Hi could you help me identify these guys? They were growing in a mixed forest in eastern Canada. Tha
Hi could you help me identify these guys? They were growing in a mixed forest in eastern Canada. Thanks for any IDs![Submitted by @arduinna-jade]Hey, thanks for sending these in, they’re really pretty photos! Unfortunately, without pictures of the gills (or underside - though these are all almost definitely gilled mushrooms) I’m not going to be able to identify many! I’ll go from most to least certain.Middle-left is Amanita muscaria, var. guessowii. This is a North American variation or subspecies of Amanita muscaria, the fly agaric mushroom, distinguished by its yellow, rather than red, cap, and the shaggy rings around the base of the stem. There should also be a loose stem ring around the upper stem - remnants of the universal veil or ‘egg’ from which this mushroom emerges - but this can wash off, or may be hidden by the cap in this photo.Middle-right is a member of the family, Russulaceae, which contains the brittlegill and milkcap mushrooms. The bright red cap is indicative of a brittlegill, Russula sp. Unfortunately, Russula, especially red-capped Russula are infamously difficult to identify, especially from photos. Without seeing the gill, stem, and surrounding area, I don’t want to even take a guess! It could be Russula cystidiosa, Russula cremoricolor, Russula cessans, or Russula sanguinea, to name a few, not to mention a dozen Russula species recognised in Europe, that may or may not be present in North America - or may claim to be present in North America, but are actually different species, or several species classified under one Latin name. The taxonomy of Russula is poor and identifying them is a nightmare, as you can read about here. Identifying for edibility is often done via taste-test, while identifying to a ‘species’ often requires microscopic examination.Top-left looks like a milkcap, a Lactarius species, so called because of the milk-like substance that the gills exude when damaged, and also a member of the family Russulaceae. Again, there are many white or white-ish Lactarius species I could name, but I could not come any closer to suggesting an ID! Alternatively, it is also reminiscent of Russula brevipes, a species that MushroomExpert describes as ‘essentially a fiction’ - several species that are lumped together.The other three I don’t recognise and without more photos I don’t know how to go about researching them, as I often have to for North American mushrooms (my area being Western European fungi). Perhaps a follower will recognise them from the caps and be able to help out? -- source link