This is a medium-sized Agaricus found growing in grass but near oak trees. The odor was mild at first, similar to A. bisporus, but became acrid and chemical as the fungus aged. There were no signs of yellowing of the cap, margin, flesh, or stalk even after fairly rough handling.

The characteristic chocolate brown gills of the Agaricus. The gills appear to be free, meaning they aren't attached to the stalk.

The ring of this Agaricus. It appears to be a single-layer ring (most Agaricus have a doule ring) and seemed more sheathlike than skirtlike, but it was rather hard to tell.

The flesh turned reddish shortly after being cut, although it started white. This shot also shows the varied regions on the stem.

These big (6-15cm) mushrooms are growing in enormous clusters in the trees along the bicycle path on the way to my school. Initially I thought they were Lyophyllum decastes, the fried chicken mushroom - and perhaps they are - but the stalk on L. decastes should be nearly white, and these are dark - nearly as dark as the cap near the base.

Their very smooth cap texture, white spores, and clustered growth in disturbed ground certainly fits the picture for a Lyophyllum. They could be some kind of Tricholoma, though.

Nearly all specimens had these lobed and misshapen caps. There was no sign of any kind of veil.

The odor was unremarkable, and the flesh was white and did not stain. The flesh under the cap was thin, but the stalk looked substantial enough to be worthwhile - if this is an edible species. We did not test it.

Perhaps the most photogenic of all the fungal kingdom: Amanita muscaria. This big, beautiful examples of the species grow in the medians of the parking lot near my school.

Showing the white stalk, skirtlike veil, and the edge of the universal veil at the bottom.

A perfect apple-colored button, with a younger button below.

Much younger buttons. When they are very young, as the ones on the right, they are occasionally mistaken for puffballs.

At just a little bit older, though, the bright yellow, orange, or red starts to show through.

Centerpiece of the autumn colors.

A slightly younger button just emerging from its universal veil. Here you can easily see how the characteristic cup, or volva, of the Amanitas is formed. The universal veil completely enevelops the button, but as it grows it tears the veil in half, leaving a cup at the bottom and a cap on the top. In A. muscaria this top reminant tears into small islands of veil tissue, forming the white warts characteristic of the species. In other Amanitas, the veil may form a single island on top of the mushroom's cap, or several big patches, or even wash away entirely.

This hamburger-sized bolete was growing next to the sidewalk at my school. The family is obvious, and I think it is a true bolete rather than a Suillus... but I have no guesses as to the species.

This group is a textbook example of Lyophyllum decastes, the fried chicken mushroom. It was growing along the walkway at my school, with light gills, light stalks, an almiost greasy smoothness to the caps... and much too filthy to bother eating.

Two of my favorite subjects in one photo.

This cluster of brown mushrooms is, of course, entirely different. Really. It's growing at the base of a living tree, for starters. The caps have a slightly fuzzy texture (fibrillose in mycology terms). They are also somewhat smaller, at about 3cm across on average. They are classic examples of honey mushrooms... except...

... they have no sign of a veil. Some individual honey mushrooms will lack a veil, and some have only a thin veil rather than the classic felty ring... but these didn't even have a tiny white fiber on young specimens. I suspect these are something like Armillariella tabescens.