The fungus season begins to get some steam up!

There are starting to be a good crop of fungi around the area generally.  On our morning walks I have noticed a good array of Rooting shanks (Oudmansiella radicata) and Fairy-ring Champignons (Marasmius oreades).  This morning we found a small crop of the ones imaged below, which I had not seen before but believe to be Amanita umbrinella.  This is based upon the description in Fuhrer's Field Guide to Australian Fungi, noting the striated annulus (see second image).

When I use the word 'crop' I was merely searching for a collective noun.  I am not about to start munching on something which I suspect to be an amanite!

On a trip to Tallaganda SF later in the day I noticed one large clump of Gymnopilus junonius growing beside the road,  I also found the following weird item growing in a moist gully.  As I haven't really been able to get close to identifying it I am now wondering if it is something other than a fungus (but have no idea what).  It was growing in soil as far as I could tell.  The comment by Denis Wilson shows this to be Podoscypha petalodes, a bracket fungus growing on a subterranean wood substrate.

In April myself and the small dog walked around the lake formed by the weir in Quanbeyan.  When we got back level with the weir I noticed this huge fungus about 3m up a very large eucalypt.  My guess is the fungus was at least 250m across at the widest point.  It has been identified as Laetiporus portentosus or White punk.

Comments

Denis Wilson said…
Hi Martin
I believe I can help with the last one.
Try Podoscypha petalodes. Page 281 of the Fuhrer book, but it doesn't look the right colour. It is a bracket fungus type thing, (not a Jelly Fungus). The form is interesting as they form a convoluted rosette - which looks right for your Fungus.
However, the Sydney Fungal Studies Group is helpful. Their gallery, P. 17 has a good match for yours
.
Cheers
Denis
PS with recent rain, we are expecting a fungal bumper crop soon.
25 March 2011 at 23:58:00 GMT+11
Flabmeister said…
Denis

Many thanks. The SFSG example looks spot on. As there was no wood substrate I didn't think of bracket fungus. Apparently it is underground in this case!

Martin
26 March 2011 at 05:37:00 GMT+11
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