The colorful and mild days of early October are very inviting for a walk in the forest. Weather conditions usually cooperate, there are few pesky insects and a delightful scene awaits those who take such a stroll.
The leaves are always what bring us out at this time, and we are seldom disappointed by the red and yellow shows. Red pigment, called anthocyanin, is made from excess sugars in the leaves now that photosynthesis season is over. Therefore, reds are most common at the edges of woods where ample sunlight is available. Yellow, xanthophyll, which shows up after the green chlorophyll breaks up, was actually present in leaves all summer, but just not seen when overshadowed by the green. Yellow trees can be anywhere, shade or sun, and so far outnumber the reds.
But as nearly all woods walks reveal, there is more to see on such an October adventure. Chipmunks actively store any discovered food. Migrant songbirds, such as kinglets, sparrows, thrushes and a few late warblers, move by. And, thanks to recent rains, we now have a good batch of mushrooms.
Every year in the Northland, we have a prime time for the mushroom crop.
This may be any time from mid-July to mid-October, depending on proper temperatures and moisture. With the dry, late summer this year, mushrooms were hard to come by, but as if waiting, they appeared after the recent rains. They are most abundant in the woods where they get nutrition from dead and decaying leaves, logs or stumps, but it is not unusual to see a growth of these umbrella-shaped structures in our lawns as well.
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Large yellow or white Amanita may be on the lawn now. While common, they should not be consumed. The smaller white Agaricus, meadow mushrooms, are here too. In a composting area or pile of wood chips, we can find some tall, brown parasols. Red-capped russulas abound in the woods as do the tan boletes.
Pholiota, also known as scaly-cap mushrooms, grow in clusters up on the sides of trees, several feet above the ground. Here, this group of mushrooms finds the dead bark of the tree (the outer bark) to be a fine place to live and grow. Most of the mushrooms growing at such a location will emerge from a single site, making for some twisted and curved stems. These stems hold rings while the caps are covered with wedge-like bumps that lead to the common name of "scaly-cap."
In addition to this, caps are also frequently sticky and slimy. Pholiota grows each year and, even if the year is dry, these yellowish to brown mushrooms can be found. And unlike many of their kind, they do quite well in the cool days of October. This year, after the long-awaited rains, they are thriving. Clusters may be composed of up to 20 members and be a foot or more across. Though these groups can have few mushrooms, Pholiota are usually not alone.
Chilly temperatures later this month will bring down the leaves and, shortly thereafter, the mushroom season will end. Even though we had to wait for a while to see this 'shroom show, it is worth the wait, and those taking a woods walk now see fascinating fungi along with the fall foliage.
Larry Weber is the author of "Backyard Almanac." He lives in Carlton County and teaches natural science at Duluth's Marshall School.
