Pear-shaped Puffballs

A post for ABC Wednesday/Guest Heart Thursday

Scroll down to the second photo for the heart.

P is for Pear-shaped Puffballs

(Lycoperdon Pyriforme)

One of the several species of smaller Puffballs, is the Pear-shaped Puffball. Huge masses of hundreds of these puffballs can cover the length of well rotted hardwood logs. Individual fruiting bodies are 2-5cm tall, shaped like a pear, with the swollen end up. They are smooth with fine, mealy grains. As the spores ripen inside, a small hole develops on the top of the fruiting body. Raindrops that land on the puffball, tap the thin skin and force out a cloud of spores that will drift away in the wind.

Small Puffballs can be eaten safely, but it is important to identify them well. They should be cut open from top to bottom, to be sure there is no eveidence of a developing stem, cap or gills. The button stage of the deadly Destroying Angel mushroom resembles a Puffball.

The letter P was brought to you this week by ABC WEDNESDAY

This shot is for Clytie at Random Hearts! A heart in a puff.

See more Random Hearts @ Clytie's Blog RANDOM HEARTS

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Hemlock Lacquered Polypore- Macro Monday/Ruby Tuesday

I was fascinated by the wide variety of fungi present in the forest up at the cottage.  This is my favourite species.

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The Hemlock Lacquered Polypore

(Ganoderma tsuage)

The fruiting body which can be up to 30cm (11inches) in diameter, develop in a single season. They begin growth in June as soft white and orange knobs, soon fan out, and both the stalk and upper surface become heavily lacquered in shades of red and burgundy.

These fungi belong to the Polypore species, often known as, shelf or bracket fugi. Although not all species form shelf-shaped bodies, the commonality exists in the fact they have tough or woody fruiting bodies, that produce spores in tubes or pores found on the underside.

See more great Macro Shots from around the world

 HERE at Lisa's Chaos MACRO MONDAY

Take at look at various shades of red

HERE at Work Of The Poet's RUBY TUESDAY

Gnome Home

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Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)

This species may be recognized from illustrations in children's books, as the classical fairy or gnome mushroom or toadstool, (more often in red). It may be the source of the folk term "toadstool" as it was once thought that handling toads would give you warts, and if a toad sat on a mushroom, it would develop warts as well...hence toadstool.

The Fly Agaric is poisonus, but will not cause death in humans. The poison was once used to kill house flies.

See more great macro shots from around the world HERE @ MACRO MONDAY

Visit MELLOW YELLOW MONDAY to see many shades of Yellow

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Forest Floor - The Weekend In Black and White

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Find inspiration in small brilliant bursts right at your feet.

See more great monochrome shots HERE @ The Weekend In Black And White

The Alien Has Landed

A post to MACRO MONDAY/RUBY TUESDAY /PICSTORY

Another example of the weird and wonderful fungi found in the forests up at the cottage, in the Haliburton Highlands of Ontario.

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This is a Rosy Russula, most often found in mixed wood forests of Red Maple, Balsm Fir, and spruce trees. This mushroom is a favorite food for Red squirrels. They carry them up trees, and hang them from branch forks, or stuff them in cracks in the bark. There, the mushrooms will dry out, and be preserved for eating later in the winter.

You can see more great MACRO shots from around the world HERE @ Lisa's Chaos.

Click on over to RUBY TUESDAY to see more shades of red from around the world.

Check out this week's theme (macros) @  PIC STORY

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