Spotted red toadstools

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Scientist and artist exploring the beauty and magic of nature

1 year ago

In community: Nature(0f4f)

Topics: Photography, Nature, Creativity, Hobbies

Arguably the most famous species of mushrooms is Amanita muscaria. Already child books depict forest mushrooms as white polka dot spots on a red cap.

I thought that the English word for Amanitas is toadstool, but today I learned that a toadstool can be any fungus that pops above the ground and has the typical mushroom shape. Still, colloquially, a toadstool tends to refer to poisonous fungi, while a mushroom would be an edible one [1]. So, in this picture below, both could be called toadstools, possibly the small brownish one could be a mushroom, while its big orange-red cousin is a good example of a toadstool... ah, too complicated. Let's just call them pretty mushrooms for simplicity.

Amanitas are among the prettiest mushrooms growing in my region - at least when it comes to colour. There are many other mushrooms that are a bit more conspicuous but having an unusual shape that gives them their charm. Amanita muscaria is easy to spot in the forest. They stand out well among the leaves, and any remaining green plants give a nice contrast.

Amanitas are funny when coming from underground. They usually come covered in a bumpy white sac. I have never touched one obviously, but maybe sometimes I should take a rubber glove and investigate what the texture is like. This next one seems to be impatient, and the white sac managed to burst before the stalk grew. I remember actually the first time I saw an Amanita which was completely encapsulated by its white layer. I had no idea what it could be. I thought it might be a rare species that I had never come across before. Then a few days later... there was a whole family of proudly standing red amanitas.