A Pseudo-Big Day in Santa Cruz
I have always wondered how many mushroom species it would be possible to see in one day in Santa Cruz County. Since this fall has been so exceptionally fruitful for mushrooms, I decided to give it a go… How else to find out?
I chose this time of the year because the fall mushroom assemblage is rapidly transitioning into the winter assemblage, briefly bumping up easily-seen diversity during the period of overlap. Since I didn’t have a full day to commit start to finish (Christmas parties, work, etc.), I had to spread out my efforts over four days. 5 hours were spent on the 18th, 2 hours cumulatively on the 19th and 20th, and 2 hours on the 21st (drive times included, without overlapping drive times removed). Totaled up, this roughly equals the amount of available daylight (plus maybe a little headlight hunting) that is usually available during this period of fall/winter overlap. I’m quite sure that all the mushrooms I encountered could have been found on either the 18th or the 21st. I ended up with 270 species (not all identified to species, but recognizable RTUs).
I think this is clear evidence that 300 species could be seen by one person in a single day during a good year in Santa Cruz County. I think it’s even feasible to get well over this number, keeping in mind:
1. Start with a prioritized list of expected species. I missed many common species.
2. Scout the week ahead of time to locate rarer taxa - I did no scouting.
3. Plan an efficient driving route. I made mine up as I went, and some driving time is double-counted in my 9 hours.
4. Learn to distinguish Mycena and other tough taxa by sight (at least with provisional names) - I put no real effort into distinguishing gray Mycenas and other difficult groups (Galerina, Leptonia), although I did so with Cortinarius.
5. Spend most of your time at a few high-productivity areas that are relatively close to one another but very different from one habitat-wise (minimizing drive time while maximizing species turnover between sites). Driving time was the single biggest detracting factor.
6. Go alone, and don’t photograph species for which a photo is not helpful in later distinction. I spent a lot of time photographing mushrooms and talking to my companions, which was very pleasant but didn’t serve this particular bizarre goal.
The areas I visited were: Ponderosa Lodge, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park (near Graham Hill Road), Fall Creek Unit (near Empire Grade), UCSC (oaks northwest of the Arboretum), Big Basin State Park (visitor center area to Pine Mountain Trail and part of Skyline to the Sea), Pogonip, the San Lorenzo River corridor (including the Cemetery near Ocean Street Extension), and a few neighborhood spots including my yard.
Below is the list of mushrooms I encountered:
Agaricus albolutescens (prime fruiting at Henry Cowell)
** Agaricus fuscofibrillosus (first time I have seen it in the county, urban cypress)
Agaricus hondensis
Agaricus micromegathus
Agaricus praeclaresquamosus (new name pending)
Agaricus subrutilescens
Agaricus xanthodermus
Agrocybe pediades
Agrocybe praecox (only saw it in my front yard!)
Alboleptonia sericella
Amanita augusta
Amanita baccata (sandhills around Henry Cowell Observation Deck)
Amanita constricta
Amanita gemmata
Amanita muscaria
Amanita novinupta
Amanita pantherina group
Amanita phalloides
Amanita silvicola
Annulohypoxylon thouarsianum
Antrodia madronae
Antrodia sp. (a small, large-pored species on SCZ Mtn. manzanita)
Armillaria mellea
Armillaria solidipes
Astraeus hygrometricus
Atheniella adonis
Auriscalpium vulgare
Bjerkandera adusta (one large fruiting in Pogonip near the Koi Pond)
Bolbitius titubans
Calocera cornea
Cantharellus californicus
Caulorhiza umbonata
Chalciporus piperatoides
Cheimonophyllum candidissimus
Chlorophyllum brunneum (many under Eucalyptus along San Lorenzo River)
Chroogomphus ochraceus
Claudopus sp. (on sand at Ponderosa Lodge)
Clavaria “blunt tips”
Clavaria falcata
** Clavaria flavipes - very rare, perhaps 4th North American collection? Big Basin.
Clavaria vermicularis
Clavariadelphus occidentalis (small fruiting under Live Oak, Pogonip)
** Clavariadelphus cf. truncatus (rare for this area, Fall Creek)
Clavulinopsis laeticolor
Clitocybe sp.
