Mushrooms
I maintain that no science fiction flora could ever be weirder than a mushroom.
Probably a Waxcap
On a drive up to the Nicasio Reservoir in March, I stopped at the side of the road to admire a large dam. I wasn’t looking for mushrooms, but there’s just something about the way a slimy, orange circle stands out in dead bay leaves.
I immediately began looking for more. If you see the fruiting body of a mushroom there are likely more in the immediate area, maybe under some ground cover if not immediately visible.
The next tree over, an oak, hid an Elfin Saddle, or Black Saddle. There are two relatively common varieties in Northern California - Helvella vespertina and Helvella dryophila - which are honestly quite difficult to tell apart if not next to each other. However, the surrounding plants can help identify; vespertina grown under conifers like pine and Douglas fir, while dryophila is associated with oaks.
Helvella dryophila, growing under an oak tree like it’s supposed to
While Helvella dryophila is edible, I left it. Foraging mushrooms can be ambiguous and dangerous. I’ve been an amateur botanist and naturalist for over a decade and, even if I’m 99% sure my identification was correct, I never forage for mushrooms unless someone with much more experience is present. Even a toxic mushroom is edible once.
I spotted a super ambiguous mushroom on the same drive. It looked like an Agaric of some kind, maybe an Amanita. It could easily have been a Springtime Amanita, which are very tasty. It could just as easily have been a Death Cap, which can easily cause liver failure, or another Amanita so charmingly called the Angel of Death. All three look relatively indistinct and grow in overlapping areas.
Forbidden snack
The variety of ways in which mushrooms spread spores is also, frankly, super weird. The Waxcap and mystery Amanita have gills on the bottom, where the spores are released. Helvella dryophila, however, has no such structures. The Puffball mushroom, which also grows around here, is a white ball that can grow feet across. They dry out when mature and release spores through a hole at the top when hit with a raindrop or stepped on. Coincidentally, a young puffball looks almost identical to a young Death Cap or Springtime Amanita. They are also delicious.
