Fruit on the forest floor, Part 1

 No, I am not talking about walnuts, or acorns or something like that scattered on the forest floor. I am referring to fungi.

There are many, many types of fungi, and the part that we see growing on the forest floor, or a rotting log, is the fruit of the fungus plant. The main part of the fungus is underground, or in the rotting log, in the form of extensive mycelial threads that act to decompose the rotting log. But more than that, the threads cover extensive areas and travel for huge distances underground. These mycelial threads are actually known to 'communicate' with each other, and share energy, and they are critical components of what makes a forest healthy.

So the actual fungus is just the fruit which bears the seeds or more correctly, the spores, which are dispersed by the breezes. The names and shapes of such fungus are highly varied.

Aborted Entoloma

I have spent a fair bit of my time roaming about forests in the late summer and fall, on the lookout for fungi. They are busy doing their thing under ground, or in a log, for a good part of the year, and seem to be the most visible during the more humid periods of the season when they get to the fruiting stage, although some fruit even in spring. Sometimes I consider my outing to be part of a fun, fall, foray for fungi!

They aren't all colourful, like many warblers or wildflowers, but are fun to find and photograph regardless.

These 'fruits' release their spores, through their gills. Gills are often shown like this following fungus, known as member of the Agaricomycetes group of fungi. The type of gills aren't always visible from the top. In looking at the first photo above, the gills are not noticable unless you break off or look underneath the fungus. Given that most fungi grow quite low and on the ground, looking underneath is challenging, so some mycologists, the name for persons who study fungi, break off the fungus to see the type of gill.

Other fungi have hidden types of gills, such as this next one, known as the Bear's Head Tooth fungus.

This next one, illustrated by the next three photos, is fairly common, at least in forests where American Beech are common. It is known as the Beech Rooter fungus.

Note to the reader: while I have attempted to put a name to the fungi that are in this post, and I believe many of them are correct, I am anything but a specialist when it comes to fungi. I rely fairly heavily on the Computer Visualization capabilities of the database on iNaturalist, where there are thousands of examples of various species which it will compare to, in order to come up with a strong possibility. Over time, specialists in the mycological field will take a look and either confirm or correct its name. So while I believe most identifications here are fairly accurate, there is no guarantee that 100% of them are at this point.

Back to some fungi.

Some are small, looking like a small parasol. This next one is a member of the Bonnet's group.

They can be quite colourful, such as this Chantarelle Waxcap, next.....

...or are typically less colourful as these next ones demonstrate,

Deer Mushroom

Deer-colored Mushroom

Closeup of Deer-colored Mushroom

Most of the fungi shown above, were growing out of the ground, or a moss covered log. One fungus that I came across was growing out of the end of a Tulip Tree log which had been cut to clear a path. It was a bit larger than normal and quite distinctive. I got a couple of photos with the camera I had in hand. It is known as the Destructive Pholiota.

I went back to the fungus a couple of days later with a different camera/lens combination. The fungus had changed a bit...

....a closer look at the underside showed the gills as well as the brownish ring at the upper side of the stem. It didn't last long, however. The fruits of fungi seldom last in good condition for any more than a few short days. As soon as the spores are released, the fruit head deteriorates quickly.

I don't know who comes up with the names of fungi. This next one is called the Dog Vomit Slime Mold. While some fungi are edible, just the name of this one is enough to turn one off! I have no idea of whether it is edible or not......

Not all fungi grow out of the ground. This next one is known as Dryad's Saddle, and typically grows out of the side of a dead tree trunk.

A fungus that is fairly widespread and visible is this next one, the Chicken-of-the-woods.

A lot less colourful is Hen-of-the-woods, shown next.

As mentioned, looking underneath the 'cap' shows the gills, as this Honey Waxcap shows.

This next one is a member of the Hygrophoraceae group. Yellow ones like this do not seem to be all that common.

This next one is the Lion's Mane Mushroom.....

....and this next, colourful one is one of my favourites, the Mycena leaiana, or Orange Mycena.

As mentioned at the beginning, these fungi are exceedingly important in the transfer of energy not only to other fungi. Trees and non-woody plants obtain significant amounts of energy from the mycelial threads that are extensive underground. It is what helps to keep a forest healthy. When one part of a forest is disturbed, that disturbance can be communicated to other parts of the forest via these mycelial threads and end up causing problems. And that is why forests that are logged or otherwise have the soil disturbed decline in health. Their connection to the multitude of other plants is severely disrupted. It is also why attempts to establish a plantation on a previously worked up agricultural field is seldom very healthy, at least not for many, many years. The constant work-up of the soil through cropping, as well as the application of so many chemicals to benefit the agricultural crop, has destroyed the mycelial threads and severely limits the trees growth and development. It may take many decades for the soil to become more natural with mycelial threads for the transfer of energy to the multitude of the forest inhabitants.

