Icy Fungi! - Observation of the Week, 1/9/24

Our Observation of the Week is this ice-encrusted Artomyces cristatus fungus, seen in the United States by @orofeaiel!

Originally from the US state of Georgia, Jen F moved west to Washington state “specifically for the rain, mountains, and better job prospects in the field I'm in (healthcare),” and took up hiking as a hobby, motivated by the beautiful landscape there. 

Hiking and being outdoors, I've discovered, is my greatest source of joy, peace, and healing. Though I've been hiking for many years, I've only recently begun to learn to identify species and it has made my time outdoors so much more fun and engaging and I feel even more connected to the land and life having a greater understanding of it. My favorite species to find and identify are fungi and slime molds.

So, after hearing that a friend had found some Artomyces cristatus fungi not too long ago, they went out together to find them. “I'm always on the lookout to ‘acquire’ new species sightings,” she says, “[and] after some hunting we were able to locate some. As we photographed them, we were observed closely by a curious goat and horse pair of best friends from a nearby property.”

A type of coral fungus (the tips of the fungus point upward), Artomyces fungi grow on rotting wood, as you can see in Jen’s photos, and look pretty great with some ice crystals on their fruiting bodies. They’re in the order Russulales, a highly diverse group of mushrooms that come in quite a few shapes and structures.  

Jen (above, in a self portrait) tells me she grew up in a family that wasn’t particularly outdoorsy so she didn't get into nature until adulthood. “I use iNaturalist to catalogue my sightings, see what others are observing in my area, track observations of my favorite species, and learn about new species I want to see, she explains.

Using iNaturalist has definitely changed the way I see and interact with the world in a major way. I look more closely and go more slowly when outdoors, observing life I had not noticed in my years before learning about species. I'm much more in awe and appreciative of the world around me.

Jane Goodall worded it more aptly than I ever could: “All the time I was getting closer to animals and nature, and as a result, closer to myself and more in tune with the spiritual power that I felt all around. For those who have experienced the joy of being alone with nature there is really little need to say more; for those who have not, no words of mine can ever describe the powerful, almost mystical knowledge of beauty and eternity that come, suddenly, and all unexpected.”

- take a gander at the most-faved Russulales observations on iNaturalist!

- six years ago @bouteloua's icy coneflower was an Observation of the Week!

Posted on January 9, 2024 08:26 PM by tiwane