Date:  Wednesday, August 7, 2024.  18:30-20:30 hr.

Location: West Bragg Creek Day use Area

Foray Leader(s):  Christine Costello, Barb Shworak

Attendees: 24

Weather:  The weather Wednesday evening was a little cloudy with temperatures around 12-16C.

Terrain:  The forest is a mix of spruce, pine, poplar and aspen. Some elevation gain as it is the foothills.

The Calgary region had been very hot and dry through most of July. Finally, on the evening of August 5, it rained heavily and continued to rain moderately into Tuesday and Wednesday morning. The conditions in the woods were very moist with lots of tiny Marasmius mushrooms growing in large swaths in the conifer duff. August is generally a good mushroom picking month and hopefully the recent rains have helped.

Finds: Listed below are the names of specimens found. The best edible finds (albeit somewhat older) were oyster mushrooms, crown tipped corals, Inky caps, Leccinum, Agaricus mushrooms and Tremella.

  1. Agaricus sp – Button type

  2. Artomyces pyxidatus – Crown tipped coral

  3. Auriscalpium vulgare – Ear pick fungus

  4. Cerioporus sp – Black footed polypore

  5. Auriscalpium sp – Ear pick fungus

  6. Cerioporus sp – Black footed polypore

  7. Coprinopsis atramentaria – Inky cap

  8. Fomitopsis mounceae – Red belted conk

  9. Gymnopus dryophilus

  10. Infundibulicybe sp

  11. Lactarius sp

  12. Leccinum sp

  13. Panaeolus sp

  14. Peniophore rufa

  15. Pleurotus populinus – Oyster mushroom

  16. Russula brevipes

  17. Russula spp.

  18. Stropharia sp.

  19. Suillus tomentosus

  20. Tremella mesenterica – Witch’s butter

  21. Trichaptum biforme