Walker Nature Center
A LOOK INSIDE • Calendar 4 • Kids Corner: Decomposers 6 • Don’t Waste the Leaves 7 • Halloween 8
BRANCHING OUT
Nature Notes The Fruits of a Fall Forest SEPTEMBER By Pam Findley • • • • •
Eastern Rat snake eggs hatch. White-tailed Deer bucks grow antlers. White Wood Asters are in bloom. Pokeberry fruits are ripe. September 23 – Equinox – First day of Autumn
OCTOBER • • • • •
Box turtles look for winter hibernation sites. Deer rut (mating season) begins. Tree nuts are ripe. Fragrant asters have purple blooms. October 23 – the planet Venus is visible in the eastern sky before sunrise.
NOVEMBER • • • • •
Frogs and turtles are burrowing. Black Gum and dogwood trees have red leaves. Kinglets and Hermit Thrushes return. Viburnum shrub leaves turn red. November 27 – Full moon is known as the Beaver or Frosty Moon.
By Susan Sims
When the leaves begin to fall, the days get cooler and shorter, and the pumpkins are ripe for picking, the forest begins to burst with the various shapes and colors of mushrooms. Autumn is an ideal time to acquaint oneself with some of the exciting fungi that thrive and support our Reston forests. Mushrooms are the spore-bearing, fruiting body of a fungus, similar to a flower on a tree or shrub. Fungus spends most of its life below ground as mycelium, a dense mass of fine, white filaments called hyphae that do important work.
Fungi decompose waste and release it into the soil as necessary elements, including phosphorus and nitrogen, feeding surrounding plants and organisms and creating a healthy soil matrix. Additionally, they remove carbon and sequester it, helping to offset the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Mushrooms are a robust food source for many mammals and insects, and even humans. Mushrooms also add an element of interest, surprise and beauty to any autumn walk. In celebration of these vital decomposers, check out the following four favorites this autumn that have common names celebrating traditions of the season. The mushroom with the most ubiquitous fall-related common name is certainly the Eastern American Jack O’Lantern (Omphalotus illudens). This bright orange
to yellow mushroom grows in clusters on hardwood trees, roots and decaying stumps. The cap of the Jack O’Lantern can be up to eight inches across and is supported by a thick stalk between two to eight inches tall with decurrent gills, meaning they run down the stalk itself. These gills contribute to the most unique feature of the fungus - its bioluminescence. The gills of the Jack O’Lantern mushroom glow in the dark casting a soft, green light. The light is caused by the presence of luciferase which is found only in the gills of the mushroom. This is the same enzyme that is responsible for the firefly’s glow. These mushrooms may look similar to the edible chanterelle mushrooms, but don’t make that mistake - this mushroom is toxic if consumed. Witch’s Finger is an interesting fungus that can be found in the cooler months during autumn and spring. It appears as a pointed, pinkish-orange, craggy finger rising from the soil. Sometimes the fungus can be covered in a dark goo called gleba which smells like rotting meat. This smelly concoction attracts flies and ants who wade around in the slime and then carry it away dropping spores in a mucky version of seed dispersal.
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Fall | 2023