It takes dedication and a keen interest to go for a walk when mother nature dishes out the first sunny, 29-degree day of the year with a humidex of 33! Undaunted, that’s exactly what thirty curious Nature London members did on the afternoon of Saturday, June 10 for the Dingman Creek Fungi Walk. As luck would have it, fungi have a propensity for growing in the shade. Thank goodness!
Dr. Greg Thorn (Department of Biology, Western University) led the walk. If you attended Dr. Thorn’s presentation “The Secret Life of Mushrooms” at the Nature London indoor meeting on March 17, the walk was like a live, hands-on version. No fewer than 22 species of fungi were found, many by the “little people” in attendance. (Admittedly, with their gaze closer to the ground they may have had an advantage spotting the elusive eukaryotes.)
The characteristics of fungi encountered varied greatly including:
- Edible, inedible, and hallucinogenic (but poisonous).
- Orange, red, brown, beige, yellow and every shade in between.
- Coral, cup, flat, saucer, fuzzy, button, and slimy shapes.
- Large, medium, small, and tiny.
A list of some of the species seen on the walk can be found below.
The walk wrapped up with refreshments and snacks courtesy of our hosts, Peter and Muriel Andreae.
