p. 691-692, 1986).
Collector: Brooke Warren
Keys used: Arora, D. (1986). Mushrooms Demystified. New York: Ten Speed Press.
Keying steps:

Key to the Major Groups of Fleshy Fungi

1A. Spores produced on mother cells called basidia; fruiting body variously shaped (see pp. 52-54)... Basidiomycotina, p. 57

Key to the Basidiomycetes1B. Basidia and spores borne internally (inside the fruiting body or inside a spore case or small capsules); spores not forcibly discharged, thus a spore print unobtainable Gasteromycetes, p. 676

Key to the Gasteromycetes
1B. Fruiting body differently constructed and usually larger than above... 2
2B. Not as above (but fruting body may be slimy or malodorous at some stage)... 3
3B. Stalk absent or rudimentary... 7
7A. spore case rupturing or disinteggrating at maturity; spore mass firm and solid when young (chambers present hardly discernible), powdery or cottony when mature and usually dispersing fairly soon; columella (internal stalk) typically absent; mature fruiting body usually (but not always) above ground; found in many habitats... Lycoperdales & Allies, p.677

Key to the Lycoperdales & Allies1B. Not as above (fruiting body may rupture in starlike fashion, but if so then there is no separate spore case within)... 2
2B. Spore mass not containing peridioles, or if so then the peridioles considerably larger than grains of sand (usually aappearing more like seeds)... 4
4B. Not as above; peridioles absent; spores produced in a single large chamber (the spore case)... 5
5B. Not as above; skin (peridium) thick or thin; spore mass white when young and normally softening or becoming mushy as it darkens, then becoming powdery; basidia usually borne in a hymenium; capillitium usually present... 6

6B. Not as above... 7

7B. Not as above... 8

8A. Sterile base present, often as a narrowed stemlike base beneath the spore case (section fruiting body lengthwise if unsure)... 9

9B. Fruiting body small to medium-sized (usually smaller than a baseball), typically rupturing through an apical pore, slit, or large mouth; usually thin-skinned... Lycoperdon & Allies, p. 690

Key to Lycoperdon & Allies

1B. Not as above; fruiting body not dark brown when young (but may be pale to medium brown when young and become dark brown in old age)... 2

2A. Growing on wood, sawdust, or lignin-rich humus (if in humus, then base with white mycelial threads or rhizomorphs and spore case with inconspicuous spines if any)... 3

3B. Not as above; fruiting body never pitted, usually with white mycelial threads (rhizomorphs) at base or in surrounding substrate; sterile base well-developed; common and widespread... L. pyriforme &others, p. 691

Fig. 2 This image sowhs the warts on the puffballs peridium (Emberger, 2008).

Fig. 3 Spore cloud (Emberger, 2008).

Additional References:

 Emberger, G. (2008). Lycoperdon Pyriforme. Messiah College.
http://www.messiah.edu/Oakes/fungi_on_wood/puffball%20and%20cushion/species%20pages/Lycoperdon%20pyriforme.htm

Links:

http://www.messiah.edu/Oakes/fungi_on_wood/puffball%20and%20cushion/species%20pages/Lycoperdon%20pyriforme.htm

http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/DisplayBlock~bid~6358.asp

http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/2011/wojcik_kyle/classification.htm

Specimen # 15 Agarics (gilled) Fungus

Fig. 1 Shows the beautiful orange
 color of this fungus (Kuo, 2010).

Name: Mycena leaina
Family: Tricholomataceae 
Collection date: October 8, 2011
Habitat: Growing on leaf litter
Location: Hiram field station
Description: Can be found growing individually, but usually found growing in tight dense clusters. Widely distributed throughout the summer and fall. The cap is about 1-4 cm; oval or bell-shaped when young, becoming broadly bell-shaped or convex; sticky to slimy when wet; bald; bright orange, fading to dull orange and eventually almost white; sometimes develops olive green stains when mature; the margin sometimes becomes lined. The gills are attached to the stem; close or crowded; the edges are bright orange while the faces of the gills are orangish to creamy. The stem tends to be 3-7 cm long; 2-4 mm thick; hollow; smooth; fairly tough and cartilagenous; sticky when wet; the base covered with orange to whitish powder or dust; orange or orangish yellow, but paler near the apex (Kuo, 2010).
Collector: Brooke Warren
Key Used: Arora, D. (1986). Mushrooms Demystified. New York: Ten Speed Press.
Keying steps:
Key to the Basidiomycetes1A. Basidia and spores borne externally (on the exposed surfaces of gills, tubes,
spines, branches, lobes, etc.); spores forcibly discharged at
maturity, i.e., a spore print often (but not always) obtainable; fruiting body with a cap and stalk, or clublike,
or branched, or bracketlike, or crustlike (without a stalk or sometimes without a cap) or lobed  or bloblike, etc. ... 2
2B. Not as above... Hymenomycetes p. 58


