#hemlock varnish shelf

[vandaliatraveler]

Earlier this afternoon along Little Laurel Run in the virgin hemlock forest at Coopers Rock State Forest. The mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) is at peak bloom in this area, along with the mapleleaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium), one of Central Appalachia's most beautiful shrubs. And when the mapleleaf viburnum is in bloom, so too will be the speckled wood lily (Clintonia umbellulata), Canada mayflower (Maianthemum canadense), and false Solomon's seal (Maianthemum racemosum). And if you were lucky enough to have all four of these native plants growing in your shade garden, you could call your life complete. :-) One thing you probably won't have growing in your shade garden, unless it happens to have a rotting hemlock log or stump, is hemlock varnish shelf (Ganoderma tsugae), one of the most distinctive fungi of Central Appalachia. But if you did have hemlock varnish shelf growing in your garden, then you would also likely have a few pleasing fungus beetles (Megalodacne heros) foraging about and raising babies - these adorable bugs have a lifecycle entirely dependent on Ganoderma shelf fungus.

[cricketchirp]

Artistic Perspective Along the Trail

We went for a walk this morning, My Guy and I, along trails owned by Lakes Environmental Association, particularly their Highland Research Forest, and the network of Highland Ridge Ski Trails. It wasn’t strenuous, it was only slightly buggy, and it was lovely, with so many offerings and here I only captured a few. Our first stop was beside the wetland that in the past has been home to Beavers…

[mushrooms-i-found]

Another find from last spring in Milton, NH

[santomortali]

Ganoderma Tsugae at Dismals Canyon in AL

[brixyz]

Ganoderma tsugae - Hemlock varnish shelf [Reishi]

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[spatheandspadix]

Official 2023 Yule Log: eastern hemlock with puffballs and hemlock varnish shelf/Ganoderma tsugae decomposing it, symbiotic red russulas and suillus growing nearby. Amoretto cake with quince paste and cinnamon chocolate ganache.

[thisadventurouslife]

7/6/2020

Ganoderma tsugae, also known as hemlock varnish shelf, is a flat polypore mushroom. G. tsugae is non-poisonous but generally considered inedible, because of its solid woody nature; however, teas and extracts made from its fruiting bodies supposedly allow medicinal use of the compounds it contains, although this is controversial within the scientific community. (X)

[frolicingintheforest]

This place was like something from a storybook.

[mystical-mycelium]

[slugzill4]

hemlock varnish shelf 

Ganoderma tsugae 

[badnewssunshine]

Hemlock varnish shelf

[vandaliatraveler]

Part 2: Early Summer Wildflower Palooza, Cranberry Glades. During the first week of July, as the orchids are peaking in the bogs and seeps, the first wave of summer wildflowers, including the milkweeds and beebalms, arrives in earnest, bringing a blaze of color to open meadows and bog and forest margins. In the old growth woods of the adjacent Cranberry Wilderness, an array of strange and beautiful fungi sprout from moss-covered logs and the forest floor.

From top: tall meadow rue (Thalictrum pubescens), also known as king of the meadow, a wetlands-loving perennial whose distinctive, cream-colored flowers are composed of thread-like stamens only; meadow phlox (Phlox maculata), also known as wild sweet William and spotted phlox, easily distinguished from other phlox species by its red-spotted stems; mountain wood sorrel (Oxalis montana); a ramp (Allium tricoccum) flower, which emerges in early summer on a leafless stalk, after the foliage has died back; a shiny hemlock varnish shelf (Ganoderma tsugae) assailed by pleasing fungus beetles (Megalodacne), rarely seen because they hide under leaf litter during the day and feed on Ganoderma fungi at night; a lovely colony of crown-tipped corals (Artomyces pyxidatus); the beguiling fringed loosestrife (Lysimachia ciliata), an aggressively-colonizing perennial that makes for a shady ground cover in native wildflower gardens; and that blazingly-beautiful mint, scarlet beebalm (Monarda didyma), whose storied history as a medicinal herb stems from its antiseptic and stimulant properties.

[capricornbones]

Just a few from yesterday, I was really happy with these. I believe the mushrooms are Hemlock Varnish Shelf mushrooms. The flower is a yellow trillium.

[windandwater]

Heritage Museums & Gardens: Orange Shelf Mushroom

If anyone knows what this is please let me know, it is large and glorious and I love it. My best guess is Hemlock Varnish Shelf Mushroom, but it wasn’t growing on a tree? It was a cultivated garden with mulch, though, so perhaps that was enough.

(original photo by me, do not remove caption or title.)

[notified3849-blog]

Some more gorgeous Hemlock Varnish Shelf mushrooms.

[reishidreams]

Hemlock varnish shelf, Ganoderma tsugae