It was a long day in the forest and after three hours we had found one single hedgie. Of course we asked it what it was doing all alone in the forest with no friends nearby but it seemed content to let the mystery be. Then we heard an owl in the distance and they sounded for about 10 minutes which was very cool. So the owl, a single hedgehog and walking a beautiful forest made our day totally worthwhile.
Then on the way home Balfour spotted some Amanita muscaria, which she knows McDowell likes, and pointed them out. McDowell cut some mature A.muscaria and then noticed a cousin of theirs, an Amanita pantherina in amongst them. Sweet.
This A.pantherina was found in upper Roberts Creek.
In 2015 we found some Amanita pantherina buttons in the spring.
About the Panther Cap Mushroom (Amanita pantherina)
The panther cap is an uncommon mushroom, found in both deciduous, especially beech and, less frequently, coniferous woodland and rarely meadows throughout Europe, western Asia in late summer and autumn. It has also been recorded from South Africa, where it is thought to have been accidentally introduced with trees imported from Europe, and on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada.
It is an ectomycorrhizal fungus, living in root symbiosis with a tree, deriving photosynthesised nutrients from it and providing soil nutrients in return.
Amanita pantherina contains the psychoactive compound muscimol, but is used as an entheogen much less often than the related Amanita muscaria.
More information: Amanita pantherina: Wikipedia
************************************************************************************
And because McDowell is so sentimental about hedgies, this is the singleton found today.
How about those teeth!!