What in the Woods Is That?

Play our biweekly guessing game!

Whatever draws us into the forest—be it birdwatching or logging, hiking or hunting—all of us are unified by the sense of wonder we feel in the outdoors. The forests, fields, and streams of our region are full of mystery, and if you stop and look closely, you’ll see all sorts of oddities.

Below find a picture of one such woodlands curio. Guess what it is and you’ll be eligible to win a Northern Woodlands woodpecker magnet designed by artist Liz Wahid. A prize winner will be drawn at random from all the correct entries. The correct answer, and the winner’s name, will appear when the next column is posted and in our newsletter (sign up here!).

Malformed Mushroom Mystery

We’ve found many examples of this funky fungal form along trails this past week, ranging from pale orange to brick red in color, all having the basic mushroom cap and stem shape, but none having exactly the same form, and none showing gills or other reproductive structures. What are these?

Answer

These are lobster mushrooms, the result of a parasitic ascomycete fungus, Hypomyces lactifluorom, engulfing species of Russula and milky cap mushrooms, malforming their shape, and covering them with the ascomycete’s bright orange tissue. If you break one of these forms in half, you’ll see the original mushroom’s white tissue inside, and you may also detect a fishy smell.

This week’s contest winner was Sue Van Hook