Shroom

[den]

I suppose I should do actual journal entries instead of just posting photos.

Comments

[weyrdbird.livejournal.com]

Spore-rrific!:D

It looks like a very young Inky Cap, but am probably wrong as usual;).

[falconea.livejournal.com]

Nope, it's not an Ink Cap (Coprinus).

From the the universal veil, it looks like an Amanita. Amanitas are formed within a egg-like skin (the universal veil) which bursts in a variety of ways, leaving warts or peeling skin on the surface of the mushroom, an often a cup like stucture at the base of the stem. There's an excellent picture at the top right of this page: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/amanita.html

The classic fairytale "red toadstool with white spots" is an Amanita.

Nearly all Amanitas are very poisonous.

Audrey

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

Do we have them here?

[falconea.livejournal.com]

Have what? Amanita muscari (the classic red toadstool with white spots) is common in Victoria and Tasmania in pine forests - it's an obligate pine associate. I don't know if it's in NSW but if you have pine trees there you probably have it. It's hallucinogenic in the right dose; fatal in the wrong dose.

There are many other species of Amanita in Australia, native as well as introduced. The Deathcap is an Amanita. And I've discovered a new species near Mallacoota in a Eucalypt forest - it was a glorious, large, pale green specimen. Maybe 10 cm across and lime green. It was pretty spectacular!

Coprinus comatus (the ink cap) is also relatively common around Vic and Tas. And they're delicious, fried in butter, as long as they haven't started to turn into ink.

Audrey