Sorry for the delay in posting; I am still unable to access the site through Bells**th’s dns server, despite 3 hours on the phone with their delightful offshored tech support this morning. So this post will have to be sent sans photos for now; if I’m ever able to connect from home again, I will upload the appropriate photos.
While out weeding this morning after a delightful bout of Gustav- or Hanna-driven rain (I can’t really tell which, although I suspect this morning’s showers were courtesy of Gus), I was finally able to investigate the various species of fungus in our backyard. We have at least four species that are very easy to tell apart from each other, although I can’t identify a single one of them to known species; my field guides to Florida’s birds, reptiles, seashores, swamps, trees, shrubs, ferns, etc. do not cover fungi very extensively. Even some very nice websites of Florida fungi don’t show any of my critters. If and when I upload the photos, I hope someone can help me figure out what they might be. For now, the descriptions will have to do.
The first reminds me of a brain coral, although it has obvious differences, apart from the fact that it’s in my backyard, not underwater. The fungus is red, not tan, it has a pungent smell that attracts flies and ants from all over the place, and the loops are open, not closed and, well, brainy-looking. It appears to have a 2-part life-cycle, first appearing as a cluster of white pods, then breaking out into its final form, which resembles a rotting ball of coral. I suspect this is a stinkhorn of some sort, related to the columnar stinkhorn (see below), because of the smell, but the red instead of orange color, and the large size, and the fact that I’ve not seen photos of the pod-like baby forms anywhere make me wonder if it might not be something else. It sure stinks, though.
The second is a beautiful orange color, columnar, and nonstinky (all the websites I’ve seen with approximations of it show what looks to be my fungus, but it should be stinky. Mine aren’t; the red ones smell horrible!). I should have gotten pictures of it earlier in the week, because by now it’s deflating and nowhere near as photogenic.
The third is a normal stem-and-cap variety, but very small:
And the fourth is perfectly round, and resembles an old toy ball, until one squeezes it: then it becomes a huge puffball of spores that literally puff out at you; very scary. (How much fungus did I inhale? Will my lungs get moldy? etc.)
With fingers crossed that my proxy server will allow this post, here goes nothing!
UPDATE: As you can see, I have been able to add photos. This is no thanks to BellSouth; I still can’t access from home. But I came in early to work today and was able to access from here. Still working on the local access problem…