Amanita phalloides, AKA the Death Cap Mushroom, grows throughout California from the Sierra foothills to the Channel Islands, usually beneath live oak trees. The Sacramento Bee carried a feature article about the Death Cap Mushroom today because several local people died recently after consuming mushrooms picked in their yard. When I went outside to see what havoc Storm Number 3 may have wreaked on my home and yard, I noticed that there were quite a few mushrooms under my live oak. I have no idea if these are Death Cap mushrooms but they look an awful lot like the photos in the paper today. I know I wouldn’t pick any mushrooms in my yard and eat them. I will photograph them, however. I especially like the cluster in the moss at the base of the live oak.
Focal Length 300mm
ISO 100
f/5.6
1/100
Focal Length 300mm
ISO 200
f/5.6
1/80
Love the photos- if not the subject! The second one is particularly compelling- like a miniature world. Love the setail in the moss. I have some mushrooms growing too- no idea what they are. And I know someone who served wild mushrooms to her guests- and they all ended up at the ER. Scary things!