Key to the Hymenomycetes1B. Not as above; pores and tubes absent... 3
3A. Underside of cap with radiating blades (gills)... Agaricales p. 59
Key to the Agaricales
1B. Not as above; spores forcibly discharged, hence a spore print obtainable if spores are being produced; gills
exposed at maturity; common and widespread... 2
2A. Spore print white to buff, yellow, yellow-orange, or lilac-tinged...3
3B. Neither volva nor warts present (but cap and stalk may have scales or fibrils)... 4
4B. Not as above; veil absent, or if present then gills normally attached to stalk... 6
6B. Not as above; gills usually platelike or bladelike... 7
7B. Not as above... 8
8B. Not with above features... 9
9B. Not as above; gills normally waxy; stalk central to lateral or absent; on ground or wood... Tricholomataceae, p.129

Key to the Tricholomataceae
1B. Not growing on other mushrooms, or if so then gills well-developed, thin. close... 2
2B. Not as above... 3
3B. Stalk present, well-developed, more or less central; growing on ground or wood... 6
6B. Not as above (but stalk may have tapered underground "tap root")... 7
7B. Not as above; absent or if present then cap and stalk not granulose... 8
8B. Veil absent or rudimentary and evanescent, not forming an annulus... 9
9B. Not as above... 10
10B. Stalk usually thin and hollow or stuffed and either fragile or cartilaginous (tough), typically 5 mm thick or less (occasionally thicker but then with a tough cartilaginous outer rind)... 23
23B. Not as above... 24
24A. Cap conical or bell-shaped when young (but may expand in age), often translucent-striate when moist, margin not usually incurved when young; stalk not polished or tough... Mycena, p.224

Key to Mycena
1B. Not as above... 4
4A. Fruiting body bright orange to yellow; gills yellow with orange margins; found on hardwoods in eastern North America (usually clustered)... M. leaiana (see M. lilacifolia, p. 236)


Fig. 2 Shows the typical size of the
 fruiting body (Kuo, 2010).



Fig. 3 Marginate gills



Fig. 4 The conspicuous reddish gill edges are an
important identifying field characteristic. Photo © Gary
Emberger.


Additional References:
Kuo, M. (2010, December). Mycena leaiana. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/mycena_leaiana.html
 Emberger, G. (2008). Mycena leaiana. Messiah College. http://www.messiah.edu/Oakes/fungi_on_wood/gilled%20fungi/species%20pages/Mycena%20leaiana.htm

Links:
http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/sep2005.html
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/mycena_leaiana.html
http://www.messiah.edu/Oakes/fungi_on_wood/gilled%20fungi/species%20pages/Mycena%20leaiana.htm

Specimen # 12 Agaric (gilled) Fungus



Fig. 1 Shows a view of what the
gills look like- cream colored and thick.
Also shows the "saclike" base
 (Brooke Warren).

