.3-.5 cm Black stems with bluish to whitish, translucent spore mass. Other stems were thicker and fading from black to brown, with the spore mass becoming irregularly shaped, somewhat like a molar tooth.
Very small white poroid fungus with off white/brownish pores. The fruiting body looks like half of an old-fashioned telephone receiver.
Growing on a fallen oak.
The underside and pore surface is slightly darker than the upper side. Pores 5-6 per mm.
Chaga--looks like cracked charcoal growing out of a birch tree. It is a medicinal mushroom. See Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inonotus_obliquus
Red Velvet Mite
Tiny, bright red arachnid. It moves very quickly. Sighted on trees, plants, leaf litter, fallen logs.
Hypoxylon Canker of Oak--White crust fungus about a meter wide with fruiting bodies appearing as black spots. On a fallen oak log where the bark has been dislodged.
The pure white petals above the clasping leaves make this flower easy to recognize.
Small (less than 1 cm), orangish red, broadly cup-shaped. Fringed with fine hairs that resemble eyelashes.
Found under Tulip trees (Liriodendron tulipifera). Morchella taxonomy has been newly revised, and M. diminutiva is the name for the "Tulip Morel". It is small, from 2-9 cm tall, with a whitish stem, which may or may not have mealy granules of the same whitish color. All morels are hollow from stem through cap.
The flowers look like a Cardamine species, but are the leaves right for Cardamine? The plant grows in wet areas in open woods.
Extremely common and invasive plant. Leaves have a sharp, garlicky odor. Garlic mustard is nutritious, and though strongly flavored, makes a decent pesto, especially when mixed half with parsley or basil. Pick as early in the year as possible, before the plants flower and the leaves become more bitter.
Medium sized morel, commonly called a "Black Morel". These were found under Tulip trees (Liriodendron tulipifera).The head is yellowish-brown with many pits created by vertical and horizontal ridges. The stem is whitish with tiny granules of the same color. Like all true morels, it is hollow from top to bottom.
Morchella taxonomy has been newly redefined, so the official name is new.
Brittle brown cup-shaped fungus growing on the ground.
I found this along a path. I like the reddish coloration in the leaves.
