Mushroom Quiz

Name

First Last

How many spores does a giant puffball (Calvatia gigantea) contain?

Over a trillion
Ten thousand
1 million
1 billion

What is this very common mushroom?

Turkey tail (Trametes versicolor)
Crowded Parchment (Stereum complicatum)
False turkey tail (Stereum ostrea)
Violet Toothed polypore (Trichaptum biforme)

If a fungus is mycorrhizal what does that mean?

A fungus which grows in association with the roots of a plant in a symbiotic relationship
A fungus that rots wood
A fungus that releases spores to the air
A fungus that lives underground

Intermediate question. How would you describe these gills?

Free
Sinuate
Decurrent
Adnate

Are those creepy fingers sticking out of the ground? Grayish blue-green with lighter “nails” in May and June; later in the year they will turn black and a bit bumpy. They are Xylaria polymorpha, commonly known as:

Devil’s Urn
Black Crust
Dead Man’s Fingers
Brittle Cinder

Using a magnifying glass, you investigate some tiny, red, cup-shaped fungi on a dead log, and find that each one is lined with dark “hairs”. They belong to the genus Scutellinia and are known as

Jelly Cups
Hairy Fairy Cups
Eyelash Cups
Scarlet Cups

Sarcoscypha austriaca, one of the first colorful cup fungi to peek out from under the dead leaves in spring, is commonly known as:

Eyelash Cup
Scarlet Cup
False Morel
Elfin Saddle

Intermediate question. Which mushroom toxin causes an adverse reaction to alcohol similar to Disulfiram (Anatbuse) used to treat chronic alcoholism?

α-Amanitin
Coprine
Muscarine
Gyromitrin

Urnula craterium would be a perfect Halloween fungus, but alas! This dark and creepy cauldron only grows in early spring. Its common name is:

Dead Man’s Fingers
Earth Tongue
Hairy Fairy Cup
Devil’s Urn

Intermediate question. Which Scarlet cup species is this? Spores are ~27µm by ~11µm with multiple small oil drops. The cup has twisted and curved hairs on its undersurface.

Sarcoscypha occidentalis
Sarcoscypha coccinea
Sarcoscypha dudleyi
Sarcoscypha austriaca

On a damp log, you find a decorative grouping of soft gray, merging circles and ovals, each surrounded by clean white as they spread along the surface of the log. Its official name (quite a tongue twister) is Kretzschmaria deusta. The soft colors will soon become black and flaky, which has earned it the name:

Black Crust
Black Flakes
Brittle Cinder
Spreading Crust

What is a slime mold?

Single celled organism that fuse together to form a fruiting body.
A lichen
A multicellular organism
A type of fungi

These mushrooms are not social distancing. How would you describe them?

Single
Scattered
Caespitose
Nongregarious

Congratulations! You’ve found the finely sculpted, yet completely hollow Morchella americana, also known as:

Veined Cup
Half Free Morel
Black Morel
Yellow Morel

Advanced question. This is a DNA sequence or barcode for an ITS region of a fungi. What species is it from?

