OK, bad pun in the title, but I recently had the opportunity to join a local fungi hike hosted by the Central Texas Mycological Society and Travis Audubon, to learn about and identify some of our local species. It was a a fascinating walk, and I encourage you to keep an eye out for similar opportunities in your area. While we only found a few species, among these were one of the more deadly fungi in Texas - the "Destroying Angel," and one of the smelliest, a bright red stinkhorn.
Please note all identifications below are cursory, based solely on physical field characteristics, without a spore print or microscopic observation of spores. In general, we were recommended to be satisfied with a genus-level identification, except in very special circumstances. Do not rely on my identifications below. I am not a mycologist, mushroom enthusiast, nor someone who tries to eat mushrooms in the wild.
Please note all identifications below are cursory, based solely on physical field characteristics, without a spore print or microscopic observation of spores. In general, we were recommended to be satisfied with a genus-level identification, except in very special circumstances. Do not rely on my identifications below. I am not a mycologist, mushroom enthusiast, nor someone who tries to eat mushrooms in the wild.
The Destroying Angel (Amanita amerivirosa or Amanita virosa, depending upon the field guide). Note several characteristics - the large volva (egg-shaped cup) at base, free gills, and the partial veil remaining as a bit of a skirt, and a chalky white color. This is one not to mess with, and is considered deadly poisonous.
The Stalked Lattice Stinkhorn (Lysurus periphragmoides). A pinkish-reddish stinkhorn (it lives up to that general group name, smelling somewhat like a week-old wilderness outhouse), growing up through the leaf litter. Unlike many other fungi, stinkhorns largely rely on insects (flies) to spread their pores, so they smell like something a fly would land on.
A puffball mushroom, forcibly releasing its spores. Some fruit near the drip-line of trees, and the weight of the falling drops can help force out spores. Most mushrooms either drop their spores, or expell them, allowing the wind to move them (unlike the stinkhorn above).
Two different Agaricus mushrooms, the first with lovely pinkish gills which bruised red on its stalk when handled, the second much larger, with dark brown gills, and a notable color pattern on the cap.
One of the Boletus mushrooms. Note that rather than gills, the boletes have pores on the underside of the cap. Like many of these yellow-colored boletes, this one bruised blue when handled. The cap has a lovely reddish pink color, though on the larger specimen this was "cracking" to reveal the yellow beneath.
A few different shelf-style fungi, the first likely a Hexagonia.
Finally, an interesting thing about some fungi (and some lichens) - they fluoresce under ultraviolet light. Note the difference between the shelf fungus and the lichens at left, and the same specimens under the UV light on the right. I had used UV lights in identifying mineral specimens before, but hand't seen it as an aid in identifying fungi!