Waiting for Springtime

I've been thinking of spring lately. Tell me that you are too, and when spring comes around I will take you to some of the best east bay flower spots around.

Gray mule's ear, Wyethia helenioides

Woodland star, Lithophragma parviflorum

Tidy tips, Layia platyglossa

I don't know what this is yet! UFO.

What the rain brings

Three kinds of Chanterelle in one outing, and a mystery solved.

My personal favorite edible mushroom is the Golden Chanterelle. I was very happy to see these, it will probably be another good season for them. I still cannot get handle on the differences between some of the species. These could be C. cibarius, C. formosus, or the newly described C. californicus. I am going to call these C. cibarius, but there were a couple of small slender ones that I think are C. formosus. They smell like apricots and have a nice nutty flavor when sauted.

Cantharellus cibarius 10/31/10

The first White Chanterelles that I have found that are in good enough shape to eat. They have all the attributes of the Golden ones without the apricot odor or nuttiness. 

Cantharellus subalbidus 10/31/10

And the mystery solved is the Scaley Chanterelle. These were young fruitings before they flare out. The mystery UFO is the nascent form of the mushroom. I originally thought it was some sort of club mushroom, it is really easy to be wrong about young fruitings. Unfortunately it is not edible.

Gomphus floccosus 10/31/10

Unidentified Fungal Object

I don't know what this is... some kind of club fungi?

UPDATE: Mystery solved: Gomphus floccosus - it is not a club at all but very early Scaley Chanterelle