If you’re curious about the emerging fungus in our forests, Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest by Steve Trudell and Joe Ammirati is an excellent resource. It’s organized by color of spores, and you may enjoy creating spore prints to aid in the identification of some of the mushrooms you encounter. It’s very easy to do, just cut the stem off a fresh mushroom and place it cap up on white paper in a dark cupboard, covering it with a bowl to keep out any breezes. It can be helpful to have a second mushroom of the same species that you can place on dark paper, in case the spores give a white print. Then lift the bowl the next day to see your spore print! If you’d rather enjoy some spectacular photos or learn about fungal guttation, this is fun.

Weird and Wonderful Wild Mushrooms

Trametes versicolor (Turkey Tail fungus) on Kindbergia praelonga (Slender Beaked Moss)