what an unexpected day

i don't know who to thank.
for the wonderful fruits abundant on our very own VCU lawns and mulch

perhaps the slight drop in temperature, or the adroit groundskeepers who keep the moisture correct. one thing is sure, it has not rained.

i have seen several of these gastromycetes in the nearby lawns. i would go so far as to quantify their numbers as "many"


i stumbled upon these outside the business building. beautiful specimens, i am eager to watch them mature. these will be collected so that I can work on identifying them.


these grandiose specimens suprised me in the same spot where i found some small club footed gilled mushrooms before. these are being spore printed as we speak, i've made notes of their characteristics, but i have yet to sit down with them for a talk. after digging them up i noticed the mycelia has given their underneath a distinct whitish grayish tone. while some mycelia remains mostly rhizmorphic, or some indistinguishable, this fungus wins todays award for most notable hyphae. I photographed this with the flash so that it would be evident. in the lowerleft of the mycelium shot you can see the specimens that also inhabit this fertile land.



by the bus stop. these i would quantify as more than many, or, a large number of many.
i am pretty sure that the first four are the same species although different fruiting bodies. i will watch them and see. i can only hope that the lawnmower machine does not crush them. the last was a strange soft wart covered small capped dark brown spored little one. i did not collect either of these for study because my "plate" has a few already.





maybe one day i can get microscopic views on this blog, other perspectives can be didactic.