This week in the woods, we had the privilege of participating in a guided walk hosted by Northern Woodlands and led by mushroom expert and author extraordinaire, Meg Madden. One of the many specimens that Madden identified during that walk was conifer cone cap, Baeospora myosura, a mostly autumnal species that grows exclusively on the decaying cones of eastern white pines and other conifers. By specializing on this unusual food source, conifer cone cap avoids competing for food with most other fungi.
Jack-in-the-pulpit berries are ripe now, and a diversity of wildlife eat them, plucking them off their black cobs. We found this one lying on a trail and wondered, somewhat guiltily, if some creature had been carrying away their feast but panicked when they heard the darned humans coming. (We left the berries where they lay, took a quick photo, and hurried away.)
Most polypores are firmly attached to the side of a log or tree, but tiger’s eye, Coltricia perennis, and its browner cousin, C. cinnamomea, grow on stems, often in moss. These fungi will grow late into autumn, and because they’re tough bodied, you’ll still see them – weather worn but still pretty – poking out of the midwinter snow.
Finally, we were delighted to see a Milbert’s tortoiseshell butterfly nectaring on New England aster at the Lyme Hill Conservation area not far from Northern Woodlands’ office. These beautiful butterflies rely on nettle species as their caterpillar hosts, and they have two broods per summer. Second brood butterflies start flying at the end of August and overwinter as adults.
What have you noticed in the woods this week? Submit a recent photo for possible inclusion in our monthly online Reader Photo Gallery.