Friday September 22, 2023 Mushrooms and Cranefly Orchid fall leaf sighting

We got the truck running again about midweek by replacing both the alternator and the battery. We also cleared many many hundreds of stick trees, mostly light starved, undeveloped and unwell tulip poplars and black cherries.

Tiny trees needing to be thinned.

Crane fly orchid leaves emerging from the ground where we saw the flowers earlier this summer.

We were so excited to see these leaves (in photo above) emerging from the ground. These delicate flowers grow from edible corms.

Crane fly orchid flower photo taken earlier this summer. It emerges without leaves. The leaf comes in September. We were watching for them and still surprised by their beauty.

We found multiple clusters of these beautiful honey mushrooms by the creek bed. Armillaria, the longest lived and largest fungi in the world. The mycelium underground is what’s large with one being measured at 3.5 square miles and estimated to be 2,400 years old. These mushrooms also glow in the dark. They are decomposers. Honey mushrooms are rich in antioxidants and taste slightly sweet. Honey Mushrooms are extremely rich in polysaccharides. Polysaccharides from natural sources have attracted increased attention due to their potential biological functions, especially antioxidant and immunomodulation activities such as scavenging free radicals and inhibiting lipid oxidation.

Coral fungus

Sarcodon scrabrosus, with teeth, is mycorrhizal with beech and oak trees. Found along bottom creek bed from June to October.

It felt very much like fall yesterday with coolness in the air and leaves on the ground. Ophelia moved in to North Carolina and Virginia bringing rain and wind. We can’t wait to see what the new season brings to Saint Andrew’s Forest Farm.