About a week ago after a big rain, I noticed these huge mushrooms taking up residence all over our front lawn. When Jack was here last Saturday he noticed them and so we headed out to inspect them. Jack said that they're highly poisonous and I think he said they're called "Death Angels"..........pretty scary, huh ?? Good thing I didn't saute them up to go with our steaks !!! But.......now I was doubly fascinated by them.......they're deadly .........a horrible painful death..........and all just in time for Halloween ! I promised Jack I wouldn't mess around with them and then HE had a great idea to immortalize them. He removed one from the lawn and set it carefully on a piece of black paper........then covered it with a bowl. Today I removed the bowl and found a beautiful "spore print"..........how cool is that ! Thanks, Jack........you should have been a mad scientist .........perhaps you are !!
3 comments:
How cool!
Whooaah ... ah ....ah ...ah! Step into my laboratory, my dear.
I need to correct myself. I was right about the latin name - amanita phalloides. But, I was wrong about the common name. It is called the Death Cap. Either way, don't eat them, a nasty demise will ensue.
I suggest that you try another spore print. This time, for a shorter duration. There were so many spores, that it was "over exposed" so to speak. A shorter time will leave a more defined print with the pattern of the gills more clear. With a fresh sample, just snip the stem off flush to the cap. I'm glad I thought to use the dark paper. White paper would have been unsuccessful.
Woke up in the middle of the night and thought that I should give a more explicit . . .
WARNING ! ! ! 1) No one should eat any wild mushrooms. Even experts make mistakes when identifying them. 2) Keep the samples away from pets and children. 3) Wash your hands and tools after handling them.
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