 Name: Amanita vaginata -Grisette
Family: Amanitaceae
Collection date: October 8, 2011
Habitat: Growing under a conifer
Location: Hiram field station
Description: "The cap is 3-10 cm broad, at first oval, then convex and finally plane or with a slight hump in the middle. The surface is slightly viscid when moist, gray to grayish-brown, smooth or sometimes a white patch or patches of universal veil tissue; margin grooved (deeply striate). The flesh is soft, white to grayish, and thin. The gills are white or tinged gray. Spores are white. The stalk is around 7-15 cm long and up to 2 cm thick. It is usually long and slender, smooth and white or covered with delicate gray or grayish-brown scales. The partial veil is absent while the universal veil is membranous, forming a saclike volva that sheathes the stalk but is attached only at the base. The volva is white or tinged gray, loose, and lobed. Usually solitary or scattered in small groups in woods or under trees" (Arora p. 288, 1986).
Collector: Brooke Warren
Keys used: Arora, D. (1986). Mushrooms Demystified. New York: Ten Speed Press.
Keying steps:
Key to the Basidiomycetes1A. Basidia and spores borne externally (on the exposed surfaces of gills, tubes,
spines, branches, lobes, etc.); spores forcibly discharged at
maturity, i.e., a spore print often (but not always) obtainable; fruiting body with a cap and stalk, or clublike,
or branched, or bracketlike, or crustlike (without a stalk or sometimes without a cap) or lobed  or bloblike, etc. ... 2
2B. Not as above... Hymenomycetes p. 58


Key to the Hymenomycetes1B. Not as above; pores and tubes absent... 3
3A. Underside of cap with radiating blades (gills)... Agaricales p. 59

Key to the Agaricales
1B. Not as above; spores forcibly discharged, hence a spore print obtainable if spores are being produced; gills
exposed at maturity; common and widespread... 2
2A. Spore print white to buff, yellow, yellow-orange, or lilac-tinged...3
3A. Universal veil enveloping young specimens and forming a volva at base of stalk when it ruptures and or leaving numerous remnants (warts or flat patches) on cap... Amanitaceae, p. 262

Key to Amanita
1A. Volva saclike (i.e. forming a true sac that sheathes base of stalk as shown on p. 264); cap usually bald or with a cottony or membranous patch of universal veil tissue or occasionally with several patches or non-friable warts... 2
2B. Not with above features... 3
3A. Margin of cap distinctly striate (at least when mature)... 4
4B. Partial veil and annulus absent or rudimentary (but stalk sometimes scaly)... 8
8A. Cap dark brown to gray or grayish-brown... 9
9B. Fruiting body medium-sized to rather small and slender; cap usually gray, but sometimes grayish-brown or browm; gill edges not brown; widely distributed... 49
49B. Not as above; volva saclike... A. vaginata, p. 288

Fig. 2 Cap is a brownish-gray color with a
hump in the middle (Brooke Warren).

Fig. 3 A good sized fruiting body-same length as my hand.
This picture shows a view of the cream colored gills
(Brooke Warren).

Links:
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/amanita_vaginata.html
http://www.mykoweb.com/CAF/species/Amanita_vaginata.html
http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Mushrooms.Folder/Grisette.html
http://www.capsandstems.com/Amanita_vaginata.htm

Specimen #10 Agaric (Gilled) Fungus

Fig. 1 Side view of the fungus showing the way the cap
 formed to exposethe gills along its margin (Brooke Warren).

 

Fig.2 Top view of fungi growing in a lawn.
Note the warts that cover the cap.
 (Brooke Warren)
























Name: Amanita muscaria - Fly Agaric; Fly Amanita

Family: Amanitaceae

Collection Date: October 8, 2011

Habitat: Growing with a few others in a lawn

Location: Bancroft Street Hiram, Ohio



Fig. 3 As you can see this fungus comes in various colors and forms
depending on the age of the fungus (Lee, 2009).



Description: "The cap is 5-30 cm broad, round becoming convex and finally plane or slightly depressed; surface viscid when moist, color variable: bright red to blood-red, scarlet-red, or orange-red when fresh, but often fading to orange, yellow-orange, or paler; bright yellow-orange to yellow, then fading; yellow with a peachy center; or white to buff to silvery-grayish-white; covered at first with a dense coating of universal veil fragments (warts) which are usually white (but can be yellow, buff, or tan); warts flattened in age, often when young, soft in age; thick, white. The gills are adnate to adnexed or free, close, broad, white. The stalk is about 5-20 cm long, 1-3 cm thick at apex, tapering upward or equal with a basal bulb up to 6 cm broad; white or whitish, or somewhat discolored in age. The partial veil is membranous, usually forming a thin, persistent, median to superior, skirtlike ring on stalk which may collapse in age; ring white or with yellow patches, margin often torn or toothed. The universal veil is friable, forming a scaly volva at apex of bulb consisting of one or more (usually 2-4) concentric rings. The spore print is white. It usually solitary or scattered densely gregarious or in large rings in forests and at their edges, also with planted trees. Common throughout most of the northern hemisphere- its favorite mycorrhizal mates include pine, spruce, fir, birch, and aspen" (Arora p. 282, 1986).

