Pine forest beauties (lots of pics!)

[Marcel]

Went out to the pine forests in between the Blue Mountains and Oberon with extended family and other hangers-on yesterday. It was a beautiful day; can't remember ever mushrooming on such a warm day.

Lots of light meant I could snap some nice photos (still plenty of fuzzy ones because I didn't want to lug my tripod around).

First up, some Lactarius deliciosus (the reason for the season):

And the day's biggest specimen.

Barbecued, with oil and garlic and lemon and lots of salt, picked straight off the hot plate by a dozen or so Poles, aged between 2 and 60.

The photogenic Amanita muscaria:

Some sort of Chlorociboria sp.:

Gorgeous Marasmius elegans, I think:

A lot of these pretty Gymnopilus sp., perhaps G. feruginosus:

Some sort of Ramaria sp. (anyone know what kind?):

A nice big Omphalotus nidiformis cluster:

Rhizopogon luteolus, I think:

Not sure about this one. Tricholoma virgatum maybe?:

There were a few of these. Dunno what they are. Extremely tall and straight stipe. Some were nearly a foot tall!:

And then, unexpectedly, I came upon a few of these little P. subaeruginosa. The first I've seen this year:

Hurrah for autumn!

[Sola]

Awesome photos mate! Did you take any spore prints?

Thanks for sharing.

[tripsis]

Great shots Marcus! I really love that Chlorociboria sp., never seen them in the wild before. Was out there on Sat, still plenty of milkcaps and slippery jacks around, but it was drier than it was fortnight ago. Found a few subs, but not many.

Edit: Beautiful O. nidiformis cluster too. Did you stick around until after dark to see it light up?

Edited April 4, 2011 by tripsis

[Yawning Man]

Those subs look like their drying? Far out, you guys up north get a farking early start to the season ey. Haha. I went out to some of my local spots yesterday, dry as a bone still.

cheers

[random]

That Amanita pic is seriously AWESOME

Like a fairytale mushroom or something

Loved all the pics, I need someone to introduce me to the mushroom world lol some seriously gorgeous fungi there.

[Marcel]

Thanks for the nice words, folks.

Tripsis, I didn't see that O. nidiformis at night, but last year I found one little bunch in some eucalypt bushland and took a fruit home. At night, we turned out all the lights and drew the curtains and you could still see that sucker glow. My kids were blown away!

And Yawning Man, the subs were indeed dry. There were some more that were even smaller and dryer. The season proper is still a month or so away.

I just noticed that the photo of the bunch of subs has an imposter right in the middle. Note the bright white stipe with no bruising.

[Undergrounder]

Nice finds, great photos!

The tall ones could be Xerula australis?

[Zen Peddler]

I love saffrons in a risotto - i usuall chuck in a few dried porcini as well and some buttons as well. Superb mate.

[Marcel]

Undergrounder, I think you hit the nail on the head. Xerula australis for sure.

[mac]

I pruned a melaleuca tree for a friend on the weekend & found what looked like old Lactarius

so my question is are they found often in decomposing mulch of other trees like Melaleuca

as its a dry climate here i never expect to find much

[tripsis]

No, they're mycorrhizal, so should fruit irrespective of whether there is mulch or not. I doubt it was L. deliciosus growing in association with a Melaleuca, but it could have been another species. Russula species are fairly common in the bush.

[mac]

Thanks tripsis they were a bit dry & past it for a good ID or print, if more fruit ill try to get a fresh one to id

will give the area some extra moisture as im curious to find out if they are Lactarius or Russula

Edited April 5, 2011 by mac