Calvatia booniana
This western Goliath is common in the Rocky Mountains, where it can be found in near-desert conditions at low elevation or higher up, in subalpine meadows. It can reach sizes of over 60 cm across, and features a surface that is prominently ... [... more]
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Mycenastrum corium
This softball-sized puffball has a very thick skin, but a soft interior. When young it looks like a species of Calvatia (perhaps a small Calvatia gigantea), and when old it looks a lot like Scleroderma polyrhizum. It is common in the Rocky ... [... more]
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Tricholoma pessundatum
North American versions of the European species Tricholoma pessundatum are various (and they are probably not the same as the European species, in my humble opinion), but they generally feature brown to reddish brown, sticky caps; whitish gills ... [... more]
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Tricholoma virgatum
Gray species of Tricholoma are numerous and numbing in their ho-hum-ishness, but Tricholoma virgatum manages (just barely) to stand out from the crowd with a combination of features: A dry, sharply conic cap that appears streaked with darker, ... [... more]
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Phlebia radiata
Phlebia radiata is an orange to pink crust fungus that spreads itself across the dead wood of hardwoods and conifers across North America. It has a wrinkled surface in which the wrinkles radiate outward, more or less, from a central location. It ... [... more]
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Tricholoma fulvum
This subtly beautiful Tricholoma features pale yellow gills that contrast nicely with its reddish brown cap. It is found under hardwoods (though the very similar, conifer-loving Tricholoma nictitans may be the same species; see the comments ... [... more]
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Xerula incognita
Xerula incognita is an eastern North American "biological species" supported by mating studies (Petersen & Methven, 1994). It is very similar in appearance to Xerula furfuracea, Xerula megalospora, and to the European species Xerula [... more]
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Calvatia fragilis
Calvatia fragilis is essentially a smaller version of the well known Calvatia cyathiformis. Like that species, it has purple-brown spore dust at maturity and, under the microscope, it features spiny spores. Calvatia fragilis differs, however, in ... [... more]
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Phlebia tremellosa
This funky mushroom is widespread in North America, and can be found on the dead wood of hardwoods or, occasionally, conifers. Its typical form is a classic example of what mycologists call an "effused-reflexed" fruiting body; it spreads its ... [... more]
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Xylaria longiana
Xylaria longiana is a scrawny species of Xylaria, virtually indistinguishable from the better known Xylaria hypoxylon, except for having smaller spores. It grows on the wood of oaks in eastern North America, and its spores feature a straight germ ... [... more]
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Geastrum morganii
This rare earthstar is similar in appearance to the much more common Geastrum saccatum; like that species it is small and features a spore case that appears to be nested comfortably in a small bowl. However, Geastrum morganii has a prominent, ... [... more]
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Xerula furfuracea
Xerula furfuracea is the largest, brownest species of Xerula on our continent. It is distributed throughout eastern North America, where it pops up alone or gregariously in association with the buried, dead roots of hardwoods--though it usually ... [... more]
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