That's it for this post, but I expect to feature more fungi in a future post!

 

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Birds and early gales of November at Rondeau

Rondeau has beckoned to me several times in the last few days. Bird migration is certainly a reason to be out and about...one never knows what the autumn storms have blown in! It was not quite two years ago that I found a Cassin's Kingbird, dead, unfortunately, in the grassy dunes. It was only the third record for Ontario, and the first since 1970. If I had been there a few days sooner, I might have found it alive.

Another reason to be out is to watch the forces of nature in action. As a land form built entirely by the lake currents depositing and re-arranging sand, Rondeau is particularly vulnerable to the wind and wave action. This effect is even more dramatic in the last century or so, due to the existence of the Erieau pier.

There have been some pretty wild storms over the past month......are these the 'gales of November come early' as the Gordon Lightfoot song "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" describes....or are there more to come? My guess is the latter.

I've been out along the South Point Trail several times, and from both the east and west sides. It wasn't that long ago that one could make the loop at the south end, but due to the wind and wave action, it is now almost impossible to travel the loop.

The west side section of the South Point Trail is not often travelled by many hikers.....it is a closed forest and lot greater distance to the lake. But the forest is inviting. My visit this day was not on a windy one.....I didn't want to get clobbered by a fallen branch, and the usually slow shutter speeds required for forest photography would not work with branches and leaves waving wildly in the wind.

I noticed this attractive and distinctive fungus emerging out of a fallen American Beech log.

 It is known as Lion's Mane or Bear's Tooth Fungus (Hericium americanum), and the reference books indicate it is edible. I left it as I found it, expecting some of the forest creatures such as mice and voles to nibble on it in their quest for survival.

I got to the beach and followed the trail to the washout. As I approached, I immediately noticed something new.....well something old really, but newly exposed. It is a concrete crock, from which the old South Point washroom had a sand point sunk down to provide water to the washroom. Note the hint of a concrete foundation in the background.

 It is the foundation of a former washroom, more visible in the next image. I remember when it was at least 100 metres from the shoreline. This washroom was quite functional up until the early 1970s when the high waters of the lake in the fall and winter of 1972/73 caused serious flooding which resulted in the road and nearby picnic area and campground to be closed. Up until the mid 1970s, there was a large picnic shelter close by the parking lot not far away, but it succumbed to the wave action decades ago. I last remember seeing a pile of concrete rubble out in the water in the late 1970s as the only testament to the picnic shelter's existence.

Some readers may be aware of a pile of broken concrete in a shrubby opening visible from the south end of the trail. It is where the old septic system used to be for this washroom, and is just a few metres north of this foundation. It is likely just a matter of time when it, too, will end up on the shoreline.

On another recent occasion, I went out the eastern section South Point Trail. It was a very windy day, and the lake was quite riled up due to the strong south-southwest winds . This first image shows what it was like at Erieau.

Needless to say the wave action was impacting the south and southeast beach of the park.

 Yep.....not a user friendly trail at this point!

A few other shots, indicating the various conditions at Rondeau.

Bennett Ave

Rondeau Road

There was some wildlife to see as well. On a particularly sunny day, out of the wind, was a lingering Common Buckeye.

Birds were fairly plentiful, but often hard to see, and even harder to photograph at times, especially when the sky was covered with bright white clouds and the overall light was flat.

I noted at least 14 Eastern Bluebirds foraging in the oak savanna along the South Point Trail, but getting an identifiable photo against that sky was almost impossible. There were likely more scattered throughout the savanna. I did not find a long-awaited Mountain Bluebird.

Eastern Bluebird male

Eastern Phoebe

There are still lots of Chipping Sparrows mixed in with other sparrow types. Some may stick around for the upcoming Christmas Bird Count, only about six weeks away.

Purple Finches have just arrived in numbers, and were found gorging themselves on the berries of Red Cedar.

Snow Buntings are now here. I saw these two along the beach at the north end of the park. It seems a little early, and hopefully not a harbinger of wintry weather soon to arrive. We do get a few showing up in October most years, however.

 White-crowned Sparrows are scattered far and wide.

White-crowned immature

White-crowned adult

Carolina Wrens have not been very abundant these last couple of years, likely due to the severity of the recent winters. I came across this one in a tangle between the bay side boat launch and the park office.

I wonder what this bench will look like in the spring, after the gales of November and the wintry blasts have taken their toll?