Finally, we started our nature journal!
Our first item is a: Mushroom
Date: October 17, 2010
Location: Isobel Lake (near Kamloops, BC)
Type of forest: Douglas Fir, Aspen, Birch
Description: About 6-8 inches tall. Cream, tan, cinnamon brown, some have an orangey-red tinge.
The cap has a domed peak at the top, and widens out at the bottom. Some of the bigger (older?) ones flatten out and curl up, showing the lovely gills underneath!
The cap is cream colored at the tip and gradually darkens to a rich cinnamon brown color. The smaller ones are mostly tan colored and the larger flat ones are mostly orangey brown.
There is a prominent ring (which I recently discovered is called a ‘veil’) around the stem, which is cinnamon brown on the top (inside) and creamy white on the bottom (outside).
There is a whitish-grey powder on the top of the mushrooms, particularly the smaller ones. There is also frost on the mushrooms which makes them sparkle in the sunshine, and this blends into the powdery look.
Some of the larger mushrooms have ripples and slits in their caps.
I have never seen this type of mushroom before, and I think it is absolutely beautiful, an autumn fairy’s paradise!
After doing some research at home, we think that this mushroom could be Rozites Caperata (Gypsy Mushroom) or Phaeolepiota Aurea (Alaskan Gold). Of course, we can’t be sure!
