SheldonTimes

The Forest Trail crosses a swampy area of bald cypress before entering a forest of mostly loblolly pine. The loblollies don't crowd each other, so visibility is excellent. Even from a distance we could easily spot chalk-white mushrooms that we presumed to be Amanitas. They appeared in many different locations, and they were of different sizes and characteristics, but too similar for us to bother focusing on when there were so many other interesting and relatively "easy" mushrooms to be studied.

We photographed about 20 different species, and took several specimens back to the campsite "lab" in the hopes of identifying them. Unfortunately the best we could do was a tentative ID on Amanita flavaconia and Amanita citrina, which was a lovely shade of green.

One of the more interesting finds was an Amanita button that looked as if it were just "hatching."

It was rare to see even small bits of trash on the trail, so we were surprised to see a discarded jar beside the path. It was even more surprising to see that some plants had taken hold inside the jar -- a sort of accidental terrarium.

See more mushroom photos from the Forest Trail. Read more about our Eastern Shore fall break vacation.