by D.
Andrew White, Foray Director
In the
Spring of 2011, from April 30 to May 29, we conducted
twelve
forays. More than 70 species were collected on these
forays
and full details will be available on the website shortly.
The species
collected included the following:
After
the end of April the number of morels collected
increased
from very few to bountiful by the middle of May.
These
were mostly Morchella esculenta, with Morchella
elata making
a fairly good showing. A fair number of falsemorels,
Gyromitra
species, were also collected.
Umberto
Pascali found a patch of false-truffles, possibly a
Thaxterogaster
species, in the York Forest Ballantrae tract on
May 22.
They were not fully buried, as would be true truffles.
These
puffball-like fungi are mushrooms with aborted gills
and the
gills were visible when the "puffballs" were sliced in
half.
The
bright red cup shaped fruiting bodies of Sarcoscypha
austriaca
were found on several forays, as were specimens of
Black
Witch's Butter, Exidia glandulosa. The jelly-like cones
of Heterotextus
alpina were found in the Durham Forest on
May 28.
The generally rainy and overcast weather may have
contributed
to the bonanza of jelly fungi.
Tim
Myles found brackets of Heterobasidion irregulare, or
white
pocket rot, on a stump in the Nashville tract near
Kleinburg
on May 14. This white-rot agent is widespread in
Ontario.
The brackets often escape notice, as they are rather
nondescript.
White
pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) fruiting bodies
were
noticed as orange-yellow miniature brackets. Ustulina
deusta, the
burnt crust fungus was present on nearly every
foray.
There were several examples of Chlorociborium
aeruginascens,
recognised by its blue-green staining of the
wood.
The wolf's milk slime mould, Lycogala epidendrum,
was
also abundant.
There
was good member turn-out again this year, with the
average
number of participants at each foray being about 27,
slightly
over the previous year's spring average of 26.
D.
Andrew White
In this