Interesting Facts: This fungus is both poisonous and hallucinogenic. The effects vary depending on the mushroom, person, region, and the season it is found in. It is given the nickname "Fly Agaric" from the ancient practice of using the mushroom mixed with milk to stupefy flies. It is also used to concentrate vanadium, a rare, malleable, ductile metal used to add tensile strength to steel, from the soil. (Arora p. 283, 1986)
"This is the mystical, rare and powerful amanita muscaria mushroom, which gave Lewis Carroll inspiration for "Alice in Wonderland" (Algrands, n.d.).
Amanita Muscaria is also believed by some to be the Biblical Tree of Knowledge.
Collector: Brooke Warren

Key Used: Arora, D. (1986). Mushrooms Demystified. New York: Ten Speed Press.

Keying Steps:

Key to the Basidiomycetes1A. Basidia and spores borne externally (on the exposed surfaces of gills, tubes,
spines, branches, lobes, etc.); spores forcibly discharged at
maturity, i.e., a spore print often (but not always) obtainable; fruiting body with a cap and stalk, or clublike,
or branched, or bracketlike, or crustlike (without a stalk or sometimes without a cap) or lobed  or bloblike, etc. ... 2
2B. Not as above... Hymenomycetes p. 58


Key to the Hymenomycetes1B. Not as above; pores and tubes absent... 3
3A. Underside of cap with radiating blades (gills)... Agaricales p. 59

Key to the Agaricales
1B. Not as above; spores forcibly discharged, hence a spore print obtainable if spores are being produced; gills
exposed at maturity; common and widespread... 2
2A. Spore print white to buff, yellow, yellow-orange, or lilac-tinged...3
3A. Universal veil enveloping young specimens and forming volva at base of stalk when it ruptures and/ or leaving numerous remnants (warts or flat patches) on cap... Amanitaceae, p. 265

Key to Amanita

1B. Volva collarlike (i.e., intergrown with base of stalk but with a free rim), scaly, warty, powdery, or indistinct but not saclike (see p. 264); cap often with many small pieces of universal veil tissue (Warts), powder, etc., occasionally with larger pieces... 15
15B. Universal veil remnants not yellow; cap may or may not be whitish... 22
22B. Not as above... 23

23B. Not as above... 24



24A. Cap brightly colored (red, orange, or yellow); partial veil present, usually forming an annulus (ring) on stalk... 25

25A. Volva usually a series of concentric rings at apex of bulbous stalk base, but sometimes only a single ring or collar; cap medium-sized to large and bright red to orange, apricot, yellow-orange, or yellow (yellow form rare in coastal California, but common in the Sierra Nevada and most of eastern North America)... A. muscaria, p. 282


Fig. 4 Has historical accounts that date back more than 6000 years ago (Algrands, n.d.).







Fig. 5 Cap view (Brooke Warren)

 






Fig. 6 View of gills, stem, and volva (Brooke Warren)

 

Additional References:

Lee, D. (2009). Toxicity, Mushrooms - Amatoxin. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1008902-overview

Amanita Muscaria - Alice in Wonderland Mushrooms!. (n.d.). Algrands.

http://www.salviasociety.org/amanita-muscaria/

Links:

http://www.mykoweb.com/CAF/species/Amanita_muscaria.html

 http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1008902-overview

http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Amanita_muscaria

http://www.mushroomexpert.com/amanita_muscaria.html

Specimen #9 Cup Fungi



Fig. 1 Eyelash Cup Fungus showing the miniscule
 hairs along the exterior and margin of the fungus
 (Stevens & Woods,
2009). 

