Cortinarius sp.

Commonly called "webcaps".

Young cortinarius mushrooms have a veil-like structure called a cortina between their cap and stem, which usually vanishes as they mature. Worldwide, it's estimated over two thousand species of cortinarius exist.

July 24th, 2023

Randolph County, Illinois, USA

Olivia R. Myers

@oliviarosaline

Photo: Chicago Botanic Garden, Illinois

Illinois. Photo by Cody Board.

Heading into the Shawnee National Forest for some fall camping.

Illinois

1988

Illinois River -Oregon

Harry Snowden

Got bored, went for a hike: Stone Face Trail, Shawnee National Forest, Illinois

Sept. 11, 2023

I know they’re out to get me, but they haven’t got me yet.

Gorgeous Fall day 🍃🍁🍂

Starved Rock State Park, Oglesby IL.

Went for a walk by the creek to get out of the house!

Here we have Dutchman's Breeches, Spring Beauty, wood violet, wild blue phlox, bloodroot (not in bloom just yet, at least not this one) and a white trout lily, the first one I have personally ever found! It was beautiful and much needed.

Queer Takeover: Garden of the Gods is THIS SUNDAY on May 7th! QT is a quarterly event where a bunch of local gays just hang out and wherever in Southern Illinois and enjoy queerness in numbers. Swing by with your chosen family and enjoy the outdoors (hiking not required if you just want to sit and chat ;) )

Rainbow Cafe will be at Garden of the Gods from 2 to 5 PM, and like all QT events, it's ALL AGES and open to EVERYONE! Plus, this one in particular is also FREE! The weather for Garden of the Gods/Pope County is currently a high of 81° and low of 62°, mostly cloudy with a chance of scattered thunderstorms in the morning and overnight - ~43% chance of rain as of right now. The rain date is still May 21st BUT we are still planning on the 7th right now!

FB Event: https://fb.me/e/2DyY5s9r3

Prairie Trillium

Trillium recurvatum

These unique, dark trillium plants caught our eye while we were exploring woods in Jersey County, Illinois. This species usually has splotchy green leaves. dailybotany suggested these trillium plants may have upped their anthocyanin production in response to exposure to higher levels of solar radiation. There were a few of these trilliums with dark leaves in the general area, and it may have been a sunnier than usual spot in the understory of the forest there, so this theory makes sense. I still wonder if it's possible this small population carries a genetic mutation... I have explored many woods and never seen trilliums this dark. I love listening to different theories and learning new info.

Trillium recurvatum is native to much of the Mississippi River basin in the central / eastern United States. Eastern Ohio has a few populations, which are listed as potentially threatened by their DNR. There are also a couple isolated populations in North Carolina, but it's debated whether or not they were actually planted long ago. Its closest lookalike with overlapping range is trillium sessile; however, the sepals on s. recurvatum plants curve downward as the flower opens, and the stem is usually much shorter than on t. sessile. This species can grow in habitats ranging from floodplains, to mesic forests and mesic savannas. Often, they're found growing in calcareous soils or over calcium-rich rocks such as limestone.

March 20th, 2024

Jersey County, Illinois, USA

Olivia R. Myers

@oliviarosaline

Hello spring! Glad to finally see you! :-) 

Photo: Illinois

River of fragile glass… 12/18/22

High Water - Illinois River - Oregon

Harry Snowden