Gabriolan.ca

This bracket fungus lives in the Gabriola woods. Look at all that white stuff that’s dripped out of the fungus!

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This tree came down a while ago in the Gabriola woods. See where on the trunk the break occurred: just where the bracket fungus grew. (Thanks to the break, I can see how the white fungus has infiltrated the trunk.) Did the fungus weaken the trunk there? Or did it find an already-weak spot, and [...]

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Last year Gabriola’s morel mushrooms appeared at the start of April. I’m waiting for them, frying pan in hand! You too? If you’re a morel fan, you might like this Science Daily article: Genetic Analysis Reveals History, Evolution of an Ancient Delicacy — Morels.

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Here’s what we spotted in the Gabriola woods today: this cauliflower-sized fungus growing on a moss-covered tree. It looks like a mass of roasted marshmallows, I think, especially ones that have browned a bit on one side from being close to the flames. Remarkable.

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We’ve got lots of Turkey Tail mushrooms on Gabriola; I’ve blogged about them here. Today I noticed a Fungi Perfecti research update about this fungus: Turkey Tail mushrooms support immunity of breast cancer patients in NIH-funded clinical study. (.pdf) Fascinating. Related link: Medicinal Mushrooms. (It’s not the kind of mushroom you’d want to eat with [...]

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Tags: Coriolus versicolor, Plyporus versicolor, Trametes versicolor, Turkey Tail

At first glance I thought that somebody had lost some shiny buttons in the Gabriola forest. But no, they’re black cup fungi, each holding a pool of water. They grow on moss-covered dead wood, under cedar and alder trees. At this point I think they’re probably Plectania milleri. Related: Trial field key to the species [...]

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This is what I spotted in the Gabriola woods the other day, growing on an alder tree. The whole thing is about, oh, a half the size of your pinky fingernail. Rather cool, isn’t it? I’ve seen lots of jelly fungi on Gabriola, but haven’t noticed any pink jellies before this. If you happen to [...]

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Today a friend told me about an odd blue fungus she’d seen in the Gabriola woods. She sent a photo, too, and this is it. Impressive, hmm? As soon as I read up on this fungus, I realized that it is the answer to one of the Gabriola forest mysteries that has been puzzling me [...]

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Many of you have been busy hanging Christmas ornaments on trees. Meanwhile, I’ve been walking through the Gabriola woods, and seeing what ornaments nature puts on the island’s trees in winter. Here’s one – I bet none of your ornaments are quite like this! It’s a jelly fungus, and it grows on alder trees in [...]

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Tags: jelly fungi

Paul Kroeger first documented the world’s deadliest mushroom a short walk from his home on East 40th Avenue in Vancouver….Kroeger said death cap mushrooms (Amanita phalloides) have entered Canada through the roots of non-native trees. They showed up in Mission in 1997 and are now also found on southern Vancouver Island….In Europe, deaths caps are [...]

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There’s a Gabriola woman who uses parasols on sunny days in the summer. We see her walking along North Road, looking composed and parasol-worthy. I think of that woman in October, when zillions of mushrooms appear in the Gabriola woods. Some, like this one, look for all the world like miniature parasols. Would Gabriola’s Lady [...]

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Here’s a tree in the Gabriola forest, and look – see how that weird fungus has plastered itself on the tree? It’s more dramatic on the other side, where woodpeckers have exposed much of the tree’s innards. So first it looked like this, and then the fungus got way out of hand, and then there [...]

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The Gabriola woods are full of mushrooms in the fall — this one has just popped up within the last few days. It’s an elfin saddle, also known as helvella lacunosa. This one’s all shiny because it’s soaked. It’s been raining all day in the forest, and the dog does think I’m insane when I [...]

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This antler-like fungus is all over the place in the Gabriola woods, and it’s particularly healthy at the moment. I think it’s Calocera cornea.

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If you’re interested in Gabriola’s wild mushrooms, you might like this video. It features Ray Mears, a British guy who makes films about foraging for wild foods, wilderness bushcraft, and so forth. Ray shows some of the mushrooms we’ve got on Gabriola — make special note of the poisonous fly agaric and panther agaric mushrooms. [...]

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You probably weren’t expecting the Gabriola forest to sprout pink stuff at this time of year, were you? But it turns out that we have all quite a few pink fungi about the place. This is one of dozens I pass on my morning walks.

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I’ve met several people on Gabriola who’ve messed with magic mushrooms at one time or another. One well-known Gabriolan was shown picking magic mushrooms on national television, while another used to hop the fence at VanDusen Botanical Gardens (Vancouver) each morning to get to the magic mushrooms before security arrived on the job. Recently another [...]

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Tags: psilocybin, Somerset Farm

Autumn is bliss for mushroom-hunters on Gabriola: something new pops up every day, and it’s often beautiful, fascinating, and delicious. This thing? It’s huge, and looks like frilly egg noodles gone wild. It is Sparassis crispa, the cauliflower fungus. Apparently they’re edible and very tasty, so perhaps I should go back and harvest this one.

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