Fungi Wonderland

Luke and I spent the day in Fungus Wonderland today. We visited the redwood forest at Warburton and the trees were amazing, but the mushrooms! There were so many different varieties and some you don't see very often. Well, I don't anyway. 

The last one we saw was remarkable, but I'm going to keep you in suspense until the end of this post...oh, all right; scroll down if you must. 

It rained on the way to Warburton and while we ate lunch, but it cleared by the time we got to the forest (it was still chilly). I had decided to take my (never-before-worn) gumboots with me, which was a smart because it was very damp and muddy in places, but I just tramped through all the sludge and puddles. It was very liberating!

 Rockstar gumbies yet to be muddied

Rows

 The sun shone in 

 Overhead

Cement Creek at the rear of the forest (and me)

Anyway, enough of the trees and the creek. On with the funguseses! 

 In the grass of a clearing

 At the foot of a mossy tree

 Teehee

Leggy 'shroom

 Gimme shelter

 I think this is a little fly agaric

 A bigger fly agaric - about the size of my hand with outstretched fingers

And an even bigger one - dinner plate size and about 30cm tall

I've only ever seen one fly agaric before and that was in the garden at the nursing home where Luke's grandmother lives, so not quite as 'wild'. I find them enchanting (even though they are poisonous). You'd think i'd spotted unicorns in the woods the way I gasped when I saw these. 

  

Lichen and fungus

And now for the fungus you have been waiting for, if aren't the impatient type. It's HUMONGOUS FUNGUS! 

 I have a normal sized head by the way

Another view of the humongous fungus

Astounding, no? Kind of ugly though and when I poked it, it was spongy and gross, but wow! Luke spotted it growing on a bank on the side of the road as we approached Hoddles Creek between Launching Place and Gembrook. Well spotted, Luke! 

All in all, a great day out.  I leave you with an old Wagons song called Redwoods.