Kristin St. Clair's Mushroom Photos From Skylands
Last August, Kristin St. Clair, a very talented free-lance employee in our Crafts Department, took many wonderful photos of mushrooms, while she was visiting Skylands, my home on Mt. Desert Island in Maine. Kristin was drawn to the beauty of these fungi, growing in the pristine woodland, and shot many images in various stages of development. When she told me about this collection of photos, I invited her to post them on my blog. Being no mushroom expert, Kristin invites any of you who can identify these specimens to do so. Leave a comment and we'll post your name and the name of what you believe the mushroom might be beneath the image.
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13 Rosa says that the Chinese call this 'wood ears' - it has crunchy texture when cooked.
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19 Isayo thinks this may be an Amanita muscaria, a poisonous mushroom.
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46 Jan Erickson suggested these are parchment lactarius.
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59 Jan Erickson thought these might be dog mushrooms.
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Well Martha, I don't know a thing about mushrooms, but I do know all these pictures are unique, and beautiful.
Good job, Kristin St. Clair!
Gloria G!!
Posted by: Gloria | October 16th, 2012 at 12:56 am
Dear Martha
Picture #13, chinese called it 'wood ears', it has crunchy texture when cooked. Picture 21 has puffy top and picture 63 has unique shape. Thanks for the beautiful pictures on mushroom. Sadly I cannot name any of it.
Posted by: Rosa | October 16th, 2012 at 1:53 am
I can not identify a single one but these photos are amazing..
Posted by: ann | October 16th, 2012 at 3:14 am
Such a variety of mushrooms growing at Skylands! My boyfriend and I go foraging when the weather here in Northern California turns rainy and damp, so I look forward to the fall. We have a wonderful guide book that helps us with identification and many varieties have tell-tale signs that indicate they are definitely not harmful.
Posted by: BG in SF | October 16th, 2012 at 3:35 am
I am writing from France where we enjoy mushrooms. Those pictures were really great, congratulations to the photograph. She made me think of so many delicious recipes but don't forget to be very careful: here we always check our picking with a chemist before cooking!
Posted by: BESNARD MARTINE | October 16th, 2012 at 5:59 am
Lovely pictures Kristin, I had no idea wild mushrooms were so varied in shape and color! Thank you for sharing on Martha's blog!
Posted by: Cindy F | October 16th, 2012 at 7:22 am
I can smell the fragrance of the forest with those photos, the mushrooms are wonderful.
Posted by: ga447 | October 16th, 2012 at 7:32 am
Awesome pictures, Kristin! Thanks for sharing. You were always a fave of ours to watch on the Martha show. Miss ya!
Posted by: Vicki Powell | October 16th, 2012 at 8:42 am
Martha, I have no idea what any of them are! Thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | October 16th, 2012 at 8:43 am
Holy cow, there sure are a lot of varieties of mushrooms at Skylands! Maybe the former owners left a notebook somewhere with all their identities listed. I can't imagine anyone not being curious about so many mushrooms, especially if they enjoy eating them. Some look familiar but it could be because you've shown us some of your pictures before. I couldn't even venture a guess since I've only seen what might be poisonous ones in the yard and morels on my mother's property in Michigan. I think it's time to hunt down a mushroom expert to identify those mysterious specimens. Many of them could be edible.
~
Good Halloween segment on the Today Show this morning and how nice that two American Made winners were with you in the 9:30 hour. I bet they never envisioned that happening! I hope you take lots of pictures of the events starting tomorrow. I'm curious to see the finalists and some of the demos. Trish
Posted by: Trish | October 16th, 2012 at 9:55 am
Hi Martha and Kristin, Thank you both for sharing these fantastic 100 photos of mushrooms Kristin photographed from Skylands! I was so inspired by your terrific blog that I spent some time trying to identify some of the mushrooms by looking in my 1973 Encyclopedia and I did find one page with 12 mushrooms on it and only 3 looked like them! I'm guessing that photo #43 is puff balls, #46 is parchment lactarius, and #60 is dog mushrooms! I wanted to find more if possible so I looked up mushroom identification online on my Bing and found some great photos and books all about mushrooms! Checking that would have taken too long, but I will check back later! Martha, your earlier blogs about visits to Skylands had photos of mushrooms, but that would take lots of time to identify them, also! This was a fun blog today, thanks for sharing! Can't wait to see you twice on The Today Show today!! Sure hope you have another great day! Off to see The Daily Wag about "Checking the Crops for Frost Damage!" Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | October 16th, 2012 at 10:17 am
GREAT pics Kristen --- miss everything about the Martha show --- are you all familiar with the new magazine FOLK ?? great American made --- this blog is great -- keep up the good work
Posted by: BTG | October 16th, 2012 at 10:30 am
Great photos!
