A field guide to the fungi of central Massachusetts — and a record of the weather that preceded them.
Photographed where found — some fruitbodies lifted for underside frames or collected for spore prints, and the entry says so when that happened — then written up with what can honestly be said, and what could not be without a print or a look at the stipe base. 76 of 171 entries are still unidentified, and they say so.
Each walk carries the observed rainfall and humidity from the days leading up to it. The pattern in this guide’s own records so far: a soaking, then warm rain-free days, precedes the best walks. 12 walks is not enough to call that a law — the walk pages carry the numbers, so the hypothesis can be watched.
Walker Pond Rd area — Thursday, 20 August 2026. 8 specimens in 11:28 AM–12:51 PM EDT.
Violet cap with purple gillsCortinarius sp. · Aug 20High for genus
Old man of the woods — weatheredStrobilomyces sp. · Aug 20High for genus
Violet webcap with a bulbous baseCortinarius sp. · Aug 20High for genus
Old man of the woods — stain sequenceStrobilomyces sp. · Aug 20High for genus
Honey mushroom cluster, young and matureArmillaria sp. (mellea group) · Aug 20High for genus
Cinnabar chanterelles in pine littercf. Cantharellus cinnabarinus · Aug 20Moderate–high
Brown suede bolete with unstaining fleshcf. Tylopilus · Aug 20Moderate
Red-capped bolete with an ornamented stipecf. Suillus · Aug 20Moderate
Deep red bolete with reticulate stipeBoletaceae · Aug 8Moderate
Orange troop on a standing logUnidentified agaric · Aug 8Low–moderate
Birch polyporeFomitopsis betulina or Fomes fomentarius · Aug 6Moderate
Fly agaric buttonAmanita muscaria var. guessowii · Aug 1High
Common puffball — moss cushionLycoperdon perlatum · Aug 8High
Rose-red Russula on mossRussula sp. · Aug 1High for genus
Witch's butter on a mossy logTremella mesenterica or Dacrymyces chrysospermus · Nov 27Moderate
Orange-gilled bracket on a logTapinella or Phyllotopsis · Aug 6Moderate
Turkey tail on the fallen logTrametes versicolor · Aug 8Moderate–high
Earthball, cut openScleroderma sp. · Aug 6High
Violet cortCortinarius sp. · Jul 31Moderate
Cinnabar polypore on a stickPycnoporus cinnabarinus (= Trametes cinnabarina) · Aug 6HighNothing here is an edibility guide. Most entries are identified only to genus, and several cannot be separated from dangerous look-alikes. Never eat a wild mushroom on the basis of a photograph. More on that here.