Fascinated By Fungi

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Fascinated By Fungi

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Dr. Gordon Walker
UC Davis Biochem PhD
Wine/Yeast Researcher
Author, Scientist, Chef, Creator
*Respectful* Feedback Welcome
📍Napa, CA

Want to learn to learn more about mushrooms?

10/30/2026

As the countdown to Halloween continues, I present another seriously spooky mushroom, the . This is a relatively uncommon saprotrophic mushroom that tends to fruit in large clusters near stumps of dead oaks. It has very distinctive purple/blue/black coloration depending on the maturity of the specimen and the light it’s viewed under. The cap has a finely fuzzy texture and the tightly packed gills tend to be lighter in color with yellow spores.
Unlike the orange Jack O’Lantern species (illudens and olivascens) this species does not necessarily display strong bioluminescence nor does it produce strong pigments for a dye bath (found that out the hard way by trying to dye with these). However, I find them absolutely stunning and felt very lucky to find these.
Similar to the other Jack O’Lantern species, they do contain illudens (toxic sesquiterpenes) that can cause severe GI upset if ingested - so just appreciate these for their beauty and don’t eat them.
Hope you can enjoy these spooky Jack O’Lanterns!

10/27/2026

Here’s a particularly bloody one as we countdown spooky mushrooms til Halloween. These are the or , a diminutive saprotrophic mushroom that often grows in troops on dead logs (hardwoods like breech especially).
When relatively young, the caps will “bleed” a dark red liquid when scored. It’s unclear if this serves as an anti-herbivory function like the latex of Milkcaps, but it’s a reasonable hypothesis. The red color comes from the haematopodin pigment compounds in the mushroom, along with mycenarubins - these pigments may have biological properties that help mediate ecological interactions (like being antibacterial/antifungal).
In theory these are non toxic and could be eaten, but usually they are too small and unsubstantial to bother collecting as food - just appreciate them for their eerie beauty and bloody appearance.
Cheers 🩸

10/26/2026

Here’s a boney tribute to the mushroom season of 2025 when I was hunting edible butter boletes (Butyriboletus), queens (Boletus regineus), and coral tooth (Hericium coralloides) up in the hills of Napa. Found the skull of an animal and decided to merge the mushrooms for a spooky photo shoot. Kicking off a count down of freaky fungi til we hit Halloween

10/20/2026

Such incredible work by MycoMotion. In an age of AI slop, please support creators who are autism putting in the effort to capture truly amazing footage.

10/20/2026

Since y’all liked the last conifer cone mushroom so much, here’s another one. Last October I was in Chiapas, Mexico and saw some very memorable mushrooms, including these golden beauties growing on a pinecone. My best guess is that this is but Fungaria could tell you for sure. Just love seeing tiny mushrooms growing out of self contained substrates like this one. Hope everyone has a good week!

10/19/2026

That moment when you find your first porcino of the season and it’s a picture perfect number 1 button! This coppery brown cap and bulbous base belongs to a var. grandedulis. Up here on the Mendocino coast I tend to find them associated with pine trees, pushing up the duff to form little mushroom humps known affectionately as “shrumps” by foragers. When they are young the pore surface is white, but turns yellow then brown as the mushroom matures and drops olive brown spores. At this stage the mushroom has dense crispy flesh (as demonstrated by my vigorous tapping). You can eat these raw, I like to slice them thin and marinate in olive oil/lemon juice. When cooked they develop a sweet nutty mild mushroom flavor that is a perfect pairing with the crisp meaty flesh. The Italian common name for these mushrooms (and closely related boletes) is porcino (singular) or porcini (plural), translating to “little piggies” because of their bulbous shape. Truly a spectacular mushroom and a great way to kick off the season!
🍄

10/18/2026

Happy ! Here’s a pimple popping compilation of Wolf’s Milk Slime Mold (Latin name translates as “wolf nipples”). These brilliant pinkish/orange cushions are aethelia, the reproductive spore producing structure formed by this species (structurally different from sporangia). These start out as a slime that forms into distinct globs that turn dark purple/brown as they mature and eventually become little dusty poofs of spores that continue to disperse for an extended period of time.
This kind of slime content can be polarizing. Some people love the gross out pimple popping aspect while others feel anger and revulsion. From a biological standpoint, these slime molds are extremely common (found growing on wet decaying logs world wide) and popping the cushion just delays their life cycle (but doesn’t “kill” or “destroy” them). I personally hate popping these because my hands, phone, pants, face can get splashed with the pink goo (it’s so gross, ew) - but I do it for those who love this content. I hope you enjoy this compilation. All hail the slime.

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