TEST

It is the time of the year when in my part of Southern Ontario woods explode with Russulas. This genus is very easy to recognize, even for the total beginner. In summary: mid-size, beautiful and colorful always terrestrial (growing on the ground, not on wood) white or yellowish gills and stalks stalks are of uniform width (there is no bulb at the bottom) there is no ring older specimens frequently have almost funnel shaped cap they are very brittle and crumble easily (hence common name "brittle gills") spore print is light But when it comes to species, the problems start. Around 750 worldwide species of  mushrooms compose the genus Russula. It is extremely hard, even for very experienced person to confidently determine species. Variations of color within same species is great. Furthermore, the slugs, squirrels and mushroom flies love them, making finding untouched specimen almost impossible. If you overcome all this, it is very hard to transport specimens from

Saturday, 5 December 2015 At the end of this year mushrooming season I would like to comment on the genus Lactarius. The few species are fairly common in Southern Ontario. They show in Summer and Fall, but the most useful are flashes found in late September and October. They are almost 100% free of bug infestation.The mushrooms in this genus are relatively easy to recognize, and generally they are very similar to Genus Russula. The main attributes are: terrestrial (grow on the ground - never on wood) ring is not present the stem is of uniform diameter with no bulb at  the bottom, frequently hollow in mature specimen the cap colors are usually vivid and many are zonated (concentric zones) when damaged, gills and body exude latex ("milk") - some copiously the gills are attached to the stem or running down the cap margin is usually in-rolled when young, but cap gets funnel shaped in maturity the flash of the mushroom is relatively brittle During summer months I