Written by Bonnet House volunteer and nature guide, Rick McKenzie
Recently, several staff and volunteers found ourselves enjoying the colorful beauty of an abundant fruiting of Cantharellus cinnabarinus, a lovely red mushroom with a graceful vase-like shape, known colloquially as red chanterelles. We decided that a brief article about the mushrooms of Bonnet House would add another element of enjoyment to everyone’s visits.
Mushrooms are the reproductive structure of a fungus that inhabits the soil, leaves or wood. The organism reproduces by spreading tiny, powdery spores that are released from the mushroom. The thready bodies of the fungus can be quite large, and usually remain hidden in whatever is busy decomposing. To spot them, start by walking slowly around the grounds. For those who love to bird watch, a slow pace helps you spot interesting fowl while also taking care to avoid whiplash injuries from looking up and down from sky to ground. Take time to examine the soil, scattered bunches of leaves, stumps and fallen logs. All of these may be host to colorful and interesting mushrooms!
One very interesting shelf-like mushroom that can be found at bonnet house is the artist’s fungus, Ganoderma applanatum. This mushroom is very hard with a brown top and a white underside that turns color when touched. Several other mushrooms turn color when broken or touched, which is exciting to see, but they lack one quality that makes this mushroom very special. While most other mushrooms remain soft, the Ganoderma applanatum does not. The color change becomes permanent when the specimen dries, so that wonderful drawings can be made, creating permanent art.
Other beautiful specimens to look for are the graceful, pure white members of the genus Amanita. These tall mushrooms are six to eight inches in height with a skirt, or partial veil, hanging from the stem just under the cap, and another broken veil hugging the base of the stem. These are known as “Death Angels”, famous for their deadly and irreversible toxicity. They are, however, safe to handle in order to admire and appreciate. On your next walk at Bonnet House, go slow and look all around – you will be pleasantly surprised!
