Beautiful Rainforest Find!

[herbal_hindsight]

Hey fellow nature lovers! checkout this lovely pic I took a couple days ago.... my first rainforest experience... i was quite obviously VERY stoked with this little discovery!

What would u well educated people identify these beautiful specimens as? I'm well aware it has some special 'magic' about it just curious as to the species.... I am personally use to seeing subs back in SA

This was taken in North-Eastern NSW

Edited May 19, 2009 by herbal_hindsight

[MORG]

Wow dude! Spectacular little clump. What a find.

I'd say they were subs, but I call any Australian cool-month fruiting saprophytic Psilocybe a sub.

Edited May 20, 2009 by MORG

[naja naja]

I am not sure if they are subs, they look kinda different from what I'd expect. They sorta look like this Would be interesting to get a dried gill fragment to workman.

[SayN]

curious if they bruised blue???

although i've never heard of them in the rainforest, could they be cubes?

[Ace]

Spectacular find! I'd say subaeruginosa without too much doubt (it helps having such a great photo), but I've never found them myself, so couldn't say with certainty (or as much as is possible via the net).

never heard of them in the rainforest, could they be cubes?

Subs are naturally found in woody debris - a rainforest is a pretty ideal place for them (being so chockers with leaves, sticks, logs, etc), however they seem to prefer more urban landscapes (with a fondness for chipped garden beds), popping up during the colder months of the year.

Cubensis are usually found in sub/tropical grazing fields and grow from well manured soil (more commonly, straight from manure), popping up during the warmer months of the year.

[Chiral]

Beautiful clump of subs...were there any more in the area...definitely subs IMO....hey naja that link shows a species that probably doesn't exist here in OZ bit it almost says its synonymous with Psilocybe subaeruginascens ...tell you one thing I saw recently and I have 2 witness who also saw it and it was Amanitas heaps of them growing along the fence line right near a train tack and station simply growing out of rocks and concrete slabs and ruble....not a single pine tree in site for miles...was very strange...I guess its just where the spores land and will germinate if they are happy enough...

H.

Edited May 20, 2009 by Hunab Ku

[genki]

thats strange hunab, are you sure there weren't any tree stumps hidden under the rubble? A. muscaria are ectomycorrhizal fungi and form symbiotic relationships with a number of trees. as far as im aware they require them to survive

[Chiral]

thats strange hunab, are you sure there weren't any tree stumps hidden under the rubble? A. muscaria are ectomycorrhizal fungi and form symbiotic relationships with a number of trees. as far as im aware they require them to survive

No shit...! that's what was so unbelievable about it...next time I pass by that station I will definitely take shots to show it...maybe..just maybe there is old pine stumps under the ground but we stood and looked and there was not a pine tree anywhere near them...and I know they have to have a pine tree to grow from but it was completely baffling.

H.

EDIT and oh the photo at the top of the subs...was thinking they maybe azures...there are reports of azures now being found in OZ..particularly now that several people have introduced spores and have cultivated small managed patches...we all know how far spores can travel.

Edited May 21, 2009 by Hunab Ku

[genki]

sorry to get a bit off topic but just wanted to mention that A. muscaria aren't restricted solely to pine trees. they also form symbiotic relationships with introduced birch and beech trees and native southern beech (Nothofagus sp.)

Edited May 21, 2009 by genki

[genki]

also great picture herbal hindsight, they really are beautiful specimens. the younger specimens look quite similar to a lot of subs ive seen but im not used to seeing the caps flatten out to that extent with age.

[MORG]

sorry to get a bit off topic but just wanted to mention that A. muscaria aren't restricted solely to pine trees. they also form symbiotic relationships with introduced birch and beech trees and native southern beech (Nothofagus sp.)

And various oak species. I have seen them in association with oaks here in Australia.

[Chiral]

MMM interesting because there was a tree that was growing on the other side of the fence where the Amanitas where growing but can't remember what it was...possibly an oak but it's deciduous yeah at this time of year, and this tree still had all it's leaves dark green.

H.

Edited May 21, 2009 by Hunab Ku

[Ace]

A. muscaria aren't restricted solely to pine trees

Yep, oaks are the only place I've ever seen flies.

possibly an oak but it's deciduous yeah at this time of year, and this tree still had all it's leaves dark green

There are still a lot of oaks around here with some green leaves, but they will drop soon.

[paradox]

sorry to get a bit off topic but just wanted to mention that A. muscaria aren't restricted solely to pine trees. they also form symbiotic relationships with introduced birch and beech trees and native southern beech (Nothofagus sp.)

yeah & like morg said, oaks & other genus' as well. some of these genus' root systems can travel a long way under ground

[herbal_hindsight]

Yes they bruised blue (take a closer look at the photo - they were blue b4 they even got picked) yes I found other patches but that was by far the best & they look different to subs I'm use 2 finding in SA ie the stems are thicker & the more obvious difference is the white outer rim at the top of the cap

They were bloody potent to boot off the record

I'm wondering if they were a subspecies

I'm still on the road atm when I get back home in the next week or so I'll dig through my fungi foraying image collection & share my research with u all I've been meaning to for quite sometime life has just been a lil hectic I look forward to contributing a lot more to this forum too!

That pic is definently one of my favourite finds for sure!

And as for amanitas I got some great pics of them too (sa) a couple weeks ago I spotted some around morwell in vic aswell as a healthy patch on the side of the road near colac vic driving up through mt otway

Not to mention oodles of other fungi I'm yet to Id!

[genki]

did you get a print from any of the one in the photo herbal hindsight?

[herbal_hindsight]

Sadly no :-(

I'll never forget where I found them though I'll prob miss out on a print this year as my car has died staying at a mates in mossvale atm while its gettn looked at but I'll be back there next year 4 sure at this stage car will prob be getting taken back to sa on a truck & I'll be bussing it home grr I'm gona write a book on the experiences this roadtrip has brought me its a fear & loathing gone bad but all I can do is laugh but yer I'm spewing I was unable to get a print made :-(