11-03-14 Field Note

Mushrooms emerged from saturated ground after autumn rains, and blister rust symptoms appeared on a rust-resistant western white pine seedling.

Posted on 11/3/2014 by Lorinda Bullington

Habitat Type:

Mixed Conifer

Location:

Camp

Last week’s cold front pushed in from the west and dusted peaks in the Mission Mountains with new snow.

Recent rainfall generated an abundance of fungal fruiting bodies. Dozens of shaggy manes (Coprinus comatus) popped up through the gravel along the side of the road near camp.

Shaggy manes’ immature spore-producing structures (“basidia”) color gills reddish-brown. When the spores mature and fall, they stain the stem and vegetation beneath an inky black.

Squirrels or other rodents may have severed the heads from the many cap-less stems I found, but more likely a fellow two-legged hunter is the culprit. Shaggy manes make a great addition to stews and pasta.

”Earth tongue” mushrooms in the Genus Neolecta sprout up underneath pine trees in the same spot almost every year. These fungi represent one of the oldest lineages of Ascomycota known to form complex fruiting bodies (Landvik et al. 2001).

A few species of boletes also popped up along the roadside. Pores instead of gills (arrow, inset), and shiny, slimy caps distinguish these inedible fungi.

Numerous other fungi grew half hidden by litter on the forest floor.

Orange jelly fungus (Tremella mesenterica) inflates reliably on the top bridge after autumn rains.

Some fungi are much less welcome than others. Signs of blister rust infection (Cronartium ribicola) appeared on this 9 year old rust-resistant western white pine. The infection has already started to girdle the stem, and this tree will probably not survive much longer.

Raindrops hang from electric fence wire and temporarily house a miniature, upside-down forest and sky.

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About MPG North

Established in 2005, the property boundary at MPG North encloses 200 undeveloped acres in Western Montana’s Swan Valley. Researchers and field staff manage the property to improve habitat quality for wildlife, discover new ways to restore damaged landscapes and study forest ecology. We also create opportunities to share what we've learned with local conservation organizations, students of all ages, management agencies and volunteers. Through these education and outreach efforts, we seek to inspire others to work together and protect undeveloped landscapes.