Macrocybe Titans – North America's Big Honkin' Monster Mushroom

Editor’s Note: Mycology is fascinating to me because fungi constantly remind me of the inherent weirdness of life, and Macrocybe titans is a good example. As a human being, it seems “natural” to have a provincial, species-centric view of the universe, whereby our Read More

Taylor Lockwood's Quest for Bioluminescent Fungi

Editor’s Note: Taylor Lockwood is one of those mushroom lovers who discovered the aesthetic allure of fungi and decided to dedicate himself to photographing the world’s most beautiful and rare fungi. Taylor’s quest for bioluminescent fungi in the Amazon was one of the Read More

Asian Mushrooms – More Mushroom History!

Editor’s Note: This is the 6th post in a series about the history of mycophilia (a condition characterized by an extremely loving and covetous relationship with mushrooms), where I will at last turn my attention to Asian mushrooms. I have Read More

Pleurotus Dryinus, the Veiled Oyster Mushroom

Editor’s Note: In my effort to catalog some of our more common North Carolina and eastern U.S. mushrooms, I have done little to touch on the varied species in the genus Pleurotus, which are generally called “oyster mushrooms.” Oyster mushrooms are one Read More

Mushrooms Are Sexy Part I – A Spore to Shroom View of Fungal Bio

Editor’s Note: Well, I’ve managed to go more than a week without posting to this blog, and the reason is simple but a little reprehensible; you see, it’s officially chanterelle mushroom season in North Carolina, and all the time I Read More

Indigo Milky Caps – An Admirable Edible NC Mushroom

Editor’s Note: Every time I sit down to write an article about one of the many delicious species NC edible mushrooms, I am tempted to start my notes with an exclamation about how it’s one of my favorite fungi of all time. Read More

Chanterelle Mushroom Lookalikes – Pick The Right Mushrooms!

Editor’s Note: This post is a second in a series about collecting chanterelle mushrooms in North Carolina. The last post presented an overview of North Carolina’s large, yellow-gold chanterelle species, so if you want identification tips and a little background Read More

Misunderstanding Mycology: How to Explain Mushroom Hunting to Family and Friends

Editorial Note: Well folks, it’s been one heck of a week at my day job, which means I have had little time to dedicate to writing blogs. I am working on a series about chanterelle mushrooms that you can look Read More

Mushroom Identification Tips and Fungal Taxonomy

There are two kinds of folks in this world: people who think dualistically, and people who don’t. My Taoist-Catholic dad shared that goofy little bit of wisdom with me when I had all my mushroom identification books spread out on the Read More

The Lemon Yellow Lepiota – Leucocoprinus birnbaumii

Some mushroom species thrive in human-curated habitats, and the lemon-yellow lepiota, Leucocoprinus birnbaumii, is no exception. The lemon-yellow lepiota is one of those mushrooms that people constantly ask me to identify, because it is exceedingly common in flower pots and other planters in Read More