fungi

A trio of Fall mushrooms growing on a mossy stump at Campbell Valley Park in Langley, British Columbia, Canada

Mushrooms in Campbell Valley Park (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

   This small group of mushrooms was growing in a mossy stump at Campbell Valley Regional Park in Langley, British Columbia. Virtually any forested area in the Fraser Valley will have a lot of mushrooms this time of year, especially if there has been enough moisture to support them. I like photographing mushrooms, especially when the fall colours are fading in the parks close to home. I had actually gone to this park the day before, but forgot my macro lens. While my 70-200mm does a great job of photographing subjects like these from a distance, I pushed the minimum focusing distance a bit too much and wound up with sharp moss and out of focus mushrooms in some photographs (a lazy mistake). So I went back the next day with the macro lens to do a proper job. I wasn’t able to decide if I liked the wider angle version or the tighter composition of the second image, so I posted both of them here.

Trio of small mushrooms on a mossy stump (Purchase)

-click to enlarge-

   Despite my Biology background, I have little knowledge of mushroom and fungi identification. I always try to ID everything I photograph down to the species level if possible. With mushrooms, unless they are very distinct, I have very little luck getting to the Genus level on occasion. Since I can’t ID the ones I photograph, I’m never going to be someone who goes out to get ones to eat! Too many subtle variations between species, sometimes requiring a microscope for proper identification. I think I will stick to the ones in the grocery store!