Clitocybe "shallow gills"
Clitocybe californiensis
Clitocybe fragrans
Clitocybe nebularis
Clitocybe nuda
Clitocybe odora
Clitocybe trulliformis
Clitocybula sp.
Clitopilus nitellinus
Coniophora olivacea
Coprinellus flocculosus
Coprinellus Section Micacei
Coprinopsis (fuzzy white on horse dung)
Coprinus comatus (one fruiting near Koi Pond, Pogonip)
Cortinarius (Section Anomali)
Cortinarius (subgenus Dermocybe)
Cortinarius (subgenus Myxacium)
Cortinarius (subgenus Telamonia) tawny
Cortinarius (subgenus Telamonia) 1
Cortinarius aff. obtusus
Cortinarius aff. laniger
Cortinarius cisqhale
Cortinarius clandestinus
Cortinarius glaucopus
Cortinarius infractus
Cortinarius lilacinocolossus
Cortinarius ohlone
Cortinarius percomis
Cortinarius ponderosus
Cortinarius section Anomali
Cortinarius subgenus Myxacium (bluish-lilac)
Cortinarius subgenus Phlegmacium (dull)
Cortinarius subgenus Phlegmacium (colorful)
Cortinarius subgenus Telamonia purple cap
Cortinarius subgenus Telamonia silvery
Cortinarius trivialis
Cortinarius viridirubescens
Cortinarius xanthodryophilus
Craterellus cornucopioides
Crepidotus mollis
Cuphophyllus fornicatus
Cuphophyllus graveolens
Cuphophyllus lawrencei
Dacrymyces palmatus
Dacrymyces stillatus
Dendrothele candida
Entoloma 1
Entoloma 2
Entoloma 3
Entoloma 4
Entoloma bloxami
Entoloma “conoradicatum”
Entoloma ferruginans
Entoloma subgenus Leptonia 1
Entoloma subgenus Leptonia 2
Entoloma subgenus Nolanea
Entoloma subsaundersi
Fomitopsis cajanderi
** Fomitopsis officinalis (large fruiting on Douglas-fir, Felton-Empire)
Fomitopsis pinicola
Galerina sp.
Galerina marginata
Ganoderma applanatum
Geastrum saccatum
Gliophorus minutulus
Gliophorus psittacinus
Gloeoporus dichrous
Gomphidius oregonensis
Gymnopilus sapineus
Gymnopilus (small bright conifer wood)
Gymnopus (large, madrone bark)
Gymnopus subpruinosus
Gymnopus villosipes
Hebeloma crustuliniforme
Helotiales (yellow disco swarm)
Helvella dryophila
Hemimycena 1
Hemimycena 2
Heterotextus alpinus
Hohenbuehelia grisea
Hydnum (rufescens type?)
Hygrocybe acutoconica
Hygrocybe aurantiosplendens
Hygrocybe coccinea
Hygrocybe singeri
Hygrophorus eburneus
Hygrophorus roseibrunneus
Hypholoma fasciculare
Hypocrea (yellow, on polypore)
Hypomyces microspermus group
Inocybe 1
Inocybe 2
Inocybe geophylla
Inocybe lilacina
Inocybe sororia
Jahnoporus hirtus
Laccaria amethysteo-occidentalis
Laccaria fraterna
Laccaria proxima
Lactarius "montanus"
Lactarius alnicola
Lactarius californiensis
Lactarius deliciosus
Lactarius megacarpus
Lactarius pallidiolivaceus
Lactarius rubidus
Lactarius rubrilacteus
Lactarius rufulus
Lactarius substriatus
Lactarius subvillosus
Lactarius xanthogalactus
Laetiporus gilbertsonii
Lenzites betulina
Leotia lubrica (one fruitbody, Big Basin)
Lepiota 1
Lepiota atrodisca
Lepiota castanea
Lepiota castaneidisca
Lepiota magnispora
Lepiota spheniscispora (late-ish, Pogonip)
Leptonia decolorans
Leptonia formosa
Leptoporus sp.
