any finds in namagee or the brindabellas

[southern james]

hi guys, any finds in southern ACT area, all ive got so far is aminata muscarias, also after some prints , thanks

[MORG]

I'd also be interested to know if there's been any action. I'm unfamiliar with the terroir and it all just seems far too dry here to be finding subs. Apparently it happens though.

Found Amanitas also.

[southern james]

maybe somthing interesting amongst these, if you see anything you recognise please let me know

[MORG]

if you see anything you recognise please let me know

Wombat shit right there in the second photo

Nice to see something fungal on the ground in Canberra!

[Ace]

I've been hunting the hell outta the place - Bot Gdns, pine plantations, eucalypt forest, some random place I ended up in (near brindabella) on the weekend, private gardens (just wandering past, never through). Not a bloody thing! I have found plenty of sub look-alikes, nice caramelly-brown caps, but nasty brown gills/stems... Im not sure but think they may be galerinas, so please be careful if you are a noob like me at hunting.

I was going to post a thread urging competent hunters in the ACT to come with me and give me some pointers, because I've donated around 15 hours over the last month to hunting only to be disappointed one time after another...

Plenty of rumours from other hunters that there are amanitas (flies) around everywhere, but I cant even find them. Also a rumour that the Brindies are fruiting, but from my rather hopeless hunt, I couldnt spot anywhere that would even really compensate as a decent area for shrooms - all habitats that I could find were hopelessly destroyed by fire/tree felling over the last couple years.

Long story short, I'm hopeless at spotting anything active (heaps of non-actives tho). Can someone with positive hunting experience shoot me a PM for a meet/hunt sometime over the next few weeks? I dont want a heap handed to me on a plate, I just want confirmation that i'm on the right track so that I can spot a few subs and flies (and anything else, if there is any) around town/region.

P.S. has anyone ever spotted semilanceata in canberra? There was a rumour that they grew on the lawns of Parliament House, but I even tried there with no luck after the weekend (plenty of rain, nice and cold, NOTHING...)

[MORG]

Have you seen alot of diversity around?

I've spotted some Amanita muscaria and some big bouquets of Armillaria luteobubalina but aside from this don't see much at all on my day-to-day wanderings.

I'm not going to bother going out until the ground gets a good soaking. The rain over the weekend was ok but we really need some consistent rain and cloud to keep the soil damp for a good run of days. That'll set those mycelia to active and all sorts of things should pop out of the ground.

That said, I don't know the conditions in the surrounding mountains. It could be that the Brindies get more rain than in the city here, in which case there could be alot of action despite the relative dry of the low and flat lands.

I'll be up for a foray with you Ace, but until we see some real rain (or receive reliable info on the Brindies/Namadgee) I think it's scarcely worth it.

Rain down, rain down on me.

[watertrade]

count me in - I won't be able to really help ID'ing anything but I can provide and extra pair of eyes.

don't give up on the Bot gardens - it used to be a great hunting - I seem to remember there was a couple of weeks every year when it was really cold interesting types would pop up - I think it was really at the worst of Canberras winter. we used to get them by the shoe box full. also the cork oak plantation is good for Amanitas. I have some photos somewhere from last year at the cork oak planation- fields of Amanitas - I think this was following a week of solid rain about this time last year.

[southern james]

we are on the southern edge of namadgee and there are at least 15 different types of shrooms growing on the property, there are 5 meter square patches of fungus on the back trail, in the middle of the track, heaps n heaps of shrooms, we are on 5000 acres backing on to the national park, i just dont know what im looking for :-(

[Ace]

Alrighty lads, after the next decent rainfall we shall have to go on an expedition! MORG, yep there is a fair bit of diversity around, but I dont have any local fungi ID guides (only stamets mushrooms of the world), so I cant ID them.

WT, I'd absolutely love to locate these amanita fields within the cork plantations - I met a fellow hunter in the Bot Gdns on the weekend who said he got a heap of amanitas at the cork plantation the other day. I went on a drive to track down this cork plantation, but had no luck in locating it. Any pointers on where I could find it?

I had a look thru the pine plantations around the back of Chisholm, plenty of dead lactaria deliciosa (safron milk caps), but they were about a fortnight old I think (most mouldy and black). Bugger

[watertrade]

Alrighty lads, after the next decent rainfall we shall have to go on an expedition! MORG, yep there is a fair bit of diversity around, but I dont have any local fungi ID guides (only stamets mushrooms of the world), so I cant ID them.

WT, I'd absolutely love to locate these amanita fields within the cork plantations - I met a fellow hunter in the Bot Gdns on the weekend who said he got a heap of amanitas at the cork plantation the other day. I went on a drive to track down this cork plantation, but had no luck in locating it. Any pointers on where I could find it?

