Recently, I introduced you to some very lovely Amanita muscaria. Most of them were a bright, blazing red, like so:
Amanita muscaria
Some, however, were more sun-colored. We likes sun-colored things here in Seattle, considering how infrequently we get to see the thing that inspired phrases like sun-colored.
The mushroom that would be the sun.
Amanita muscaria comes in varieties, in fact, and this might be Amanita muscaria var. guessowii. But I’m just guessowiing. Ah-ha-ha. I iz so funneh. Please don’t hit me.
Unknown Amanita and oak leaf
I’m not sure which variety this one is. This is where you fungi lovers get to have your fun.
Unknown Amanita
They look delightful, don’t they? And they are – just so long as you don’t eat them
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rq
December 29, 2012 at 2:22 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
They have white ones and green ones, too… DUN DUN DUNNNNNN!!!
If you ever find a blue or purple one, you could probably win a major science award. ;)
Peter Werner
December 29, 2012 at 4:15 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
At the risk of sounding pedantic, it’s Amanita muscaria subsp. flavivolvata, (aka Amanita amerimuscaria nom. prov.). Basically, the standard North American member of the Amanita muscaria complex, which generally starts out red and fades to more yellowish tones with age. Amanita muscaria var. guessowii is a northeastern US/eastern Canadian population that is deep yellow right from emergence.
True A. muscaria subsp. muscaria is a Eurasian species that ranges into Alaska. Somewhere around the middle of Alaska is the biogeographic divide between that and subsp. flavivolvata.
More than you’ll ever want to know on the topic, via the website of Rod Tuloss, the world’s foremost Amanita taxonomist: http://www.amanitaceae.org/?species%20muscaria
This species is a favorite subject of time lapse photographers. Here’s a few videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evp6oQst0v8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq2NFy1Pfgk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8IwT6-e4h8
In the second, you can see the fading from red to yellow with age. The third video is of var. guessowii.
Karen Locke
December 29, 2012 at 5:16 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
They look as if they might jump up and start to dance, a la Disney’s “Fantasia”.
abear
December 29, 2012 at 4:37 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Peter; Great links, especially the Rod Tuloss website.
Charles Sullivan
December 30, 2012 at 12:05 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
You can’t invoke Funkadelic without ‘Funk Get Stronger,” if it please you: