Environmental Study of my backyard

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by freeztar

Nice!

I looked up the species and I think the one I photographed is actually S. spathulata. None of the pictures I could find looked exactly like my find, but I got the tip about spathulata from this link, which btw, is an excellent guide on mushrooms of the US, particullarly the NW. It's great to see it available for free.

And then...the plot thickens...
All of the links I followed mentioned that these mushrooms are parasitic on the roots of pine and oak. Interestingly, my find lies directly adjacent to an American Holly, with no other trees around for 10m in every direction.
Hmmmm....

Uhmmmm...if your talking about the white shroom that looks like coral, those are oak leaves in the upper-left corner of your photo.

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by palmtreepathos

Nice 'shroom freezy! This hot 100% humid weather had sprouted my yard, too. Last week there were about 50 mushrooms in a 10 x 20 ft area out my front door, many more under the oaks beyond that, some gilled but boletes mostly, red and yelow, browns and whites. I need a nice cheap digital camera so I can get things posted.

Cool!
It seems that everything is taking advantage of the rain while it can.

Can you id. the thorny climber that is in the right side of your picture? It is a real problem in my yard, and so thorny, it could be part of a good security system, that and thistles, or worse!! prickly pears.....

That's a Smilax. They are definitely a pain and I even got barbed while trying to clear room for the photos.

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by Turtle

Uhmmmm...if your talking about the white shroom that looks like coral, those are oak leaves in the upper-left corner of your photo.

Indeed they are.
The problem is that the oak tree is about 1 year old, 2 tops. Hardly a sufficient root mass to feed a mushroom of such large proportions. (I should note that two large oaks are nearby, but still distant from the holly and the fungus)
Perhaps there is a large, rotting oak root-wad beneath the soil that is feeding this thing. It's not too far-fetched considering the holly tree. I can imagine a previous landowner cutting down an oak and planting a holly in its place.
Who knows?

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by freeztar

Indeed they are.
The problem is that the oak tree is about 1 year old, 2 tops. Hardly a sufficient root mass to feed a mushroom of such large proportions. (I should note that two large oaks are nearby, but still distant from the holly and the fungus)
Perhaps there is a large, rotting oak root-wad beneath the soil that is feeding this thing. It's not too far-fetched considering the holly tree. I can imagine a previous landowner cutting down an oak and planting a holly in its place.
Who knows?

I seem to recall oaks & certain fungi have a particular kind of symbiotic relationship wherin they require each other to live. These are different fungi than what take advantage of dead wood.

addendum: Here's the scoop when I looked a little further. Mutualism > Obligate Relationship

Originally Posted by USDA

...Like most oaks, Oregon oak has an obligate relationship with mycorrhizal fungi, which provide additional moisture and nutrients.

(I lost the original link to the above...ooopsss)

Originally Posted by columbia.edu

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/see...7_content.html

Mutualistic relationships are the only type of relationship where both individuals benefit. Usually this benefit takes the form of allowing each species to live in places where they otherwise would not be capable of doing. Mutualisms are often facultative reationships in that the two species can generally live without the other, although both do better when they are with each other. Many mutualisms are obligate relationships, wherein both species need the other to survive and / or propagate.

[freeztar]

I've been a slacker on updating this thread, so I intend to flood it with a few months efforts currently.

This is a bush that is growing right beside my entryway to the backyard:

edit: I've since ID'd this as Elaeagnus pungens.

[freeztar]

Another pic, showing the relational size of the flower.

[freeztar]

This is not from my backyard, but rather from an endangered-threatened plant survey I performed with a colleague in Cobb Co., GA. The flower in question is the Georgia aster, but before we go any further, there are no such things as asters in America now (I think N. America in general, but I haven't confirmed this yet). What used to be known as Aster georgianum is now Symphyotrichum georgiana.

Anyhoo, here are some photos of the flower as well as a descriptive link:
Georgia Aster (Aster georgianus) Species Profile

[freeztar]

I must make a correction. The aster family (Asteraceae) is alive and well. What happened is the Aster genus was broken into other genuses, except for Old World species. More here...

[Cedars]

Originally Posted by freeztar

I must make a correction. The aster family (Asteraceae) is alive and well. What happened is the Aster genus was broken into other genuses, except for Old World species. More here...

I tried to find some additional information about some of the caterpillars which feed on Asters, but I havent been able to locate that yet. I remember being surprised because its one of the larger butterflies around here.

I will keep looking.

[palmtreepathos]

OK it's really my front yard. I came across a nice stinkhorn last week, I took pictures even though it was a day late and it had already broken and was fast becoming a meal for woodsy critters. Today while raking the leaves I noticed that there is a whole nursery of stinkhorn "eggs" waiting for the right conditions to "hatch". Then as I raked leaves off the edge of a pine chip pile I came across this big fella(size and weight = mediium goose egg)... and a few others waiting to burst forth. a first time seeing this type of fungi(sh'room?) in my yard or elsewhere...

patsapeachygal's Public Gallery - AOL Pictures

sorry can't seem to post the right pic... this is the emerging fungi