Our Saturday, May 21st walk was a revisit to Tallman Mountain State Park with George Johanson acting as walk leader. He brought stinging nettles and pokeweed along for members interested in cooking with wild foods. Attendees were interested in finding morels, but someone got there before us. A few were found, though those they were mostly water-logged from all the rain we have had this past week. Nevertheless, people were happy to find any morels. The rain was favorable for the appearance of several other kinds of mushrooms and slime molds, most of which we are seeing for the first time this year. Probably the most prolific mushroom found was the delicate-looking Gymnopus dryophilus (formerly called Collybia dryophila). Then came Exidia nigricansa and Exidia recisa. We also found the yellow 'witches butter,' Tremella mesenterica. The next most commonly found mushroom was Peziza badio-confusa, which people collected for soup. The fourth most visible mushroom was the brilliantly orange Mycena leiana with its reddish gill edges, seen growing in several clusters. Unfortunately, despite taking about 20 photos of it, I didn't get one I am pleased with. Oh well. Guess I'll have to go out hunting again and again trying to capture its beauty in a photo. The oddest thing we found was at the end of the walk in wood chip mulch by the picnic tables: several groups of Hypholoma fasiculare! That's typicaqlly a late fall mushroom. Other things we found included a few different Psathyrellas, Psathyrella hydrophila, Mycena galericulata, Mycena sp., Pleurotus ostreatus, Tubaria furfuracea, Pluteus cervinus, Coprinellus micaceus, Agrocybe praecox and Agrocybe acericola. We also found some gorgeous fruitings of Stereum complicatum, as well as Stereum hirsutum, Xylobolus frustulatus, Stereum ostrea, Irpex lactea, Hydnochaete olivacea, Polyporus varius, Schizophyllum commune, Trichaptum biforme, Trametes versicolor, the Mossy Maple polypore, Oxyprous populinus and Ceriporia spissa in addition to some white-pored resupinate fungi. We also came across Kretzschmeria duesta, Hypoxylon sp. and Dyatripe stigma. Myxomycetes (slime molds) were represented by Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa and Lycogala epidenrum. Stropharia rugoso annulata appeared in everyone's landscaping chips this week, but none were found on the walk.

Our Sunday walk with Don Shernoff was at the Saugatuck Trail in Westport, CT. Apparently it had been a decent place to visit for morels a long time ago, but it hasn't produced any for a couple of years and of course, it's probably kind of late in the season for them anyway. Given all the rain we had this past week and a torrent last evening, it is no wonder that the mixed hemlock-deciduous forest had so many kinds of mycenas and marasmius - enough to keep me busy all week trying to find out the species of several. Additionally there was the following: Amanita fulva!, Gymnopus dryophilus, Agrocybe praecox, Galerina autumnalis, Mycena galericulata, Mycena ssp., Infundbulicybe squamosus, Marasmius pyrrocephalus, Marasmius ssp., Pluteus cervinus, Tubaria furfuracea, Crepidotus mollis, Tremella mesenterica, Dacrymyces palmatus, Trametes versicolor, Trichaptum biforme, Stereum ostrea, Diatrype stigma and Chlorociboria aeruginascens and Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa.