A wet spring is springing up mushrooms

It has been a wet, wet, wet spring here in Denver. I moved here in 2017 and I have not experienced such a verdant spring since arriving. As such, I’ve already been getting more than my fair share of mushroom inquiries. Recently, I’ve answered questions from a concerned dog owner who passed along pictures of a Stropharia mushroom, and some primordial birds nest fungi, growing in the wet mulch of a local dog run. Apart from telling him to pick and toss the mushrooms and enjoy the birds nest fungi, there’s not much else that can be done other than monitor what your four-legged furry child sticks in its mouth.

But this got me thinking, what have people been seeing in this wet, wet,

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Andrew Wilson wet spring? To nd out, I decided to jump onto iNaturalist and see what others around Denver have put on the app since June 1. In the rst 12 days of June in Denver County, there was a total of 103 mushroom observations on iNaturalist, representing 42 species. Several observations of the beautiful — but potentially poisonous — Chlorophyllum were made. ere’s also the beautiful Lepiota lilacia that has been surfacing in mulch and yards. en there’s the fun, but adult rated, Phallus hadriani. ese are fun because they often start o as rubbery eggs. I get a kick from the startled gardeners believing aliens have laid o spring in their mulch beds. When they come out of their shells, these impudent

LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

MICHAEL DE YOANNA Editor-in-Chief michael@coloradocommunitymedia.com

LINDSAY NICOLETTI Operations/ Circulation Manager lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com

DONNA REARDON Marketing Consultant dreardon@coloradocommunitymedia.com alien forms de nitely don’t conform to polite societal standards.

What sort of surprises me are the lack of Agaricus barnardii observations on iNaturalist. It’s surprising because they’re so abundant in Denver’s parks that they’re almost a weed. However, they’re easy to identify because they look like a fat portobella mushroom, but smell kind of like the ocean. Another species that people didn’t put on iNaturalist in early is Coprinellus micaceous. is is truly a weedy mushroom species because when it’s wet, you always see it fruiting in large “inky” bouquets at the base of trees and tree stumps. One of our most common wood eaters, it is mushrooms like this that return stumps back to the soil.

As a mycologist, this is a fun time

KRISTEN FIORE West Metro Editor kfiore@coloradocommunitymedia.com

DEB HURLEY BROBST Community Editor dbrobst@coloradocommunitymedia.com

RUTH DANIELS Classified Sales rdaniels@coloradocommunitymedia.com of year to help people explore their mushroom curiosities. ere’s a ton of diversity out there, and each one of the species mentioned above can be found around Denver and the Denver Botanic Gardens. For those who are truly enthusiastic, the best way to gain experience in mushroom identi cation is to join your local mushroom club. Check out the Colorado Mycological Society. ey have monthly meetings at the Denver Botanic Gardens and you can go there to meet with other mushroom enthusiasts who are happy to share their knowledge. Better yet, join the society and go on a local mushroom foray.

Andrew

W. Wilson is the associate curator of fungi for the Denver Botanic Gardens

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