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“Destroying Angel " Parasol Mushroom
A Parasol Mushroom growing under a big old Oak tree in September. I have been told that this is called "Destroying Angel ", among other names. I am so glad to discover names of mushrooms from people who know! There are a great number of fungi varieties that grow in The Great Smokies.
Photo taken near Franklin, North Carolina, USA
© Jean Gregory Evans
SONY DSC-H5 1/30s 6mm f/2.8 ISO-320
A lover of art and nature, Jean also adores animals, whimsy, smiles, and chocolate chip cookies.
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Lovely image. Love the perspective.
Rosemaree
Thank you, Rosemaree! It helped that it was on a steep hill.
– Jean Gregory Evans
Hard to tell which this is? I don’t think this is the Parasol (which is edible)…possibly the Destroying Angel? The difficulty in ID’ing these species is the BIGGEST reason I don’t try the Parasol…with my luck? That’d be my last meal. :o)
I’m with you! Although I have read that the poison mushrooms that grow in the woods around western North Carolina probably won’t kill you, they will make you suffer and you will probably wish you were dead. I am not sure if the “Angel of Death” mushroom grows here in this part of the country. I have given up trying to identify them and the only ones that I eat are from the store or restaurant.
Sometimes when I see a mushroom and then see it again the next day, the bugs have eaten some of it. If it stands there uneaten until it just melts away, I figure it must be poison if even a bug won’t eat it. I have noticed there have been some yellow ones that melt and turn to something like chocolate color dried shriveled stuff. Usually the white ones get eaten. But not by me. :)
– Jean Gregory Evans
It can definately be overwhelming trying to figure out which are ‘safe’ and which aren’t. :o)
Many that bugs don’t eat are actually GREAT for us! (puffballs, violet-gilled laccaria, many boletes, honey mushrooms…..)
However…many animals love ones that are poisonous to us too! (Russula and many Amantias) So this really makes it hard to read nature to EAT nature…lol
Unfortunately for mushrooms and fungi…it gets SUCH a bad rap! There are only about 1/1200 that are actually poisonous…and of those only 1/1000 that are actually deadly.
There are more species that are considered ‘edible’ then that aren’t.
We as Americans have SOOO lost touch with nature…we just don’t know it anymore. I’ve old books that have lists of many edible plants, roots, tubers, mushrooms, flowers…..today? We maybe eat 2 or 3 of these from stores.
Come spring…I can go in the woods and collect basket-fulls of delicious edibles.
Good thing about this? I don’t have to fight anyone for it. lol
In Europe, there seems to be fewer species of mushroom than in the mountains of North Carolina. There don’t seem to be many poisonous ones in Europe. I believe there may be more people in Europe than here in the states who know how to pick wild mushrooms. Your ability to hunt mushroom is a rarity!
It is good that you know how to choose the edible ones. I’m sure I would poison myself if I tried to learn how to choose which mushroom to eat!
Until I got a digital camera a few years ago, I could not see what I was missing. I love to be able to see the detail! With the internet making information so easy to access, I have discovered that I totally enjoy learning about the things in my woods. All those years of wondering about things like this … and now finally, I meet you!! Hooray!
Your gift of this information is just so cool!
– Jean Gregory Evans
Beautiful capture. Like me lighting ! ..Jozef