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| Russula and Lactarius Mushrooms with Lichen, Leaves & Acorn |
One of my favorite photography pastimes is to wander around the forest looking for interesting fungi to make the centerpiece of a still life that includes various objects I find in the immediate vicinity. This morning I walked out the Benstein Trail and once again was impressed by how different the forest looks now. Where it was recently so thick with vegetation that in many places you couldn't even see very far much less stray very far off the trail. Completely new vistas have been opened up, and the forest floor is covered with wood chips.
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| Until recently you'd never have seen so much blue sky through the woods from this vantage point along the Benstein Trail. |
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| Omphalotus Gills & Madrone Berries |
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| Mushrooms & Berries |
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| I was pretty sure when I first saw these that they were false chanterelles, but when I picked one and saw its gills I still did a double-take. These are Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca, and I'd never seen them sprouting in such profusion on Mt. Tam before. They love wood chips, though, and the forest floor is practically nothing but, so they might become more common. |
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| This is just a small sample of what was there. |
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| Omphalotus Gills with Rose Hips and Toyon, Lichen and Moss |
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Small Bolete with Acorns and Moss
(Possibly Xerocomus subtomentosus.) |
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| Laccaria amethysteo-occidentalis on Moss |
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