Trails and Tales Contest Honorable Mention
“Let’s go on a mushroom hunt!” This crisp day is perfect for hunting mushrooms in our forest. I fill a cardboard box with knives, bowls, pens, paper, and, most importantly, our mushroom guide. As my family tramps across the lawn, we already notice some blewits in the grass.
A few feet into the forest, we spy some fairy ring mushrooms. We stumble upon these mushrooms repeatedly throughout the rest of our hike. The beige fungi are commonly found in rings in forested areas and grasslands.
Shortly, an eager shout echoes through the forest. “Over here! It’s a really strange one!”
I hurry through the perilous woods, fraught with trailing blackberry brambles, swinging branches, and leaf-filled pitfalls. Soon I see a clump of peach-colored mushrooms that looks like seaweed growing out of a log. These mushrooms are unusual and unlike any we have ever seen. My mother busily pages though the mushroom book. “This mushroom is called a straight-branched coral,” she informs us.
After admiring the scene, we gently dislodge the mushroom-toting branch and place it into our box, making sure to leave some mycelia in the ground for next year.
Strolling through the forest of pine, alder, maple, and birch trees, Mother exclaims, “Children, come and see.”
My sisters and I peer at a large brown mushroom near the base of a fern. “Look! There are some more on this side.”
A neat ring of fungus circles the fern plant. Strangely enough, all the mushrooms are smashed or eaten. What had eaten them? Were they particularly palatable? Because the mushrooms are not whole, we decide to leave them alone.
As we traverse the leafy terrain, my father discovers a fancy-looking white mushroom peeking out from beneath a pile of leaf mold. Ivory flecks dot the cap, which sits atop a fluffy stem. It is a shaggy parasol!
We also find some very small black mushrooms coming out of the ground.
“There’s an interesting one here,” says Father. Nestled in the nook of a decaying tree is a mahogany mushroom.
“This one is deadly,” Felix declares, as he pores through mushroom facts. We do not collect this one.
Entering a more shady part of the forest, we behold big patches of fairy rings. We also notice several miniature bright orange mushrooms—vermilion waxcap. Every now and then, we spy beautiful turkey tail mushrooms, a type of shelf mushroom that can emerge from many kinds of hardwood trees. They ripple in shades of green, white, tan, orange, and red.
Farther along, I observe an old pile of sawn logs which has 2-inch-high (5 cm) mushrooms flourishing nearby. These dark objects with tall thin stems and what appear to be tiny floor lamp shades are inky caps. When squeezed, they release a black liquid once used as ink.
When my sister and I are ready to head home, a delicate goblet mushroom appears at my feet. Its upturned cap reveals snow white gills underneath. I gently pick it up and set it in the box—a good end to our mushroom hunt.
