Crowded Parchment (Stereum complicatum)

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Crowded Parchment

Photo by Robert Briggs

Crowded Parchment (Stereum complicatum) is a common, widely distributed, wood decaying, bracket fungi. It is found from spring through fall as fused masses or dense, overlapping clusters on stumps, logs, and sticks of hardwood trees, especially oak.

The fruiting body is sometimes a thin, semicircular or fan-shaped bracket (cap), but very often it lies flat without a well-defined cap, with the margins free and folded inward. The upper surface is concentrically zoned with shades of orange, orangish-brown, tan, pinkish, or cinnamon. The under surface is bright orange and smooth, with no layer of pores or tubes. The flesh is thin, tough, and inedible.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Fungi/Crowded_Parchment.html

Honey Mushroom (Armillaria mellea group)

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Honey Mushroom

Photo by diraek

Honey Mushroom (Armillaria mellea group) is a common and very widespread, extremely variable group of closely related gill mushrooms. It is found around the globe in the northern temperate zones and has been introduced in South Africa.

At least 14 varieties of Honey Mushroom have been described. Several characteristics are relatively constant. It usually appears in small to massive clusters on stumps or logs, on the lower trunk of living trees, or on the ground growing on tree roots. On young mushrooms the gills are covered with a Kleenex-like, cottony, membranous tissue. On the cap there are usually tiny brown scales, most dense in the center and more or less radiating outward. The stalk is tough, and fibrous, tapered to the base when in clusters, expanded at the base when solitary. The flesh is bitter when raw. The spores are white and white spore dust can be seen on lower mushrooms in large mature clusters.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Fungi/Honey_Mushroom.html

Long-spined Puffball (Lycoperdon pulcherrimum)

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Long-spined Puffball

Photo by Ben Heath

Long-spined Puffball (Lycoperdon pulcherrimum) is a beautiful, small to medium-sized puffball. It is found in the fall, alone or in small groups, on ground under hardwoods or on very rotten wood. It is common in the southern United States, uncommon in Minnesota.

Long-spined Puffball is more or less pear-shaped, about 1½″ in diameter and 2″ in height. It has a globe-shaped top and a sterile, stalk-like base that is usually well developed but sometimes inconspicuous. The top is white and densely covered with spines when young, dark brown to dark purplish-brown, shiny, and smooth at maturity. The slender spines join at the tips in groups of 2 to 6 or more creating numerous pyramid-shaped clusters. They remain white until they are shed or wear away, leaving no marks on the outer layer. When mature, a pore-like mouth develops at the top of the puffball through which spores are released by wind and rain. It is edible when it is young and the flesh is firm and white.

Several spiny puffballs are found in Minnesota. Curtis’s Puffball (Vascellum curtisii) spines and outer layer remain white at maturity. It usually occurs in clusters. Gem-Studded Puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum) stem is substantial. The top is flattened and is covered with short white spines interspersed with white granules. The spines wear off by maturity leaving scars on the pale brown outer layer. Spiny Puffball (Lycoperdon echinatum) spines and outer layer soon turn brown, changing color together.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Fungi/Long-spined_Puffball.html

Jack-o’-Lantern Mushroom (Omphalotus illudens)

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Jack-o’-Lantern Mushroom

Photo by magic mountain mushroom hunters

Jack-o’-Lantern Mushroom (Omphalotus illudens) is a poisonous, bioluminescent, gill mushroom. It is found in woodlands growing on the trunk or stump of a hardwood, especially oak, or on the ground gaining nutrients from tree roots. It gets its common name from its bright orange color, its appearance around Halloween, and its eerie green glow in the dark. One report had it bright enough to read a newspaper by. More trusted sources suggest that the light is very faint and may not always be visible to human eyes. To see the light it is suggested that a person take a fresh, actively growing specimen into a closet, close the door, and wait 30 minutes for their eyes to become accustomed to the dark. Only then a will dim green glow be visible… or not.

Jack-o’-Lantern Mushroom is usually small and found in large clusters, occasionally larger and solitary. The cap is yellowish-orange to orange. The flesh is more or less the same color as the cap. The gills on the underside of the cap are narrow, closely spaced, not forked, and emit a green glow.

Chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius) is similar in appearance but has a long growing season and can be found in the spring. It is usually solitary. The flesh is white. The gills are forked, shallow, and thick.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Fungi/Jack-o-Lantern_Mushroom.html

Black Trumpet (Craterellus fallax)

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Black Trumpet

Black Trumpet (Craterellus fallax) is a common and widespread, edible mushroom. It occurs in deciduous and mixed woodlands across North America but is especially common in the east. It fruits from July to October on the ground, usually under oak, beech, and possibly other hardwood trees. It is often missed because its shape and color allows it to blend in with its surroundings. It sometimes stands out in sharp relief against a green carpet of moss.

Black Trumpet is trumpet-shaped, hollow in the center, tapered to the base, dark brown to black above, and pale below. There is no sharp distinction between the stalk and the cap. It has a fruity fragrance reminiscent of apricots.