I had a look thru the pine plantations around the back of Chisholm, plenty of dead lactaria deliciosa (safron milk caps), but they were about a fortnight old I think (most mouldy and black). Bugger

I will speak in local tongue….

Head down the tuggers parkway - just before you get to civic, turn off left towards Belco – on William hovell, just after the roadworks – and immediately after the crash barrier pull over and walk over the hill to your left - you can actually see the plantation from the road. purple monkey dishwasher ;)

[Ace]

I will speak in local tongue…

Thanks mate - exactly what I've been after I will have to sus it out shortly before things dry up to buggery again. Come on rain! Where art thou???

[watertrade]

I just took a little break from work and had a look at the Cork oak plantation - its very dry with no signs of fungi except a few Trametes sp - I think.

Canberrra's forcast...

Friday Fine, mostly sunny. Min 1 Max 15

Saturday Fine, mostly sunny. Min 1 Max 15

Sunday Fine, mostly sunny. Min -1 Max 15

Monday Fine, mostly sunny. Min 0 Max 16

Tuesday Fine, mostly sunny Min -1 Max 16

ppfffft...

[Ace]

I checked out the plantation yesterday too. Great spot, but dry as a bone - I didnt spot any fungal activity at all. Plenty of horse crap though - I noticed it is a horse riding trail (which seems to be getting heaps of four-legged visitors). I wonder if there are any dung dwellers (fungi, not loonies ) around there during the warmer months? Seems a good spot to introduce some spores at least.

I noticed the forecast was looking bleak - talk about a dry year so far. I could count the amount of times its rained on one hand... Maybe a few weeks time will hold more? It was looking like it would bucket down late yesterday, but not a drop

[hipeboy]

the brindies were going off, and probably still are.

The trick is to know your habitat and to know what kind of trees they like, town i agree is still to dry how about manifesting some more rain guys.

And of course the early hippy catches the worms.

Now i have collected some local prints if people want to work towards starting lots more wild beds for next year.

i'm trying hard to learn the technices and get the materials to make next autumn in canberra a fantastic season with lots of local wood chipped garden beds going off.

sometimes its easier to find the mushroom when you are one with it have it flowing in your system feel it out.

The b gardens is just over picked everyone goes there.

[Ace]

Hipeboy, next time we get some rain, would you maybe be up for a bit of a forage? It would be good to get a few clued up folks together so we can compile location data etc (provided people are happy to share info like tree types, rough locations (obviously not your fav patches), ideal weather situations, etc). Would be good to meet ya mate (and pick your brain

sometimes its easier to find the mushroom when you are one with it have it flowing in your system feel it out.

I have often thought that this would be an interesting approach. Of course, it wouldnt be able to be tested (at least not with actives) in Aus, but perhaps people with experience in lands far away might know. I wonder if we could try the same with edible legal species? There are/were plenty of lactaria deliciosa around canberra that we could use as a testing shroom

[worowa]

If petrol wasn't so expensive, I'ld be looking closer to the coast, or even Bathurst way-the rains have been falling, just not in the ACT. Maybe a road trip is in order.

I've been getting dozens of King Oysters from left over brown rice mixed with coir, no temperature controls. One of the tastiest shrooms around, reminiscent of Abalone or Calamari.

I really like David Aroras field guide "All That the Rain Promises and More...", it's American, but lots of shrooms are cosmopolitan (spores+wind+travelling birds/people).

In answer to your Question Ace, not if it's a Polar Bear.

[southern james]

lots of rain in namagee on sat and sunday, 5hours sunday night

[Ace]

We need about 5 days of decent rain I reckon. I've been scouting public parks, private garden beds, pine plantations and more and still no actives - not even any amanita muscaria... Maybe I suffer from mushroom-blindness? There have been a few others - plenty of LBMs (definately not actives), so I might just be actives-blind...

[southern james]

yeah, i went thru namagee yesterday, stopped here and there, dry as, no fungi at all. its funny we live 40 ks away and our place is going off with LBMs.

[southern james]

finaly some rain, has been solid light rain for 3 days now, with another 3 days predicted, all our dams are full, so we have had a fair bit of water already, hopefully some fungal joy soon

[MORG]

Cyathus sp. I think. Can anyone ID?

On an old, rotting pile of wood chips and weeds near Black Mountain.

[Hyphal]

Yep I think you are right - Cyathus sp.

http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/may2006.html

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/pljune96.htm

And this site is very interesting -

http://www.anbg.gov.au/fungi/birds-nest-cannonball.html

Edited June 6, 2008 by Hyphalknot