Introductions
1. Introduce yourself! - 10 points
Hello! I've been playing (lurking, really, until recently) for 10 years, always in Light! But I love Nature too. I only got my head around the coli and sorted out a training team in the last year or so, before that I didn't know about all these amazing Dom events because I wasn't getting involved in Dom! Now I am, so I'm making up for lost time a bit, haha. But I've been very sick recently so not sure how much of this I can do, I might need to ask for that extra week. I usually walk my dog every day but not for the last few ;_; Getting better now though!
2. Create your ID - 10 points
Why yes, we do play Magic: the Gathering :)
3. Clan Representative - 5 points
This is Aiton! He's a nature dragon, and a mage (in fact a Shroomaturge) and is very interested in fungi. Especially certain kinds of fungi which must be handled with great care and only by experts, and are not destined for the stewpot. They assist him greatly in his, ah, psychic research. He is assisting with the Fungal Foraging Frenzy, and also here. He'd probably get on a bit too well with Inkmist.
4. Introduce your dragon or clan! - 5 points
Our clan is very welcoming to all the elements and embraces what can be learned from others' unique perspectives. We dwell among the redwoods near the northern clifftops behind the Sundial Terrace, watching the horizon where the distant Behemoth looms over the ocean like a hazy green stormcloud. Our matriarch, and many of the clan members, are very keen on nature in all its aspects; both sweet and savage.
Anatomy of a Mushroom
Decided it would be fun to build my own toadstool in Minecraft for the purposes of diagrammatic labelling.
5. Cap - 10 points
7. Gills, Frills, or Spines - 10 points
8. Ring - 10 points
10. Stem or Stalk - 10 points
11. Volva (Base of Bulb) - 10 points
- Note that the ring and volva are the remains of the universal veil which is like a thin, membranous sheath surrounding the immature mushroom. As it grows, the veil splits apart but leaves these structures behind. This is also what leaves the appearance of scales on some mushroom caps. Here's a picture (not for points) to demonstrate:
6. Scales - 10 points
This is another kind of fungus I found on my walk, which looks very scaly and is growing on a living tree. I think it's a fungus and not a lichen, although lichens themselves are symbiotic organisms, part fungus and part algae.
9. Veil or Curtain - 10 points
Just had to share this picture I found online of a Bridal Veil Stinkhorn, or bamboo mushroom, found in tropical environments around the world from the Amazon to Southern China. They are edible! But only the stems - the stinky, gelatinous cap and veil are discarded before cooking, usually in soups.
Shapes
12. Flat - 10 points
See the shelf or bracket fungus (#36) which is quite flat on top, hence the name!
13. Round or Sphere - 10 points
More mushrooms around the back of my generous tree stump. These are round, probably because they are still young, as they look like the same species as the shelf fungus elsewhere on the tree.
14. Dome - 10 points
See 'things you might use with mushrooms' for a dome shaped chestnut mushroom I will be cooking with tonight!
15. Spire or Tower - 10 points
I rebuilt my Minecraft toadstool to have more of a tower, or spire, shape. It has some little lanterns hung on it to provide lighting.
16. Layers - 10 points
See photo for #36 which also has a type of fungus growing in a layered stack up the trunk.
Qualities
17. Firm - 10 points
These are more bracket fungus from the tree stump I found in the park. They are very firm, part woody but more rubbery in texture.
18. Soft - 10 points
The Wood Ear mushroom (#42) is soft, and also slightly velvety on the outside.
19. Poisonous - 10 points
You must be very careful eating, or even just touching, some species of fungus because many can be poisonous and some look a lot like edible varieties! My favourite variety is the well-known Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) which is the red, white spotted toadstool depicted world-wide in fairy lore and the basis of my Minecraft build. Not just for its striking appearance, but because of the less well-known fact that reindeer can safely eat these fungus; and then I have no idea HOW they discovered it, but humans found that they can drink the reindeer pee (!) and enjoy the psychedelic effects of the fungus without being poisoned. This possibly goes a long way to explaining the myth of Santa and his flying reindeer... Oddly (and not very responsibly perhaps), you can eat these in Minecraft. Mixed with ordinary brown mushrooms, they make a healthy and filling stew!
But for the points, here is a jokey picture of a poisonous toadstool in Magic: the Gathering.