Black Trumpet is distinguished by its blackish-brown, trumpet-shaped fruiting body; smooth or only shallowly wrinkled underside; and whitish to pinkish-orange or yellowish sport print. It is similar in appearance to three other “black trumpet mushrooms”, all of which are edible. Ashen Chanterelle (Cantharellus cinereus) has a bluish-black or bluish gray underside that is conspicuously wrinkled with shallow, primitive gills. Blue Chanterelle (Polyozellus multiplex) has a purple or dark blue tinted cap. Horn of Plenty (Craterellus cornucopioides) has a white spore print but is otherwise indistinguishable. It is common in Europe but much rarer in North America.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Fungi/Black_Trumpet.html

Pink underwing (Catocala concumbens)

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pink underwing

Photo by Bill Reynolds

Pink underwing (Catocala concumbens) is a medium to large sized, strikingly colored, underwing moth. It is common from northeastern United States, west to the Upper Midwest, and north to Manitoba and Alberta. In Minnesota it is more common in the northern half of the state.

Pink underwing adults are 1¼″ to 1½″ in length and have a wingspan of 2⅜″ to 3″. The forewings are a nondescript, mottled gray and tan with a pale, kidney-shaped spot and two thin, jagged, black lines. The hindings are pink two black bands and a wide white fringe. They are active at night. When at rest the wings are folded roof-like over the body. When approached or disturbed they spread their forewings revealing the startling color of the hindwings, possibly to scare off or give it time to escape a predator.

There are 39 underwing moth species found in Minnesota, and most are similar in appearance. Pink underwing is distinguished by the pale colors and paler reniform spot on the forewings; and by the pink hindwings with a wide, straight, uninterrupted, white fringe.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Insects/pink_underwing.html

Four-flowered yellow loosestrife (Lysimachia quadriflora)

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four-flowered yellow loosestrife

Four-flowered yellow loosestrife (Lysimachia quadriflora) is a slender, non-woody, flowering plant. It is common in moist and wet prairies across eastern North America. In Minnesota it is found throughout the state except for the Arrowhead region.

When not in flower, the foliage of four-flowered yellow loosestrife is easily overlooked among the taller prairie grasses. The stem is slender and the opposite leaves are narrow, up to 3½″ long but no more than ¼″ wide. The flower arrangement often appears as a whorl of four flowers, each one pointing in a different direction and nodding at the end of a slender stalk. In late summer the flowers are replaced by a shiny, globe-shaped, seed capsule with a long sharp spine at the tip. The capsule ripens in the fall.

Four-flowered yellow loosestrife is identified by the narrow leaves, nodding yellow flowers, and globe-shaped fruit capsule. When in flower, it is similar in appearance to fringed loosestrife (Lysimachia ciliata) and whorled loosestrife (Lysimachia quadrifolia). Both of those species have much wider leaves.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Plants/four-flowered_yellow_loosestrife.html

Bright Cobblestone Lichen (Acarospora socialis)

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Bright Cobblestone Lichen

Bright Cobblestone Lichen (Acarospora socialis) is very common in southwestern United States. It is the most common yellow member of its genus in the southwest, and one of the most common lichens of any kind in the deserts of Arizona and southern California. It is uncommon in Minnesota, where it has been recorded only in Cottonwood County.

Bright Cobblestone Lichen is up to 4″ wide and may be crusty, appearing sprayed on like paint; leaf-like, with thin, flat, lobes; or cracked, appearing somewhat like cracked paint. The upper surface is usually bright yellow or greenish-yellow when fresh but may be bleached white with age.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Fungi/Bright_Cobblestone_Lichen.html

Arcigera flower moth (Schinia arcigera)

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arcigera flower moth

Arcigera flower moth (Schinia arcigera) is common and widespread across North America from the east coast to the Rocky Mountains. In Minnesota, it is found from late July to mid-September in fields with asters.

It is active at night and is attracted to light, but can be also found taking nectar on flowers during the day.

This is a small owlet moth. The adult is about ½″ long and has a wingspan of ⅞″ to 1″. It is distinguished from similar moths by dark brown and pale brown coloration, and by a white, smoothly curved, broadly S-shaped postmedial line.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Insects/arcigera_flower_moth.html

Leif Mountain (TNC)

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Leif Mountain

West Prairie

Leif Mountain is a The Nature Conservancy preserve in Kandiyohi County. Its 801 acres protect a diverse mix of habitats including wet, mesic, and dry prairies, oak forest, cattail marsh, and three lakes.

There are three parking areas on Leif Mountain (see map above) giving access to three very different areas, and visitors should consider exploring all three. The south parking area is on 47 acres that includes about 20 acres of wet and mesic prairie, a 1-acre pond and cattail marsh, and a 2-acre pond. The remainder of this section is cattail marsh. A narrow dry land bridge leads to a wooded peninsula jutting into the marsh south of Section Twelve Lake. Access from the south area to the rest of the preserve is blocked by the lake and by cattail marsh.

The southwest parking area is on 27 acres. It includes two native plant communities, 2½ acres of Dry Sand – Gravel Prairie (Southern) and 1½ acres of Mesic Prairie (Southern), and 5 acres of mixed woodland and wet and mesic prairies. The remainder of the area is cattail marsh.

The west parking area is on about 340 acres. It includes two unnamed lakes, 80 acres of Dry Sand – Gravel Prairie (Southern), 13½ acres of Basswood – Bur Oak – (Green Ash) Forest, and a mix of mesic prairie, wet prairie, and cattail marsh. The high quality forest has common and rare woodland species not found other places on the preserve.

Several species with conservation status in Minnesota have been seen on Leif Mountain, including American White Pelican, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, regal fritillary, and American ginseng.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Destinations/Leif_Mountain.html