Fungi Seen on Wisconsin Hikes: The Common and the Weird
We hiked a segment of the Timm’s Hill Trail yesterday. It was mid-day, and still very comfortable out. Donning jeans and t-shirts with an adequate dose of bug spray, on our hats and clothes, we set off just after 2 pm. Our yellow lab, Molly, was with us too. She loves the trail for her walk and is anxious to go on it every day (we usually don’t do this daily, although she gets plenty of other walks).
After going into the woods, not too far, I saw a strange orange-colored object on the ground before us. At first, I thought it was a piece of plastic. But, on closer inspection, I noted that it was actually some kind of fungus. There was no stalk or gills, which are present in a lot of fungi you encounter in the woods. Of course, I stopped to take a photo. This act, the one of photographing, and being able to visually recall the object in question helps me to learn the names of fungi, flora, or fauna encountered in our Wisconsin woods. As I’m more accustomed to prairie biomes, I find myself with a lot of new species to learn. This makes me happy, as I love to learn new things about our natural world.
