SheldonTimes

Bald Cypress Trail at Pocomoke River State Park offers three different types of forest, a bald cypress swamp, loblolly pine grove, and a mixed hardwood forest, all in just one easy-to-hike mile. Of course the warm rainy weather had brought out lots of mushrooms we had to stop to see, and it was pouring rain, so it took us two hours to make the loop. We brought a number of specimens back to the campsite "lab," took spore prints, and identified, with some degree of confidence the following: Steccherinum ochracea, Laetiporus sulphureus, some species of Pholiota, Hebeloma crustuliniforme (the poison pie), and Gymnopilus luteus. We harvested a small bit of the L. sulphureus thinking we might have it for dinner that night, but opted instead for a dry restaurant rather than campfire cooking in the rain. The next morning we sneaked back for some more to offer to a friend we would visit that evening. See more mushroom photos from the Bald Cypress Trail. Read more about our Eastern Shore fall break vacation.