This gallery contains 3 photos.
There are more than 50 species of manzanita (Arctostaphylos ssp) in California alone. Two agents induce galls in manzanita species. Exobasidium vaccinii, a fungus, is one of these agents. E vaccinii induces swollen, convex, bright red galls on the dorsal … Continue reading
This gallery contains 2 photos.
Although I already discussed dye polypores (Phaeolus schweinitzii) in a previous post (“Dye Polypore” on 10-30-2011), I was fascinated by this specimen growing along the Hatton-Hiouchi Trail in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park (Del Norte County CA). This fungus grows … Continue reading
This gallery contains 2 photos.
Continuing on the bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata) theme: The yeast-like sac fungus Taphrina confusa induces witches’ brooms on several Prunus species. Although the western choke cherry (P virginiana) and Sierra plum (P subcordata) are most often infected, Leonard and … Continue reading
This gallery contains 5 photos.
Phoenix oysters (Pleurotus pulmonarius) are shelf-like gilled mushrooms. Oyster mushrooms in the Pleurotus genus are morphologically very similar. Often substrate and time of occurrence are the best way to separate them in the field. For example, P ostreatus (red oyster) … Continue reading
This gallery contains 6 photos.
One of the earliest spring mushrooms is the snowbank orange peel fungus (Caloscypha fulgens). When growing at higher elevations, it is often found near melting snowbanks. These snowbank orange peel fungi were growing along the Castle Crest Trail at Crater Lake … Continue reading
The Nature Niche 