Posted by: Diane | October 16th, 2012 at 10:40 am
Martha, picture 19 look like Amanita muscaria poison mushroom. Also other mushrooms are poison.
Posted by: Isayo | October 16th, 2012 at 10:41 am
Thanks for sharing those pictures with us. I could see them being made into a video with some interesting music playing in the background. They are so cute and seem to each have a personality of their own.
Posted by: Cheryl T | October 16th, 2012 at 10:44 am
There are so many different types of mushrooms, I had no idea. The pictures are amazing.
Posted by: dianna | October 16th, 2012 at 11:03 am
I went to a Mushroom exhibit at Denver Botanic Gardens recently. I came away with understanding -all mushrooms are not edible and all toadstools are not poisonous. Becoming a mushroom expert must be a life long enterprise. ( If only I had learned from my relatives who went mushroom hunting!)
Posted by: Kandy Maharas | October 16th, 2012 at 2:02 pm
i would so love to have a soft cover book with hugh photos 8 1/2 x 12 in. w/ an info story about each mushroom , maybe 30 best in show.......thanks for sharing.......
Posted by: memoir | October 16th, 2012 at 2:21 pm
Hello,
I have some great mushroom cards with glitter that we make. I would love to send a boxed set to Kristin St. Clair in your crafts department. Can you give me the address so can send them to her.
Thanks.
Corinda LeClair
Posted by: Corinda LeClair | October 16th, 2012 at 3:04 pm
How do you know which one is good or bad mushroom? give to mother in law and if she die that good one. just kidding. I don't have a mother in law. ( don't put on)
Posted by: Isayo | October 16th, 2012 at 6:30 pm
What a beautiful collection of pictures! My husband and I recently took a trip to northern New Hampshire and were also fasinated by the little mushrooms that seemed to be everywhere. We took lots of photos of these little gems (although our photos aren't as good as yours). What kind of camera are you using? Love your work.
Posted by: Diana | October 16th, 2012 at 7:08 pm
Thanks for sharing this post. My husband and I take our kids out for nature walks on a regular basis. A few weeks ago on a walk through one our National Parks, we also noticed a large variety of mushrooms... many are similar to the ones pictured. I had hoped to do a project with my older son ( he's 9) on identifying some of the different varieties. I don't eat mushrooms at all... and was nervous that most varieties could be poisonous. I hope you'll do a follow up post or maybe even a story in the magazine when you find out more about these. We live in Eastern Canada... probably a very similar climate and growing conditions. We ended up taking a lot of pictures too. I probably should have taken more pics.. as we were part way through our walk when we really started to take notice of them. I also see a few varieties in our back yard. Very cool project. I might even check with the National park... and see if maybe they have a list and some pictures.
Posted by: debbie panton | October 17th, 2012 at 12:32 am
#53 looks like the shroom the hooka smoking catapillar sat upon when he encountered Alice in Wonderland! I love the way mushrooms look and taste do not know names though, thanks for sharing them.
Posted by: Susan Milton-Voels | October 17th, 2012 at 1:46 am
WOW
Posted by: dvash | October 17th, 2012 at 3:21 am
These photos are really great! Enlarged, they would make a wonderful exhibition. Also, I think that Kristin should meet Paul Stamets of Fungi.com. He is a mushroom expert and would be very interested to see such beautiful photos. I will send him an email., Good work, and thanks for sharing them!
Posted by: Katherine Bernitt | October 17th, 2012 at 12:36 pm
I know very little about mushrooms, except for the ones at the grocery strore, but I'm amazed at all the varieties and beauty of these mushrooms! So many shapes and colors... they seem to pop against the woodland background. Kristin is a very talented photographer. Her photographs are so clear.. the details of the settings are magical, like in a fairy tale. Beautiful!
Posted by: Judy | October 17th, 2012 at 3:09 pm
Thanks you for posting these wonderful photos... I dont know the nanes of any but loved looking. Martha if there was a place were a fairy world would exist I can and will imagine in you Woods. Yes I agree magical!!!!!
Posted by: Jan Clarke | October 17th, 2012 at 7:18 pm
AMAZING...Great photos.. The mushrooms don't look real. Thanks for sharing..
Posted by: margaret wheeler | October 17th, 2012 at 11:09 pm
Dear Martha,
I always love to watch your programs. When I was at Philippines 7 years I did watch when ever I have time, but now I am back home. I only watch through internet. These days I am in Texas and leaving on 22nd.
