Covers mushrooms and other non-lichenized fungi that form multicellular fruiting bodies large enough to be seen with the unaided eye.
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49 common names
Show only taxa with photos
Index to common names:
ear,
ears,
earth-tongue,
earthball,
earthfan,
earthscale,
earthstar,
earthtongue,
elephant-ears,
elf-cup,
elfin saddle,
elfin-cup,
enfant-du-pin,
Entoloma,
ergot,
eye,
eyelash
(Vibrissea truncorum)
Habitat: Can be found on rotting pieces of wood that are very wet or submerged in cold water.
(Heyderia abietis)
Distribution: Uncommon
Habitat: Occurs in scattered groups on conifer needles.
(Thelephora terrestris)
Distribution: Broad
(Thelephora palmata)
Distribution: T. palmata is widespread and fairly common in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Habitat: Occurs in conifer litter
(Astraeus hygrometricus)
Description: Produces fruitbodies that are spherical at first. At maturity the thick outer skin splits and when damp peels back to form 6-12 rays or arms, revealing the puffball-like spore sack at the center. The rays are strongly hygroscopic and in dry weather curl back over the spore sack.
Habitat: woodlands
Substrate: on the ground
(Geastrum saccatum)
Distribution: Earthstars are not particularly abundant in forested areas of the PNW. Many species are more characteristic of drier woodlands and even deserts, so the diversity of earthstars and many other gasteromycetes is much higher in the southwestern U.S. G. saccatum is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere and we have seen it, or a dead-ringer for it, in Tasmania, Australia.
(Astraeus pteridis)
Habitat: roads, railroad tracks, in waste places, old fields, etc.
(Astraeus pteridis)
Habitat: roads, railroad tracks, in waste places, old fields, etc.
(Astraeus hygrometricus)
Description: Produces fruitbodies that are spherical at first. At maturity the thick outer skin splits and when damp peels back to form 6-12 rays or arms, revealing the puffball-like spore sack at the center. The rays are strongly hygroscopic and in dry weather curl back over the spore sack.
Habitat: woodlands
Substrate: on the ground
(Geastrum saccatum)
Distribution: Earthstars are not particularly abundant in forested areas of the PNW. Many species are more characteristic of drier woodlands and even deserts, so the diversity of earthstars and many other gasteromycetes is much higher in the southwestern U.S. G. saccatum is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere and we have seen it, or a dead-ringer for it, in Tasmania, Australia.
(Geastrum saccatum)
Distribution: Earthstars are not particularly abundant in forested areas of the PNW. Many species are more characteristic of drier woodlands and even deserts, so the diversity of earthstars and many other gasteromycetes is much higher in the southwestern U.S. G. saccatum is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere and we have seen it, or a dead-ringer for it, in Tasmania, Australia.
(Astraeus hygrometricus)
Description: Produces fruitbodies that are spherical at first. At maturity the thick outer skin splits and when damp peels back to form 6-12 rays or arms, revealing the puffball-like spore sack at the center. The rays are strongly hygroscopic and in dry weather curl back over the spore sack.
Habitat: woodlands
Substrate: on the ground
(Aleuria aurantia)
Description: Aleuria aurantia does indeed look like orange peels turned inside-out and scattered by a passing hiker or motorist. The inner fertile surface is a brilliant deep orange, the outer surface paler with a somewhat dandruffy texture. The spores are ellipsoid, 13--24 x 7.5--10 µm, and covered by a network of ridges. A. aurantia is very common in the fall, and is especially abundant along gravelly forest roads, in campgrounds, and at trailhead parking areas. It is one of several ascomycetes that will discharge many spores simultaneously when disturbed, producing a visible smoke-like cloud. Sometimes this can be induced by breathing on the cups, at other times it will occur on its own when the fruitbody is removed from its collecting container.
Distribution: A. aurantia is widespread in the Northern Hemisphere.
Habitat: grassy areas on disturbed soil, in gardens, and along roadsides
Substrate: On ground, in groups or clusters.
Spores: Summer and fall
(Helvella elastica)
Distribution: H. elastica occurs in summer and fall in both conifer and hardwood forests.
(Helvella leucomelaena)
Distribution: H. leucomelaena is found in spring and early summer in conifer forests, especially along paths and roadsides.
(Claviceps purpurea)
Description: Claviceps purpurea produces miniature, ocher to reddish brow, drumstick-like "fruitbodies," the heads of which are actually sterile stroma in which the true fruitbodies are immersed. These fruitbodies arise from banana-shaped, purplish black sclerotia- propagules that formed in the ears of grain, were shed, and have overwintered on the ground.
Habitat: grassland
Substrate: grass, especially rye
(Coltricia perennis)
Habitat: Occurs on the ground or on woody debris and is most characteristic of disturbed areas such as trail edges and roadsides in conifer forests.