Top 20 Most Common Mushrooms in Mount Vernon
Welcome to our exploration of the top 20 commonly found mushrooms in Mount Vernon, a locale rich in both culture and fungi. Mount Vernon boasts an unparalleled blend of vibrant ecosystems, making it a hub for mushroom diversity. Pilgrims through these verdant landscapes will be thrilled by the multitude of mushroom species awaiting discovery.
Most Common Mushrooms
1. Dryad's saddle
A familiar sight to spring morel hunters, dryad's saddle is noteworthy for its large size, striking scales, and watermelon-like smell. Similar to other mushrooms in the bracket fungi family, dryad's saddle can be used to make paper. Younger mushrooms are better suited for this purpose due to their smaller and more consistent fibers.
2. Chicken of the woods
Chicken of the woods is very noticeable in hardwood forests, appearing in clusters on standing tree trunks in bright orange and yellow hues that sometimes last through the entire winter. It is a parasite that causes an unfortunate brown heart rot, and is considered a particularly troublesome pest of Yew trees. If the fruitbodies can be seen, the tree is likely already beyond saving.
3. Devil's urn
The devil's urn (Urnula craterium) is a black or brown cup-shaped fungus. The species' tough, cracked outer layer and dark coloration may give it a scorched appearance. Devil's urns tend to grow in clusters and are usually found adorning fallen branches and rotting logs. Though the species is not edible itself, gatherers keep an eye out for it, as it usually fruits at about the same time as morels.
4. Turkey tail
The distinctively-striped turkey tail fungus grows on stumps and logs all over the forests of the northern hemisphere. It is, in fact, probably the most common species you will find. That doesn't mean this mushroom is plain, however; each cap is uniquely patterned. Look for bands of alternating textures as well as color.
5. Split gill
Split gill(Schizophyllum commune) can be found across the globe. Uniquely, it is the only mushroom species known to display the capability to retract by movement. It is considered inedible, although not necessarily toxic. Furthermore, it is not recommended to smell this species, as the spores are capable of sprouting and growing in nasal passages.
6. Pear-shaped puffball
The mushrooms of this species grow in such tight clusters that they may cover fallen trees and stumps almost entirely in a brownish, puffy coat. Pear-shaped puffballs appear all around the northern hemisphere on decaying hardwoods from fall through winter.
7. Elegant stinkhorn
The elegant stinkhorn has a distinctive appearance and smell, hence the name "stinkhorn". The spores of this odd-looking mushroom must be dispersed by insects, particularly flies. The mushroom produces its odorous, spore-thick slime in order to attract these insects and attach its spores to their bodies.
8. White jelly fungus
Unlike other jelly mushrooms, which are typically found on fresh deadwood, white jelly fungus grows on well-decayed wood from hardwood trees. Its fruiting body is indeed white, fading to muted brown hues with age. Its shape has garnered a wide range of comparisons, from brains to popcorn to coral.
9. Indigo milk cap
This gorgeous species is unlike any other. The indigo milk cap, a member of the often-drab russula family, is deep blue in color. Like other milk caps, it bleeds a latex-like substance when cut or damaged, but instead of the usual white this species bleeds deep blue.
10. Cedar-apple rust
The vividly-colored fruitbodies of cedar-apple rust (Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae) might be mistaken for flowers, from a distance. Upon closer inspection they can be identified as fungal growths attacking the fruit of cedar trees. Their microscopic spores can travel up to an astounding 5 miles when carried on the wind and infect cedars quite far away, weakening the trees as they grow.
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