In this card combo, the fungus creature (Deathbonnet Sprout) has been enchanted with a 'Tainted Strike' which gives it 'infect' - so that it deals damage in the form of -1/-1 counters to other creatures it hits, or poison counters to players (if you get 10 poison counters, you lose the game).
20. Nutty - 10 points
Some people might describe the 'nutty' flavour (or texture?) of certain mushrooms, such as the chestnut mushrooms I am using (but I think that's more for their appearance). To me, mushrooms are all, always, mushroomy. So have a bag of actual nuts instead!
Where to Find Them
21. Ground - 10 points
See photo for #50. Slightly cheating, as the fungi are on a stick which is on the ground, but I couldn't find any ground-growing fungi on my walk. Leaf litter around the bases of trees is usually a great place to find fungi, but this is a busy park and a lot of people kick over and destroy mushrooms when they find them :(
22. Tree trunk - 10 points
These are bracket fungus. I came to this park for this particular tree trunk, which I knew would not disappoint!
23. Leaves - 10 points
See #47. Unfortunately I didn't find any fungus in leaf litter on my walk, only on trees.
24. Store - 10 points
(No photo needed - ah but I took one anyway!)
These are mushrooms in Tesco's 'finest' (i.e. expensive) range, for the discerning shopper. I did not buy any.
25. Kitchen - 10 points
Since I was in Minecraft anyway, I thought I would build a kitchen, as after the delightful Homes and Garden Magazine examples in this thread so far, I was not about to submit photos of my own!
You can see a fridge (on the left), a brewing stand, a couple of crafting tables, two stoves, a sink, adjustable counter tops, and a storage chest up against the left wall. You don't actually need any of this to make mushroom stew in Minecraft.
Things You Might Use With Mushrooms
26. Cutting board - 10 points
27. Knife - 10 points
28. Bread or breading - 10 points
29. Vegetable - 10 points (a leek)
30. Cheese - 10 points
31. Salt - 10 points
32. Soup – 10 points
34. Stove - 10 points (where else you'd find this besides a kitchen, idk, but anyway.)
I will be making all of this for dinner (except the soup) - chestnut mushrooms fried with garlic and sea salt, with facon and chopped leeks, and grated cheese. Extra points to those who are paying attention, if they can name my local supermarket!
33. Sandwich - 10 points
A ham sammich. Also something that could go with mushrooms, but didn't. Hatchling made it, and then protested when I said 'Ooh, scavenger hunt item!' and confiscated it for photographing. "But I just wanna go eat..." (They also had soup, but I didn't want to push it. A hungry hatchling has a nasty nip.)
Cool Types
35. Ink cap - 10 points
Pictures of the Common Ink Cap (Coprinopsis atramentaria) which is widespread in the UK. It grows wherever there is buried wood. (Photos & info from the Woodland Trust UK.) As the mushroom ages, the edges of the cap start to deliquesce (melt) and drip like ink, and if you pick one and leave it overnight, it will just be a gooey black puddle by the morning!
Historically it was used to make ink for important documents. It would guard against forgery as the spores could be detected under a microscope!
It is edible, but also known as ‘tippler’s bane’ because it contains an enzyme which inhibits the ability of the liver to process alcohol. [Corrected from what's on the website, which is not quite accurate.] If alcohol is consumed up to three days before or after eating it, it will cause extremely severe hangover symptoms!
36. Shelf - 10 points
Another bracket, or shelf, fungus on my generous tree stump! They are very sturdy and flat, which makes them look like shelves. See also, Shapes (above).
37. Turkey tail (or feather) - 10 points
(To be added)
38. TOADstool (or frog) - 10 points - see below
39. ToadSTOOL (or chair) - 10 points
This is our Hypnotoad. He has guarded our garden for decades. He is a very good toad!
40. Button - 10 points
See 'things you might use with mushrooms' for the pictures of my chestnut mushrooms. British chestnut mushrooms are NOT the same as the brick top mushrooms in the USA which are also called chestnuts, but are inedible. Our 'chestnuts' are in fact simply a brown variety ('cremini') of the cultivated mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, which are known as button mushrooms when small and immature, due to their cute round shape. The two central mushrooms in my photo would class as 'button' if you bought a box of smaller, younger ones; they are simply sorted by size and age.
