Mushrooms

One day in the spring, after a little rain, a yellow blob appeared in our barkdust path. Research tells me it is Dog Vomit Slime Mold, a very unlovely name for a pretty but inedible mushroom, Fuligo septica. That has inspired me to start a new section under wildflowers, although mushrooms are not wildflowers. Neither are trees but I seem to have posts about all sorts of flora other than flowers in this blog. By the next day, this slime mold turned dark but I forgot to get another photo... maybe next time one appears in our bark dust path. Barkdust, apparently, is where it came from.

Fuligo septica

In the fall, more mushrooms appeared. Here are Slippery Jacks (identified by Barbara Millikan), numerous in the grassy path in the ponderosa pine section of our arboretum. Barbara says they are edible but not choice as they are slimy when cooked, but they can be dried, powdered, and used as flavoring.

 The amazing conks below just keep making babies and growing...

Blackberries

We have all 3 wild blackberries here, including the native Pacific, which is the trailing blackberry that trips me in the woods; the Himalayan with its invasive, thickets with delicious berries; and the Evergreen with its finely dissected leaves, also invasive but not as overwhelming as the Himalayas. I took photos of all 3 growing together along our lane to the pump pasture. the back side of the Himalaya leaves is light.

Evergreen upper left, himalaya center, Pacific lower

back side of 5 leaflet Himalayas

back side of native 3 leaflet Pacific

5 leaflet Evergreen (highly dissected leaflets)

5 leaflet Himalaya

3 leaflet Pacific (only native blackberry)

Pacific in its usual ground crawling position