Cystoderma cinnabarina

This morning, 1 September 2019, I have posted 7 more photos from our fungus foray in West Bragg Creek, on 30 August.

"This attractive mushroom has a cinnabar cap that is covered with mealy granules, and a stem that is distinctively sheathed. It is a saprobe under conifers, helping to decompose needle duff and forest debris. The color of the cap and the habitat under conifers, together with its fairly large size, will separate Cystoderma cinnabarinum from many other species of Cystoderma--but microscopic analysis (details below) may be required to separate it from a handful of potentially similar species."

mushroomexpert.com/cystoderma_cinnabarinum.html

Note: any IDs given are always tentative, even when we have been provided with an ID. Fungi are not easy to identify and caution must always be taken if a person picks mushrooms for eating! Unless you are a trained specialist, never eat wild mushrooms.

How many fungus species are there? It depends on what you read. For example, the two comments below are extremely different!

"Currently, there are over 10,000 known types of mushrooms. That may seem like a large number, but mycologists suspect that this is only a fraction of what's out there! We can put these various species in one of 4 categories: saprotrophic, mycorrhizal, parasitic, and endophytic." From link below.

www.mushroom-appreciation.com/types-of-mushrooms.html

"Even scientists don’t currently agree on how many fungi there might be but only about 120,000 of them have been described so far." From link below.

www.lanl.gov/museum/news/newsletter/2018/01/fungi.php

Two days ago, on 30 August 2019, I went with a small group of friends to search for fungi at West Bragg Creek, west of Calgary. I had been hoping for a bright, sunny day that would allow enough light into the forest for photography. However, that was not the case, but at least we didn't have rain, unlike yesterday and today, overcast and raining. Most unwelcome weather for a long weekend. I'm wearing a sweater, and have turned on the heating. Is this really still summer? In fact, did we actually have a summer? High temperature yesterday was 14C and it's only 12C as I type.

What we did have was the joy of finding enough fungi to keep us happy. We sure had to work hard to see them, with even more bush-whacking than usual. The forest floor is treacherous there, with such a dense blanket of soft moss, that you never knew when you were going to suddenly sink. In contrast, there are a lot of fallen trees and broken branches to trip you. Unfortunately, we did have one casualty that resulted in blood, and no doubt a few bruises today. I find that every single step you take needs to be done with great caution - and with good friends who help when necessary! We got a real workout and I definitely feel painful today.

When I arrived at the parking lot first thing, a huge, lit sign said "Warning - bears in the area"! Not the first time that has happened, and I know I would never go exploring on my own. As it was, the only animals we saw were Maggie and Ben, our leader's Beagles.