Noah Coco '26
Managing Editor
If April showers bring May flowers, then September monsoons bring North Grounds mushrooms. Charlottesville could not catch many breaks in the weather over the past few weeks, and the rain felt nearly constant, flooding softball fields, soggying socks, and making it very difficult to take my diva dog outside for a walk. Despite the gloom, however, the rainfall did have one generative consequence: the proliferation of mushrooms throughout North Grounds.
Easy to miss underfoot, mushrooms thrive in warm, damp, and dark environments, and the recent Charlottesville weather created perfect conditions for them to flourish. Now I do not claim to be a seasoned mycologist or even an amateur forager,[1] but my curiosity led me to frolic and detour around Grounds as I began to notice the rich fungal diversity proliferating in recent weeks.
Below I have attempted to identify some of the surprisingly numerous species I found simply strolling around North Grounds. As I already mentioned, when it comes to identifying wild mushrooms, I have essentially no idea what I am talking about. Keep that in mind. However, I did find an app appropriately titled “Picture Mushroom” that allowed me to upload my own pictures and returned recommendations of the most likely identifications. I uploaded all the pictures reported below and made some determinations of plausible identifications. Frankly, I would not be surprised if every single identification I made is still incorrect. Regardless, I hope this exercise serves as encouragement to explore your curiosity, especially as the days become darker and the prospect of classes, exams, and papers begin to creep in. Find time to have some fun and observe the natural world around you.[2]
1. Yellow Patches (Amanita flavoconia)
This first species of mushroom I found was within the Law School’s own Grounds, nestled delicately under the trees of Spies Garden. This makes sense, as the app instructs that this species is likely to grow under hardwoods or conifers and exists symbiotically with the trees’ roots. The caps begin to grow in a conical shape and feature patches of worts (from which the species apparently derives its name) before flattening out like many of the subjects pictured above. Despite the “burnt pancake” appearance of many of the caps, this species appears to be quite toxic and likely to induce severe gastrointestinal distress.
2. The Sickener (Russula emetica)[3]
This was a tough one. I found this species both underneath the trees between the Law School and the D3 lot, as well as adjacent to the yellow patches pictured above in Spies Garden. The results I received from the app suggested they could be a species called the “sickener,” an ominous portent. If so, this species is a highly toxic mushroom likely to cause severe gastrointestinal distress. However, its primary habitat according to the app is in wet, mossy woods beneath pine or spruce trees, which is not quite descriptive of the otherwise idyllic Spies Garden ecosystem, and very few of these species seem to have been identified in this geography. Alternatively, there are several species of russulas that have very similar physical characteristics. I decided to rule out the most likely contender, the creamy russula, because its primary growing season is January through March, whereas it is peak growing season for the sickener. I also ruled out another contender, the rosy russula, because that species’ stems appear to have a similar rosy pink hue, whereas the subjects in these pictures have only white stems.
I am also not very confident about this next species, which I found along the roadway adjacent to the Forum Hotel. There are apparently several species that look similar to the one pictured above, and my amateur eye is ill-equipped to discern the differences. Regardless, this identification seems plausible. The fragile dapperling is, as the name and pictures suggest, a very delicate mushroom prone to ripping and tearing of both the cap and stem. The app notes that this species grows in open forests and forest clearings, particularly on forest litter, which I suppose could be replicated by the mulching in this particular area? This species again appears to be toxic with similar gastrointestinal consequences.
4. Luxury Caps (Gymnopus luxurians)
This next species is one of the most abundant that I found in my exploration and can be found throughout North Grounds. This is perhaps no surprise since the app informs me that this species is commonly found in “cultivated” and “disturbed” areas, and oh, how disturbed these Grounds must be to foster such rich proliferation of this species. Luxury caps have a brown center that fades into lighter and creamier hues towards the edges. I presume this species gets its name from the undulating surface of the caps, reminiscent of the flowing garments of Renaissance-era marble sculptures. The picture on the right features younger subjects, while the picture on the left captures the upward-curved edges indicative of mature subjects. Luxury caps frequently grow in wood chips and mulch in suburban habitats. This might be the first non-toxic species on the list, but please don’t eat them. Please.[6]
5. Mulch Fieldcap (Agrocybe putaminum)[7]
Another species of mushroom that can be found with relative abundance around North Grounds is the small mulch fieldcap. Much like the luxury caps, they frequently grow in cultivated and disturbed landscapes, and in particular atop wood chips and other decaying wood debris, which again explains why they proliferate so widely in this area. The caps of this species have a bulbous dome shape in hues of tan or ochre. Curiously, this species—as well as its relative and leading contender for identification—is less common in September and October than it is in spring (its main growing season) and November. Although this is still a plausible identification, the app does warn that this species belongs to the quaint category of “Little Brown Mushrooms” (“LBM”), which comprises a great many varieties of mushrooms that have similar physical characteristics. Although the mulch fieldcap is non-toxic, it may be easily mistaken for many other varieties of toxic species.[8]
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cmz4bx@virginia.edu
[1] See Noah Coco, Ramping Up to a Tasty Spring, Va. L. Weekly (Mar. 27, 2024), https://www.lawweekly.org/col/2024/3/28/ramping-up-to-a-tasty-spring.
[2] Before proceeding, it is probably worth including a disclaimer at this point. Wild mushrooms can be severely toxic. Consequently, none of these identifications purport to endorse consumption or even handling of wild mushrooms. In light of my abundant ignorance on the subject of mycology, all identifications should probably be presumed to be incorrect.
[3] Alternatives: Rosy Russula (Russula sanguinea); Creamy Russula (Russula cremoricolor)
[4] Alternatives: Flowerpot Parasol (Leucocopinus birnbaumii); Leucocopinus (Leucocopinus straminellus)
[5] LeuCOCOprinus fragilissimus.
[6] Please.
[7] Alternative: Common Fieldcap (Agrocybe pediades)
[8] See all preceding disclaimers and warnings about consumption, supra.