CHICAGO – Perhaps you’ve noticed them on your lawn or on trees, and in all shapes, sizes, and colors.
As autumn approaches, there has been an explosion of mushrooms in the Chicago area.
What we know:
Fox 32 talked to an expert about the pop-up stars of the plant world.
“They really are coming up right now,” said Matt Nelsen, a mushroom scientist at the Field Museum in Chicago and a fun guy to talk about fungi.
“This one is called dead man’s fingers. It’s supposed to look like a hand coming up from underground,” said Nelsen, as he showed us just some of the 1,500 fungi found in the Chicago area.
Perhaps you’ve noticed them on your lawn or on trees, and in all shapes, sizes, and colors. As autumn approaches, there has been an explosion of mushrooms in the Chicago area. (Provided to Fox 32)
Thanks to recent rains and cooler temperatures, the mushrooms are putting on a show right now.
“Fungi can do a really wide range of things,” said Nelsen. “Just because you see them doesn’t mean things are bad. A lot of times it’s a sign of a really healthy ecosystem.”
Mushroom pictures have been popping up all over social media in the past couple of weeks.
When we asked our Fox 32 viewers to document what’s happening in their lawns, we got an avalanche of shroom shots.
Perhaps you’ve noticed them on your lawn or on trees, and in all shapes, sizes, and colors. As autumn approaches, there has been an explosion of mushrooms in the Chicago area. (Provided to Fox 32)
“For most of the year they are hidden away underground living in their food,” said Nelsen. “And the only time we’re aware of them is when they pop up above ground to make this mushroom, when it’s time to make spores to send off.”
And it’s a good time to remind people that they should not eat wild mushrooms unless they’ve been trained on what to look for. Nelsen showed two mushroom species native to Illinois that look remarkably similar. One is non-toxic. The other is deadly.
“If you don’t know what you’re doing, don’t go out and just pick a mushroom, because it is something that could be poisonous and it might make you sick. It might kill you. Some of these have varying degrees of toxicity,” he said.
Perhaps you’ve noticed them on your lawn or on trees, and in all shapes, sizes, and colors. As autumn approaches, there has been an explosion of mushrooms in the Chicago area. (Provided to Fox 32)
The same goes for your pets. Keep them away from any fungi snacks.
Just this past weekend, the Illinois Mycological Association held an event at the Chicago Botanic Gardens to showcase this year’s mushroom bonanza.
“We don’t really know this thing is around until it actually fruits in the fall,” said Nelsen. “So it’s this very ephemeral, special, magical thing that we have.”
And it’s now showtime—right in your backyard.
