Finding Quilted Green Russulas and Lobster Mushrooms In The Iowa Rain.

The Lobster Mushroom!   

Overcast drizzly day. With rainbow!

It has been a glorious overcast and drizzly day here in No-Where-Ville, Iowa.   Perfect day for a run and bike.   Sure, the humidity is still up there...  But the clouds keep the heat producing sun away,  making outdoor activity fun and pleasurable.

Cheryl doing her daily 7 miles.

Our basket of Prizes! 

Our current work/job has really been cutting into our leisure time.  Oh,  I should say:  Cheryl's Marathon Training Time.   Otherwise, it sounds like we would rather be bums and not work at all.   (Which is true.... but not very popular with other Hard-Working People.)  But you have to pay the bills and stuff.   So Pearson Projects are a necessary Evil.   But this leaves only the weekends for training.  And if those weekends are spoiled by excessive heat,  then that makes Cheryl angry.

Easy to find these guys. 

Bright red stands out on the ground. 

But today was fine!  And we even wanted to explore the woods we took Cheryl's Sister to for mushrooms.   We figured the overnight rains might have sprung a few specimens into action.   We were not disappointed!

Many were kinda old when we found
them. 

Compare the two.   The dull one is
mild tasting,  the bright red is
sharp.

First,  Many of the mushrooms found were old.   It has been dry for the last several days so it is possible the rain  (*Which only happened  overnight and continues slightly...)  has not had a chance to fully work its magic on the mushrooms.  But there were several that we did find.

Lots of Russulas ( Brittle Gills)  And I believe there were several different species.    The ones that looked the most vibrant and cherry red seemed to be the ones that were "sharp" with their flavor.  (i.e. Bad flavor!) The dull-ish ones are the good ones.   (Copper Russulas, I think)  They may have been the "Bare-Toothed Russula" though.   Both are very tasty. 

Sharp tasting bright red. 

The bright red ones with very "perfect" color on the caps seemed to be the 'bad' ones.   The only way to tell them apart was to taste each and every one of them.   And I did!   After several dozen  tastings, though,  I was able to distinguish the difference simply by looking.   The duller colored ones are the desired ones.

Saffron Milk Cap.  Peppery taste!

There were lots of Milk cap mushrooms as well.  I believe they are the Saffron Milk cap, but they are so peppery in their flavor I want to think they are the "pepper" cap. I still have not narrowed it down, but the Saffron Milk cap is supposed to be delicious...  and these guys are not.   Maybe I'm missing something in their preparation or Identification somewhere.

Green Crackle Russula. 

Competing with the slugs for the
Good tasting mushrooms.

But one of the Major finds was the Green Crackled Russula!  Also called the "Quilted Green" Russula.   These guys were HUGE in comparison to the normal brittle gills we found.  Easy to Identify as a brittle gill...

Another one,  even larger!  

These guys are HUGE compared to
the Copper and Bare toothed
Russula.

They also have this wonderful green crackled top that makes they stand out.   I was very excited to see these guys because I only recently heard of them on a recent You-Tube pod cast.  No only are they edible,  but they are supposedly highly desired for their taste.   ( Described as sweet and nutty.)  I can't wait to find out for myself, after knowing how the copper Russulas taste.

Lobster mushroom. 

Cheryl was the Eagle Eye for these
today.

And finally,  The Lobster Mushrooms!   Cheryl's favorite!   And she found several of them today.  Lobster Mushrooms are actually a parasite fungus on a different species of mushroom.   They invade and then change the DNA of the entire mushroom... Turning it into a tasty and highly prized Lobster mushroom.  I read on a Mushroom Forum somewhere that the Lobster mushroom desires Russulas and Milkcaps as their preferred host.

Pair of Lobsters

Cheryl finds another one. 

 But it may be possible for the Lobster to host on any other mushroom.   There was even a theory that if they invaded a deadly Amanita Mushroom,  they would change the Mushroom down to its very DNA, into the safe and edible Lobster mushroom.   Isn't Biology cool?

Fawn Mushroom  Found on Wood.

Note the ring around the base of the
stem.  and off-white gills.

Several other finds:   Deer/fawn mushroom.  Note the gap between the gills and stem.

Awesome Parrot Waxycap.

Parrot Waxy cap.

Small Brown mushrooms all over
the forest floor,

Clusters of Small Brown mushrooms.

Slugs!  (Slimy but pretty...) 

Indian Pipe Flower. (Not a Mushroom) 

Slugs!  Lots of slugs eating our mushrooms!    Rather pretty though...  yellow and green/brown.

Indian Pipe flower. Not a mushroom but rather pretty.  And quite a bit of it around this area.

Possible member of the Amanita
family? 

Green-ish brown on wood.
dangerous?

Amanitas!   Big white ones and some other smaller versions.  (Not sure if the Small one is actually an Amanita.)  Not going to eat these guys, but they are rather pretty.

Cluster of Brown mushrooms. 

Others:  Brown cluster and small brown on wood.   (Never eat brown gills...)

Purple cort mushroom

Purple Corts.  Very pretty.

Not sure what this is. But the
Cranberry color on the gills
is very interresting. 

So now I have to ID the other mushrooms we brought home.   Get a few Spore prints,  Wash and dry the Lobster and maybe a few of the Russulas,  and sample the Quilted Green Russula to see of all of the forums and webpages are right.  Looks like I have a full day ahead of me.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful last day of your weekend.   Hopefully the weather is pleasant where you live and you are able to get outside and enjoy what the world has to offer.  And maybe you will be able to discover the new and exciting hidden world of Mycology.... ( That is:  The world of Mushrooms!)    Thansk for stopping in.