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I saw this fungus on a tree along The West Woods' Bridle Trail loop. Can you tell us what it is? Clockwise from the Nature Center, this tree was about 1/3 the way around and on the righthand side (the inside of the loop). Thanks for looking at this.
I saw this fungus on a tree along The West Woods' Bridle Trail loop. Can you tell us what it is? Clockwise from the Nature Center, this tree was about 1/3 the way around and on the righthand side (the inside of the loop). Thanks for looking at this.
You have found one of my favorite types of fungus, and believe it or not, I know the exact tree that you are referring to because it seems to grow there every year!
It’s called Lion’s Mane, but is also know by other common names such as Bear’s Head Tooth Fungus, Icicle Mushroom and Goat’s Beard, just to name a few.
This fungus grows as a parasite on dying and dead deciduous trees, and is relatively common in our beach maple forests of Northeast Ohio.
We are fortunate to have a tremendous variety of fungus in the forested areas of our parks! A great field guide to mushrooms that I would highly recommend is Mushrooms of the Northeast by Teresa Marrone and Walt Sturgeon. I believe that we should have a few copies in our nature store at The West Woods if you are interested in purchasing one!
Enjoy your fall, and I hope you find many more cool fungus out there in the parks!
-Chief Naturalist John Kolar
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