Leratiomyces ceres
Leratiomyces percevallii
Leucopaxillus albissimus
Leucopaxillus gentianeus
Lichenomphalia umbellifera
Lycoperdon molle (oak, UCSC)
Lycoperdon perlatum
Lycoperdon umbrinum
Lyophyllum decastes
Lyophyllum semitale group (fairly abundant, Big Basin)
Marasmius calhouniae
Marasmius plicatulus
Marasmius quercophilus
Micromphale arbuticola
Mucronella flava
Mucronella fusiformis
Mucronella small white clustered
Mycena 1
Mycena acicula
Mycena aurantiomarginata
Mycena californiensis
Mycena epipterygia (uncommon here, one fruitbody, Big Basin)
Mycena galericulata
Mycena maculata
Mycena oregonensis
Mycena pura
Mycena purpureofusca
Nidula candida
Omphalotus olivascens
Onnia (triquetra?, one fruitbody, pine, Henry Cowell)
Paralepista flaccida
Paxillus "oak undescribed"
Peziza sp.
Phaeoclavulina myceliosa
Phaeolus schweinitzii
** Phallus hadriani (thanks to Linda Rosewood! San Lorenzo corridor)
Phanerochaete sanguinea
Phellinus (oak)
Phellinus arctostaphyli
Phlebia radiata
Phlebia tremellosa
Phloeomana speirea
Pisolithus sp.
Pleurotus ostreatus
Pluteus cervinus group
Porodaedalea pini
** Postia caesia (uncommon here, Empire Grade, on Douglas fir)
Psathyrella candolleana
Psathyrella piluliformis
Psathyrella uliginicola
Psatyhyrella sp.
Pseudobaeospora deckeri (Big Basin)
Pseudobaeospora stevensii (Big Basin)
Pseudohydnum gelatinosum (abundant, Big Basin)
"Purple Fuzz"
Ramaria sp.
** Ramaria apiculata - uncommon here (Big Basin)
Ramaria formosa
Ramaria peach yellow
Ramaria “red”- (uncommon here, Fall Creek)
** Ramaria violaceibrunnea (uncommon here, Fall Creek & Big Basin)
** Rhodocollybia oregonensis - (rare here, Big Basin, first county record?)
Rhodocybe "brown"
Rhodocybe caelata
Rhodocybe nuciolens (two fruitbodies, redwoods at Pogonip)
Rhodophana nitellina
Roridomyces roridus (one fruitbody, Big Basin)
Russula 1
Russula 2
Russula brevipes
Russula cerolens
Russula cremoricolor
Russula cyanoxantha
Russula densifolia
Russula (greenish-brown-capped oak-associated cyanoxantha-type)
Russula murillii
Russula xerampelina
Schizophyllum commune
Simocybe centunculus
Sowerbyella rhenana (one fruiting, Ponderosa Lodge)
Stereum hirsutum
Stictis radiata
Suillellus amygdalinus (a few lateish fruitbodies at Pogonip)
Suillus caerulescens
Suillus fuscotomentosus
Suillus lakei
Trametes versicolor
Tremella aurantia
Tremellodendropsis tuberosa
Trichaptum abietinum
Trichoglossum hirsutum
** Tricholoma aurantia - (quite rare here, Fall Creek)
Tricholoma dryophilum
Tricholoma griseoviolaceum
Tricholoma pessundatum (a few fruitbodies with planted pine, Ocean Street cemetery)
Tricholoma saponaceum (both yellow form with pine and gray-white form with tanoak)
Tricholoma terreum
Tyromyces chioneus
Volvopluteus gloiocephalus
Xerocomellus truncatus
Xerocomellus zelleri
Xerocomus subtomentosus
Xylaria hypoxylon