>WPMC20131005-2-4
ACTTTTTGTAGGCTTGGTGGGATAGGCTGACTTCGGTCGGCTTTGAATGCCTCGCCTATGTATTAAAACAAACGCTTCAG TTTAGAATGTAACCTTGCATAATAAGCAAATAAATACAACTTTCAGCAACGGATCTCTTGGCTCTCGCATCGATGAAGAA CGCAGCGAAATGCGATAAGTAATGTGAATTGCAGAATTCAGTGAATCATCGAATCTTTGAACGCACCTTGCGCTCCTTGG TATTCCGAGGAGCATGCCTGTTTGAGTGTCATGGTATCATCAACCTTCAACACTTTTGTGTCTGTAGGCTTGGACTTGGA GGTCGTGTCGGCGTTCGCGTCGGCTCCTCTGAAATGCATTAGCGTGAATCTTACGAATCGCCCTCGGTGTGATAATTTCT ACGCCGTAGACGTGCAGTATATAGTGTTCGTGCTTACAACCGTCTGCRAAGACAACATCATTGACAATCTGACCTCAAAT CAGGTAGGACTACCCGCTGAACTTAAGCATATCAATAAGCGGAGGAAAAGAAACTAACAAGGATTCCCCTAGTAACTGCG AGTGAAGCGGGAAAAGCTCAAATTTAAAATCTGGCGGTCTTCGATCGTCCGAGTTGTAGTCTGGAGAAGCGTCTTCCGCG CTGGACCGTGTACAAGTCTCTTGGAAYAGAGCGTCGTAGAGGGTGAGAATCCCGTCTTTGACACGGACTACCAGTGCTTT GTGATGCGCTCTCAAAGAGTCGAGTTGTTTGGGAATGCAGCTCAAAATGGGTGGTAAATTCCATCTAAAGCTAAATATTG GCGAGAGACCGATAGCGAACAAGTACCGTGAGGGAAAGATGAAAAGCACTTTGGAAAGAGAGTTAAACAGTACGTGAAAT TGCTGAAAGGGAAACGATTGAAGTCAGTCGCGTCGTCTAGAACTCAACCTTGCCTCGGCTCGGTGCATTTTCTAGTTGAC GGGCCAGCATCAGTTTTGACCGTTGGAAAAAGGTCCTTGGAATGTGGCACCTTCGGGTGTGTTATAGCCTCGGGTCGTAT ACGACGGTTGGGACTGAGGACCGCAGCACGCCTTTATGGCCGGGG
You will need to use the online BLAST server to identify it. Tip: Search the entire nucleotide database rather than the ITS type sequence subset to obtain a good result.

Which of the following is false regarding the aborted entoloma?

It is edible
Turns bright blue when cut
Irregular white blobs with a marbled pinkish brown interior
Caused by Entoloma abortivum parasitizing Armillaria species

In the moss on the ground you notice a slim, soft black mushroom with a stem and an elongated oval head with a groove down the middle—a member of the genus Geoglossum, what most of us call:

Black Foot Morel
Earth Tongue
Hare’s Ear
Ribbed Cup

What do Chanterelles grow on?

Rotting logs
The ground
Live trees
Wood mulch

The common split gill or Schizophyllum commune has how many genders?

Over 20000
4
Approximately 100
2

Most people who love wild mushroom hunting would be excellent partners to be quarantined with for two months.

No Way
I'm not too sure of that
Only if they were good cooks
Of course they would

Bisporella citrina catches your eye as you pass a debarked log, even though each one is only a few millimeters across, because there are hundreds of these tiny, bright:

Witch’s Butter
Mayapple Rust
Star Mollisia
Yellow Fairy Cups

Which one of these is this a Chanterelle mushroom?

You come across Galiella rufa--thick, peanut-butter-brown, cup-shaped mushrooms attached to a stick on the ground. Each is surrounded by a dry, finely hairy, black outer surface, which squishes like a soft gum drop. They are commonly called:

Peanut Butter Cups
Goodyear Fungus
Black Jelly
Hairy Rubber Cups

Which of these are common features of Amanitias?

Gills white and even, white to lilac spore print, stem lacking or off center.
Gills, white spore print, universal veil, bulbus base.
Gills brittle, white spore print, brightly colored cap, stem breaks like chalk.
Gills, white spore print, scaly cap, grows on wood.

You’ve discovered what looks like a morel, with a long, granular stem and a cap which turns under before it attaches to the stem. When sliced lengthwise, the mushroom is hollow from top to bottom with a definite attachment to the stem— it’s Morchella punctipes, commonly called

Mulch Morel
Fuzzy Foot
Half Free Morel
Tulip Morel

Intermediate question. Which of these two mushrooms can turn black when bruised or cut?

Lactifluus helvus and Lactarius lignyotus
Marasmius nigrodiscus and Russula compacta
Xanthoconium purpureum and Gyroporus castaneus
Tylopilus alboater and Strobilomyces strobilaceus

Advanced question. In most guide books only one or two eyelash cup species are listed. So far we have identified 6 diffenret species using their microscopic features. Using the images of the spores and other identifying features and measurement values can you identify this species? Average 18 µm by 11 µmQ=1.65 with large warts that mostly have interconnections. Black/Brown margin hairs are ~1650 µm long, rooting with 2 to 3 forks and a pointed top. Hair width ~42µm close to base, hair wall thickness ~7µm.

Use this key to identify the exact species of we have found.