Name: Scutellinia scutellata -Eyelash Pixie Cup

Family: Pyronemataceae
Collection Date: November 8, 2011
Habitat: Growing on wood
Location: Hiram Field Station

Description: "At first spherical, but soon opens to form a shallow cup and eventually a disklike (flattened). Fertile (upper) surface smooth, bright red to scarlet to orange (or rarely paler with a pinkish cast); margin conspiciously ciliate (fringed with dark brown or blackish hairs up to 1 mm long). Exterior (underside) also clothed with dark hairs. Flesh very thin. Stalk absent. Found growing on rotten wood or damp soil ( or occasionally on ashes, wet leaves, or conks); widely distributed and common, but easily overlooked because of its small size" (Aurora, 1986).

"Spores... smooth when immature, and remaining so for a long time--but in maturity prominently sculpted with warts and ribs extending to about 1 µ high; with several oil droplets. Paraphyses with swollen tips 6-10 µ across" (Kuo, 2009).

Collector: Brooke Warren
Key Used: Aurora, D. (1986). Mushrooms Demystified. New York: Ten Speed Press.

Keying Steps:

Key to the Major Groups of Fleshy Fungi p. 52

1B. Spores produced inside mother cells called asci; fruiting body variously shaped (see pg. 55).... Ascomycotina, p. 782

Key to the Ascomycetes p. 782

1B. Not as above; growing on wood or on ground, on insects, other mushrooms, plants, etc... 2

2A. Growing on wood (but wood sometimes buried)... 3

3B. Fruiting body cuplike or variously shaped but not as above, or if colored as above then texture usually different (fragile, fleshy, rubbery, gelatinous, etc.); asci typically borne in a palisade (hymenium), not in perithecia... Discomycetes, p. 783

Key to Discomycetes

1B. Not as above; fruiting body occasionally buried but usually above the ground at muturity or on wood, moss, etc.; spore-bearing surface exposed (external) at maturity... 2

2A. Fruiting body cup- to ear-shaped, disklike (flat), cushion-like, top-shaped, or sometimes contorted; stalk absent or present only as a narrowed base (but fruiting body sometimes growing erect like a rabbit's ear); asci operculate (i.e., with "lid" at tip)... Pezizales p.783

Key to Pezizales
1B. Not as above... 3
3A. Fruiting body cup-shaped (concave) to disk-like (flat), cushion-shaped, or sometimes top-shaped or splitting into rays; stalk present or absent; flesh gelatinous, fragile, or tough... 4
4A. Stalk absent, or if present then often (but not always) short or merely a narrowed, downward extension of the cup; stalk when present usually lacking distinct ribs; fruiting body fleshy, fragile, rubbery, or gelatinous, sometimes brightly colored, large to minute; tips of asci amyloid or not amyloid.... Pezizacea & Allies, p. 817

Key to the Pezizacea & Allies
1B. Not as above... 2
2B. Not with above features (but may have some of them)... 3
3B. Not as above... 4
4B. Not as above; fruiting body cuplike, earlike, disclike, etc. (but sometimes contorted, especially if growing in clusters)... 6
6B. Not as above; fruiting bodies sometims slit down one side but not consistently so, and not usually growing erect; sometimes growing on dung... 7
7A. Fertile (upper or inner) surface of fruiting body brightly colored (red, orange, yellow, blue, or green, but not violet)... Aleuria & Allies, p. 833

Key to Aleuria & Allies
1B. Not as above... 3
3A. Exterior (underside) of cup or disc clothed with brown to black hairs; margin often fringed with dark hairs also... 4
4B. Not as above... 5
5A. Fertile (upper) surface yellow, orange, or red... 6
6B. Not as above; growing in soil, humus, or on wood but not usually in burned areas... 7
7B. Not as above... 8
8B. Underside of fruiting body with fairly obvious hairs which fringe the margin like eyelashes; fertile surface bright red to orange-red or orange... Scutellina scutellata & others, p. 839

Fig. 2 The spores of this fungus are so small they are unable to be seen
with the naked eye. Here a microscope enables us to see what they look like (Kuo, 2009).

Fig. 3 Eyelash Cup Fungi again showing the hairs on the exterior
and margins of the fungus (Wolf, 2011).

Fig. 3 Eyelash Fungi growing on a decaying tree (Brooke Warren).

