6.27.26 Washington Park, Chicago, IL (B)

 


Splitgills

These ones have stems, while the ones at the to don't

Those splitgills sure have some split gills!

When it gets dry, splitgills close their gills to protect the spores inside, as they are doing here. If it rains, they open up, but if it doesn't, they'll start to shrivel up. But don't let that make you think they're dead! I've seen tiny, bone dry, super shriveled up splitgills in my backyard look brand new after a nice rain. Plus, what we see here is only the reproductive part of the fungus. The main body, mycelium, is buried inside the wood, chowin' down on some nice lignin

So many!

Unidentified mycelium on some very compacted lawn soil

Mycelium is often much more rootlike than this, and almost always buried. You'll see this pattern of mycelium mostly on petri dishes, not soil. Note the ant photobomber at the bottom

A very old mushroom, possibly in the genus Neoflavolus

Brush-legged Split Wolf Spider

Cool!

Young American Witch-hazel Seed Pods

Splitgills and lichen

Unidentified polypores

It may be White Cheese polypore, but this is unlikely because it was fruiting in chicago summer and is on pine, while it likes to grow on birches in boreal areas.

Cool pine bark and some weird stuff

Wood Ducks

Bacterial Crown Gall


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