Fungi of Olympic National Park
The 5 fungi you can find at Olympic National Park, like the Fly agaric — sizes, diets, and whether you should worry.
-
Fungus Fly agaric
Amanita muscaria
The storybook red mushroom with white spots, found in northern conifer and birch woods. It is joined to tree roots and poisonous to eat.
-
Fungus Golden chanterelle
Cantharellus formosus
A trumpet-shaped golden mushroom of Pacific Northwest conifer forests that lives joined to tree roots and trades food with the trees.
-
Fungus Lobster mushroom
Hypomyces lactifluorum
Not really a mushroom at all, but a fungus that attacks another mushroom, turning it lobster-orange, firm, and good to eat.
-
Fungus Lungwort lichen
Lobaria pulmonaria
A green, lettuce-like patch on old-growth trees that is three living things in one, and grows only where the air is clean.
-
Fungus Methuselah's beard lichen
Usnea longissima
The longest lichen in the world, hanging in pale green beards from old rainforest branches, and a winter food for deer and flying squirrels.