Additional References:
Kuo, M. (2009, April). The eyelash cup: Scutellinia scutellata. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/scutellinia_scutellata.html
Stevens, F. & Woods, M. (2009). California Fungi- Scutellina scutella. The Fungi of California. http://www.mykoweb.com/CAF/species/Scutellinia_scutellata.html
Wolf, R. (2011). Scutellinia scutellata. Calphotos. http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?stat=BROWSE&query_src=photos_fungi_com&where-genre=Fungi&where-namesoup=Eyelash+Pixie+Cup&rel-namesoup=matchphrase&title_tag=Eyelash+Pixie+Cup


Links:
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/scutellinia_scutellata.html
http://www.mykoweb.com/CAF/species/Scutellinia_scutellata.html

Specimen #8 Agarics (gilled) Fungus

Name: Mycena murina  Family: Mycenaceae
Collection date: October 8, 2011
Habitat: Growing in a cluster under a pine
Location: Hiram, ohio
Description: The pileus can be up to 15 mm across, conical to convex, Sometimes with a point in the middle that eventually flattens with age. Striated, lubricous to viscid, darker in the center and becoming paler grey or grey-brown towards the margin. The stipe is hollow and can be straight up or flexuous, glutinous or viscid (Aronsen, 2011).
Collector: Brooke Warren
KeyUsed:Arora, D. (1986). Mushrooms Demystified.New York: Ten Speed Press.
Keying steps:
Key to the Major Groups of Fleshy Fungi
1A. Spores produced on mother cells called basidia; fruiting body variously shaped... Basidiomycotina p. 57

Key to the Basidiomycetes1A. Basidia and spores borne externally (on the exposed surfaces of gills, tubes, spines,
 branches, lobes, etc.); spores forcibly discharged at maturity, i.e., a spore print often (but not always) obtainable;
fruiting body with a cap and stalk, or clublike, orbranched, or bracketlike, or crustlike (without a stalk or sometimes without a cap) or lobed  or bloblike, etc. ... 2
2B. Not as above... Hymenomycetes p. 58

Key to the Hymenomycetes1B. Not as above; pores and tubes absent... 3
3A. Underside of cap with radiating blades (gills)... Agaricales p. 59

Key to the Agaricales
1B. Not as above; spores forcibly discharged, hence a spore print obtainable if spores are being produced; gills
exposed at maturity; common and widespread... 2
2A. Spore print white to buff, yellow, yellow-orange, or lilac-tinged...3
3B. Neither volva nor warts present (but cap and stalk may have scales or fibrils)... 4
4B. Not as above; veil absent, or if present then gills normally attached to stalk... 6
6B. Not as above; gills usually platelike or bladelike... 7
7B. Not as above... 8
8B. Not with above features... 9
9B. Not as above; gills not normally waxy; stalk central to lateral or absent; on ground or wood...
Tricholomataceae, p. 129

Key to Tricholomateae
1B. Not growing on other mushrooms, or if so then gills well-developed, thin, close... 2
2B. Not as above... 3
3B. Stalk present, well-developed, more or less central; growing on ground or wood... 6
6B. Not as above (but stalk may have a tapered underground "tap root")... 7
7B. Not as above; weil absent, or if present then cap and stalk not granulose... 8
8B. Veil absent or rudimentary and evanescent, not forming an annulus... 9
9B. Not as above... 10
10B. Stalk usually thin and hollow or stuffed and either fragile or cartilaginous (tough), typically 5 mm
thick or less (occassionally thicker but then with a tough cartilaginous outer rind)... 23
23B. Not as above... 24
24A. Cap conical or bell-shaped when young (but may expand in age), often translucent-striate when moist,
margin not usually incurved when young; stalk not polished or tough... Mycena, p. 224



Additional References:
Aronsen, A. (2003). A Key to the Mycenas of Norway. Mycena Page. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=mycena+vulgaris&view=detail&id=8352DFF86E54B73351BC3E7DF139D3680D52AD9B&first=
0&qpvt=mycena+vulgaris&FORM=IDFRIR

Links:
http://www.mycokey.com/MycoKeySolidState/species/Mycena_vulgaris.html
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=mycena+vulgaris&view=detail&id=8352DFF86E54B73351BC3E7DF139D3680D52AD9B&first=
0&qpvt=mycena+vulgaris&FORM=IDFRIR

Fig. 2 Lamellae with gelatinized edge Illustration and © Jens H. Petersen  Fig. 1 The cap (Horna Fure, n.d.). 

