Diario del proyecto Insects on Mount Royal

The genus Pholiota includes wide range of wood-rotting mushrooms and is comprised of 157 species! Usually, these fungi have mushrooms that are yellow or brown, and have small darker spots protruding from the surface. Many species found in the genus Pholiota have been found to produce certain chemical compounds that can have antioxidant benefits for humans. While certain species are consumed in Asian culture, such as the Pholiota microspora, others are poisonous, like the Pholiota squarrosa.

One of the mushrooms observed on our bioblitz was the Stinking Dapperling (Lepiota Cristata). They are part of the most widespread fungi in the genus Lepiota. The fruiting body is easily distinguished by the reddish-orange concentric scales on the caps, while the rest of the body is lighter-colored. These mushrooms are commonly known as poisonous, although there is evidence that points to them not commonly containing amatoxins or phallotoxins from different regions in Turkey. It's good to understand what exactly makes a mushroom inedible. That way we can rule out false potential causes to advance scientific knowledge and improve medicine.

During the lab, I observed the hooded rosette lichen (a foliose lichen) which is a part of the Physciaceae family and Physcia genus. This type of lichen is very common and is seen along the east and west coasts of North America. It usually has a pale grey or green colour to it (sometimes yellow) and appears on twigs and tree bark or walls and sometimes on rocks. A lot of the time lichen grows flat against their surface but this lichen does not. It has uneven branching patterns and thickened branches.