Couldn't believe my eyes today when I caught sight of this quite large mushroom hiding behind branches beneath a Spruce tree. I was out with a couple of friends doing a repeat bio-assessment of an acreage south of the city. I thought I might have overdone my mushroom hunting after a fourth drive southwest of the city yesterday. Felt I needed a break and a "new" subject to photograph for a short while. However, it was back in full force today when I saw this brilliantly coloured fungus. Also came across a few other odds and ends of mushrooms.

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This is an Amanita muscaria, Fly Agaric, seen on 20th August at West Bragg Creek Provincial Park. Though it is very attractive, it is also poisonous.

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It was such a thrill when we discovered one of these Yellow Fly Amanita (Amanita muscaria var. formosa) mushrooms around mid-August. A few days later, we went back to botanize the same area and found three of these fungi growing where we had seen only the one before! They are so attractive but also poisonous!

Another cold day today, around -22C (-8F) this evening, with a windchill of around -27C (-17F). Lots of sunshine today, though, which always helps. I went with three friends for a very nice turkey lunch at the Zellers store today - lovely to catch up with friends whom I hadn't seen for many months! And the mashed potatoes and gravy really hit the spot, especially on a cold, cold day. Afterwards, I called in at a local park. After about half an hour of standing with my camera (which was unhappy having to be out in this cold and taking about 10 seconds to take each shot, thus missing most of the birds), I drove straight to Canadian Tire to purchase three packets of those small hand warmers that you place inside your gloves!!! They worked miracles throughout our severe winter last year. A life-saver.

Tags:   Alberta Canada southern Alberta Bragg Creek West Bragg Creek Kananaskis nature mycology fungus fungi mushroom mushrooms yellow two close-up Yellow Fly Amanita Amanita muscaria var. formosa image photograph digital color image square square crop colorful beautiful beauty in nature outdoors forest Panasonic DMC-FZ28 FZ28 Lumix point-and-shoot P1230933 FZ28 annkelliott beautiful_expression Feels Good Explore interestingness#30 explore2009December10 © Anne Elliott 2009 © All Rights Reserved Fly agaric

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There was absolutely no way to get a beautiful, artistic photo of the Fly Agarics we saw on 17 August 2012, about a 10-minute drive from where we had spent the day botanizing at Rod Handfield's property. However, I wanted to add this one to my Fungi set, as normally we don't see these Amanitas, and when we have found them a handful of times, they have had yellow caps dotted with white. This particular one was a mix of yellow and orange : )

Tags:   Alberta Canada SW of Calgary near Millarville Rod Handfield's nature mycology fungus fungi Amanita muscaria Fly agaric poisonous annkelliott Anne Elliott

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For me, this beautiful Amanita mushroom, along with several others at different stages, was the highlight of a day of botanazing at one of my favourite places. Rod Handfield, who has a beautiful property SW of the city, near Millarville, allows us to go and explore his forest, searching especially for any fungi. This year was not as good as a couple of other years, but there were enough mushrooms and other fungi to make our day worthwhile. These Amanitas weren't actually growing in his forest but were maybe a ten-minute drive away.

"A large conspicuous mushroom, Amanita muscaria is generally common and numerous where it grows, and is often found in groups with basidiocarps in all stages of development. Fly agaric fruiting bodies emerge from the soil looking like a white egg, covered in the white warty material of the universal veil... Amanita muscaria poisoning occurs in either young children or people ingesting it to have a hallucinogenic experience... A fatal dose has been calculated at an amount of 15 caps. Deaths from this fungus A. muscaria have been reported in historical journal articles and newspaper reports. However, with modern medical treatment a fatal outcome because of the poison of this mushroom would be extremely rare."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_muscaria

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