The Mushrooms of Eaton Canyon

The Mushrooms of Eaton Canyon Paw Prints - March 2019 Susan Hopkins & Robin Hopkins

After a long dry season in Eaton Canyon, the rains came, promising the wildflowers of spring. But before the flowers make their appearance, the welcome precipitation grants us lush grasses, a flowing stream, and something else to the Canyon floor...fungi!

Underneath the Coastal Live Oaks, little surprises are making brief appearances. Mushrooms of assorted colors, shapes and sizes rise through the leaf litter and sprout on tree trunks.

Mushrooms are actually only the fruiting bodies of a fungus, similar to apples on an apple tree. Most of the organism is a network of thread-like mycelium, below ground and out of sight. The mycelium waits for the right conditions to form mushrooms and spread spores. Not an animal or a plant, fungi are their own unique kingdom, which also includes yeasts and molds.

For example, a group of mushrooms popped up just north of the meadow. It looked like someone had spilled a box of chocolates on the ground. They were round, shiny and a beautiful caramel brown. These are one of the 400 described species in the genus Psathyrella, likely P. atrospora.

You may come upon fan-shaped fungi growing on fallen oaks, striped with pale browns and rich cinnamon shades. Trametes versicolor (Turkey Tails) are a common sight on hardwood logs in Eaton Canyon and across North America.

Puffballs found in the Canyon include Tulostoma brumale (Winter Stalkball fungi) and the Geastrum genus (Earthstars). They’re distinguished by a round sac that ejects spores in a dusty, smoke-like puff. Even though Puffballs can look similar, they actually encompass a variety of unrelated fungi.

Eaton Canyon is a Los Angeles County Park, so we ask that visitors do not pick mushrooms just as we ask guests not to disturb plants or wildlife. For those who are interested in mushroom foraging elsewhere, there are a few important points to keep in mind. Never eat a mushroom without being 100 percent certain what it is, and always research toxic lookalikes. There is no rule of thumb to determine if a mushroom is safe or toxic, as highly poisonous mushrooms can look unassuming and taste delicious. Follow the popular saying, “When in doubt, throw it out.”

Thank you to the Los Angeles Mycological Society and Steven Pencall for their help identifying our finds. You can find LAMS online at www.lamushrooms.org.

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