I love your kitchen. Many blessings
Irene
Posted by: Irene Induruwage | October 18th, 2012 at 10:42 am
We have the best information you will ever get.We are from Phippsburg ,Maine. My husand was a member of the Maine Myclogical Association Inc. If you go to the web site of this name you will have the names of all of the mushrooms. Cliff has been on tours through out Maine with Sam in 2005 when he was 96 years old and has many beautiful pictures of mushrooms and got tons of information . Dr. Sam Ristich has a PhD From Cornell ,Born 1915 and passed away in 2008. He lived in North Yarmouth, Maine.Cliff went on theses tours through the MMA with Sam.You can join the membership for only $ 10.00. You can also buy the books "Sam's Corner". Just google his name and also check out all about Sam. It was real fun going on the forays to collect and learn all about mushrooms. Hope this helps you get your info you need. Thank Kristin for all the beautifull pictures. I so keep track of Martha's Blog daily. Love the pictures at Skylands and someday want to see it and meet Martha in Maine up there. That's my dream. I so miss the Martha Stewart Show and was sad to see it is not on anymore. I never missed it and even watched all the repeats incase I missed a show. Thank you Martha for all the wonderful shows. Good luck.
Posted by: Clifford and Linda Trebilcock | October 18th, 2012 at 11:40 am
Wow!!! You have so many fairy houses at Skylands, but beware of pixies!
Posted by: Karen Davis | October 18th, 2012 at 3:15 pm
Congratulations, your photos bring to me peaceful.
Regards from Catalonia!
Posted by: Rosa Maria | October 19th, 2012 at 1:33 pm
Wow!!! I am at a loss for words. How long did it take you to take these amazing photos, Kristin? They are wonderful, and once again, I am missing the North East.
Posted by: Rona Brunner | October 20th, 2012 at 9:09 am
There are many local and regional mycology clubs that can help you identify mushrooms. Regionally the Connecticut-Westchester Mycological Association invites people to bring photos and finds to our walks, programs, forays, as well as the annual banquet. Should you have an intriguing find you want to share and learn about it, please visit comafungi.org and read about our coming programs.
Posted by: Zaac Chaves | October 20th, 2012 at 10:21 am
I was raised to have a healthy fear of mushrooms and to only eat morel mushrooms. They are common in the American Midwest and easy to identify.
Living in the Czech Republic broadened my view. During communist times, Czechs and Poles would love to go mushrooming. Isn't that a wonderful non-commercial hobby? They would delight in finding delicacies to eat, there probably wasn't that much fun stuff to do during totalitarian times, and it gave them a way to escape the oppressive atmosphere for a few hours. To this day, Czechs shrug their shoulders that a few people die each year from eating the wrong mushrooms. They can't wait to get out into the forest.
So how do you know the right mushrooms to eat? Michael Pollan covers this topic lyrically in his book "The Omnivore's Dillemma." I can't recommend that book enough as a tour of America's food choices. Actually, I can't recommend all of his books enough.
Thanks Martha, for sharing these photos with us. You have magnificent natural riches on this property!
Posted by: Karen | October 20th, 2012 at 11:42 pm
This i do believe is a Amanita Muscaria,Very poisonous.I n the rocky mountain's and along the Pacific coast a bood red form accurs and the orange form is less abundant.
Posted by: Connie McPeak | October 28th, 2012 at 4:37 pm
This also appear's to be an Amanita Muscaria,also poisonous.Found in the East,Can be mistaken for a puffball.In some forms the cap is white with what look's like cottage cheese on it.
Posted by: Connie McPeak | October 28th, 2012 at 4:43 pm
This look's like it could be a very young Clitoybealba or a Pholiota Modestruens.They look so similar it is hard to tell.One is edible the other is not recommended.I do not trust to eat any thing other than a Verpa bohemica (Early Morel),Morchella hybrida (half-free Morel),Morchella angusticep (black morel),,a Morchella esculent (morel or sponge),or a Helvella gigas (snow Mushroom),A black,white,gray,yellow,or sponge,are very good and edible.Some mushroom's look good but they are not .You must be very careful when selecting mushroom's from the wood's.You may be have an allergy to one but not another.
Posted by: Connie McPeak | October 28th, 2012 at 5:31 pm
No 1
American Caesar’s, an orange mushroom with a red nipple on its head that blooms up first as a bright red ball. It’s of the Amanita family.
Posted by: Charlie Davis | January 5th, 2013 at 6:22 pm
Thanks for the awesome mushroom pictures. Honestly I never paid much attention to them. From now on I will take a closer look.
Posted by: Emagrecer | May 13th, 2013 at 6:05 am