41. WOODear - 10 points
The Wood Ear Deer can be found within the Blooming Grove. It is a Nature creature but I like how it incorporates elements of plague in that it is clearly decaying and a sort of fungal zombie. It also drops a lovely skin.42. WoodEAR - 10 points
The Wood Ear or Jelly Ear fungus (Auricularia auricula-judae) - photo from the Woodland Trust - common in the UK. They grow mostly on elder (also beech, sycamore & ash) and can survive after being frozen solid!
It is also known as Judas's Ear because of a charming legend - the elder is the tree upon which Judas supposedly hanged himself after betraying Christ to his executioners, and the ‘ears’ which emerge from elder wood represent his tormented soul!
43. Parasol (or umbrella) - 10 points
(To be added)
44. Bricktop - 10 points
(To be added - I was tempted to just rebuild my Minecraft toadstool with bricks but this is supposed to be a fungal foraging event so by the Lightweaver I will showcase actual mushrooms even if it kills me!!!)
45. What's your favorite kind of mushroom? - 10 points
(No photo needed)
I have to admit to not being the world's biggest fan of mushrooms. But as a vegetarian, shiitake mushrooms are a very good substitute for meat in a stew or other dishes. Mushrooms are an excellent source of protein.
Other things you might find
(and bonus dragon snacks)
46. Bird - 10 points
These are crows! A Halloween staple. There are a LOT of them in the woods near my house. They gather on trees and take off around dusk, circling around in the sky and cawing. It's an amazing and slightly eerie phenomenon. I would love to try and make friends with them but I don't want the entire murder descending on our yard and I don't think the neighbours would appreciate it, so for now they have to make do with sharing the seeds I put out for other birds.
47. Rodent or small mammal - 10 points
Small being relative to a dragon...
I am still hoping to get a photo of a squirrel in our garden, as you can often see squirrels out in the woods too, but for now here's a photo of my dog. He is much smaller than most dragons, and always to be found when out with me on nature walks! This picture also incorporates the beautiful autumn leaves which turn brown, drop off the trees and decay back into the soil - a process helped, of course, by fungus!
48. Insect - 10 points
Magnetic butterflies on the bookshelf in my bedroom. You can see butterflies when out walking in nature, but not in November in the UK! There aren't really any very pretty, interesting or easily identifiable insects out and about right now.
49. Plant - 10 points
See photo for #50 which also shows stinging nettles, these grow profusely in British woodland and are one of the major obstacles to foraging! Also apparently edible, but I can't say I have ever been bothered to try.
50. A really cool stick - 10 points
This is a really cool stick because as you can see, it is covered in moss and fungus, and is slowly decaying while acting as host to a variety of other organisms and providing them with nutrients. You could also throw it for your dog, but I didn't disturb it (he had his ball).
51. A very good rock - 10 points
This is a bunch of excellent rocks arranged in a stone circle! Sadly not a real, historical one, more of a folly. I nearly got a great picture of birds (magpies) perching on the back stone, but then some children came running up so they flew away and I took pictures of crows at home instead.
Bonus Questions
Only 500 points are needed to complete the event. The following questions are in case you are having trouble with any of the items above. You are still welcome to answer for fun!
52. Share a picture of yeast or mold – 10 points each
Some mouldy cheese found at the back of the refrigerator. Whoops!
53. Share
54. What mushroom did you share above? - 10 points
My magic mushroom necklace! I figured I'd shared enough photos from online and should take a few more of my own. It is a very cute necklace, and is made from Fimo, oven baked to reduce the size. It has little snowy purple mountains and flowers and suns. I think I probably got it at Glastonbury or somewhere like that, I can't remember.
55. Have you ever gone (or would you go) foraging for mushrooms in real life? - 10 points
Yes! One time we stayed with some folks who were living wild in a yurt in the woods and we went foraging for mushrooms for dinner. I can't remember the name of the variety we found, it was large and white with a reddish cap and quite firm, likely some species of bolete. It was quite tasty. We took some home with us but they went slimy and we didn't really feel like eating them after that; they probably shouldn't have been kept in a plastic bag.
Maybe less freezing weather and food will make things more manageable...
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