 







 


Specimen #7 Bird's Nest Fungus

Fig.1 Cluster of Bird's Nest Fungus (Barron, n.d.).

Name: Crucibulum laeve -Common Bird's Nest Fungus 

Family: Nidulariaceae
Collection Date: October 8, 2011
Habitat: Growing in mulch
Location: Outside of Hiram College's Gerstacker building in Hiram, Ohio
Description: "The fruiting body is tiny, at first nearly round, becoming cylindrical and then deeply cup-shaped; 5-12 mm high and broad at the top when mature, the rim is more or less circular and covered at first by a hairy lid. Peridium (wall of nest) is one-layered, tough, and persistent. Exterior is vely or shaggy, yellowish or tawny to cinnamon-brown, becoming nearly smooth in age and often darker or whiter. Interior of nest is smooth and somewhat shiny, white, to silvery, gray, or pale cinnamon. The peridioles (eggs) 1-2 mm in diameter, several, whitish to buff or with a very slight brownish tinge, circular but flattened (lens- or disclike), usually attached to nest by long thincords. Widely distributed. Scattered to densely gregarious on sticks, wood chips, nut shells, vegetable debris, humus, and manure" (Arora p. 779, 1986).
Collector: Brooke Warren
Key Used: Arora, D. (1986). Mushrooms Demystified. New York: Ten Speed Press.
Keying Steps:
Key to the Major Groups of Fleshy Fungi
1A. Spores produced on mother cells called basidia; fruiting body variously shaped (see pp. 52-54)... Basidiomycotina, p. 57

Key to the Basidiomycetes
1B. Basidia and spores borne internally (inside the fruiting body or inside a spore case or small capsules); spores not forcibly discharged; thus a spore print is unobtainable... Gasteromycetes, p. 676

Key to the Gasteromycetes
1A. Fruiting body minute (typically less than 15 mm high), consisting of a "nest" (cup, vase, or bowl) containing one or more "eggs" (periodioles); (older specimens, however, may lack peridioles and young ones often have a covering or "lid" pver the top of the "nest")... Nidulariales, p. 778

Key to the Nidulariales
1B. Not as above; fruiting body cylindrical to mug- or cup- shaped when mature, containing more than one "egg" (unless all but one has been expelled)... 2
2B. Not as above; fruiting body typically with a "lid" when very young, the nest usually well formed and persistent; eggs may or may not be imbedded in a mucilage... 4
4B. Eggs white to gray, brown, or black, often (but not always) attached to the side of the nest by a minute cord or short stalk, not imbedded in a mucilage; sides of nest vertical to tapered... 6
6B. Interior of nest smooth or at least not striate or grooved... 7
7A. Eggs typically white to buff; interior of nest not black... Crucibulum laeve (& others)




Fig. 2 Growing on mulch. Easy to see why it is called the Bird's nest fungus.
The Peridium resembles a nest while the Peridioles resemble eggs inside the nest



Fig.1 Example of the actual size of this fungus (Kuo, 2003).



                                       

Fig. 3 Side view of the peridium

Fig. 4 View of the fungus as if you were walking by it. As
you can see it isgrowing in the mulch in clusters

Fig.5 Another example of how small this fungus truly is. If you look closely
you can see how capsule hasn't been lost yet (Kuo, 2003).

Links:
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/crucibulum_laeve.html
http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/DisplayBlock~bid~5881.asp

http://www.mykoweb.com/CAF/species/Crucibulum_laeve.html

http://urbanmushrooms.com/index.php?id=29
http://www.uoguelph.ca/~gbarron/GASTEROS/crucibul.htm

Additonal Citations:

Kuo, M. (2003, September). Crucibulum laeve. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/crucibulum_laeve.html
Barron, G. (n.d.). Crucibulum laeve. Retrieved from George Barron's Website on Fungi Website: http://www.uoguelph.ca/~gbarron/GASTEROS/crucibul.htm

