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Project Noah Nature School
Podaxis pistillaris
This duo of shaggy mane mushrooms were found after a period of intense monsoon rains, near a creek where water collects. They are in the peak of their maturity -- not too young, not too old.
They got some talent, being able to manage in a scorching hot desert, sometimes for up to the next fruiting season! They strategically grow in areas that receive shade during the hottest times of the day, and are usually hard to spot as a result. They are known from all regions of the world in arid areas, and have yet to be reported from Antarctica (I'm sure they're working on it).
Sometimes confused with stalked puffballs, they are an agaric mushroom closely related to shaggy manes. For a short review of the many uses of this widespread fungus, see the notes to my first spotting of this species -- http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/732...
Spotted on Sep 20, 2011
Submitted on Sep 21, 2011
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