An abundance of mushrooms and other fungi is a normal part of September in the Northland. Rarely are we without sight of some as we go through the steps from summer to fall. These strange growths do well on the decay material of the forests. Anyone looking around on a woods walk would see plenty on logs, dead trees and even rotting leaves where they grow well. Though sunlight is not needed for their emergence, moisture is.
With the drought of this past summer, fewer fungi appeared than expected. Rains in early September brought some and we experienced good numbers during the second week of the month. As I walked in my woods at this time, I found about 30 kinds. These ranged from some smaller than our fingernails in size to ones as large as a dinner plate. Subsequent warm and dry conditions slowed their growth and it looked like our fungi time was quick to come and go.
And then more rains came in late September. (It remains to be seen if the drought is over.) We saw a resurgence of these little umbrella structures in our yards. I noticed that the mushrooms of this most recent time are more in the yards than the woods. They grew big and numerous and, being near our dwellings, they were easy to see.
Two large white ones that we had in our lawns were Amanita and Agaricus. Mushrooms are so complex and varied that they are often referred to by only their scientific names. These two though have common labels: white Amanita, destroying angel, and Agaricus, meadow mushroom. Both have white caps, stems and rings on the stems.
The Amanita, however, have white gills under the cap; those of Agaricus are pink or dark. Meadow mushrooms are frequently grown and eaten, but destroying angels live up to their name. Since they appear similar, it best to avoid picking and eating either.
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Also seen in our yards: red Russula and Hygrophorus, gray Marasmius, black-gilled Coprinus and spherical puffballs, some huge, as big as a basketball. A curious mushroom phenomenon at this time, too, is their circular growth pattern. We often see these rings of mushrooms in lawns as a complete circle or as a partial arc. Though many kinds will grow in such a shape, Agaricus and Marasmius seem to be the most common. Indeed, the light brown Marasmius is sometimes called the "fairy-ring" mushroom.
In true mushroom mystery, these circles appear quickly, almost over night. Where did they come from and why do they grow in this shape? It turns out that the thread-like roots (hyphae) of the fungus is in the ground and waits for the right conditions to grow. With each year that goes by, they progress from a centralized start to spread out further; thus causing a circle to appear, something like that of ripples in a pond.
Soon cool temperatures will halt any hyphae advance, but for now let's look at and enjoy these fall fungal fancy growths in our yards.
Larry Weber lives in Carlton County and teaches natural science at Duluth's Marshall School.