Specimen #6 Puffball Fungus

Name: Sleroderma citrinum -Common Earthball
Family: Sclerodermataceae
Collection Date: September 27,2011
Habitat: Growing under conifer's in a small group and also found on a decaying tree in another area
Location: James H . Barrow Field Station in Hiram, Ohio
Description: "The fruiting body is about 2-10 cm broad and about 2-6 cm high, round or somewhat flattened, the underside often with a stemlike base composed of ridges, mycelial fibers, and/or adhering debris; evntually cracking into lobes to form an irregular pore, the lobes not normally bending outward or unfolding appreciably. The peridium is hard and fairly rigid, 1-3 mm thick, white when sectioned, usually staining pinkish if fresh; the surface is yellow-brown to tan and cracked or arranged into prominent, inherent scales which often have a smaller, central wart. The spore mass is white when very young, soon gray to purple-gray with whitish veins running through it, then drak purple-gray to purple-black or black and still solid and firm; eventually becoming powdery and blackish-brown. They can be solitary, scattered, or in groups or clumps on the ground or in rotten wood. Very widespread and common. They are poisonous! Can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, chills, and cold sweats" (Aurora p. 708, 1986).
Collector: Brooke Warren
Key Used: Aurora, D. (1986). Mushrooms Demystified. New York: Ten Speed Press.
Keying Steps:

Key to the Major Groups of Fleshy Fungi

1A. Spores produced on mother cells called basidia; fruiting body variously shaped (see pp. 52-54)... Basidiomycotina, p. 57

Key to the Basidiomycetes
1B. Basidia and spores borne internally (inside the fruiting body or inside a spore case or small capsules); spores not forcibly discharged, thus a spore print unobtainable Gasteromycetes, p. 676

Key to the Gasteromycetes
1B. Fruiting body differently constructed and usually larger than above... 2
2B. Not as above (but fruting body may be slimy or malodorous at some stage)... 3
3B. Stalk absent or rudimentary... 7
7A. spore case rupturing or disinteggrating at maturity; spore mass firm and solid when young (chambers present hardly discernible), powdery or cottony when mature and usually dispersing fairly soon; columella (internal stalk) typically absent; mature fruiting body usually (but not always) above ground; found in many habitats... Lycoperdales & Allies, p.677

Key to the Lycoperdales & Allies
1B. Not as above (fruiting body may rupture in starlike fashion, but if so then there is no separate spore case within)... 2
2B. Spore mass not containing peridioles, or if so then the peridioles considerably larger than grains of sand (usually aappearing more like seeds)... 4
4B. Not as above; peridioles absent; spores produced in a single large chamber (the spore case)... 5
5A. Spore case typically hard or tough with a thick rindlike skin, at least when young; spore mass white when very young but soon darkening (usually purpole-gray to black) while remaining firm, eventually becoming dark brown to blackish and powdery; basidia not borne in a hymenium; capillitium absent... Scleroderma, p. 707

Key to Scleroderma
1B. Not as above; mature spores ornamented; founnd underground or above; common... 2
2B. Not as above; fruiting above the ground, or if underground then usually with an obvious base or point of attachment; peridium not marbled in cross-section; spores borne on basidia... 3
3B. Not as above; either peridium thinner (averaging 1-4 mm) or not rupturing into starlike lobes; fruiting body fairly small to medium-sized (rarely large)... 4
4B. Not as above ("stalk" if present shorter and/or habitat different)... 5
5A. Peridium (skin) covered with prominent inherent rosette-like scales (i.e. each scale often with a central wart); widespread, but especially common in forests... 6
6B. Peridium fairly thick (usually 1-4 mm), rupturing into lobes in age or forming an irregular pore; spores reticulate... S. citrinum

Fig.1 Group of fruiting bodies that were found growing together under a tree.

Fig. Stem-like base composed of mycelial fibers and debris

Fig. Inside view of the mature purple-gray spore mass

Fig. Yellow-brown colored fruiting body. The scales are a dark brown color

Links:

http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/DisplayBlock~bid~6768.asp

http://www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/Wildlife-in-Norfolk/Species/Fungi/Common-Earthball.aspx
http://www.wsbrc.org.uk/uf6YqGEw8EW1y9cezXBvsw%3D%3D/Species.aspx
http://www.first-nature.com/fungi/scleroderma-citrinum.php
http://healing-mushrooms.net/archives/scleroderma-citrinum.html