Amanita Muscaria and Boletus Edulis: Two of 10,000 Kinds of Mushrooms to Notice on this Planet.

“Last fall, my brother and I took our parents to the North Shore of Lake Superior to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary.

Amanita muscaria is often found growing in association with firs and spruces.

We wanted to show them the beautiful Boundary Waters—a million-acre wilderness area with over 1,000 remote lakes, mostly accessible only by canoe and portage. My parents are in their 80s, so the traditional paddle, portage, camp, repeat wasn’t an option. Instead, we stayed near the wilderness area at a lodge 44 miles up the Gunflint Trail from Grand Marais, Minnesota. The lodge hugs Gunflint Lake, half of which is in the U.S., the other half, Canada.

The last night of our mini-vacation, we checked into a quaint resort with adorable little red cabins on the shore of Lake Gichigami (aka, Lake Superior). To our delight, huge families of vibrant, fanciful, free-spirited mushrooms were clustered throughout the resort’s manicured landscape. I felt like a kid in a candy store photographing these vibrant decomposers. I just love getting down to the ground level and up close, immersing myself into a completely different world. I can only imagine all of the connections happening underground. Stunning to see so many in one area. A great ending to a wonderful getaway.”

Boletus edulis is associated with a wide variety of trees, including both conifers and broadleaf trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

–Rich Harrison, landscape architect, photographer, volunteer