Just a gentle reminder that the description of the NYMS "Fungi beyond NYC" project reads as follows:

"This project pertains only to counties visitied by NYMS outside of NYC proper, which include Rockland, Orange, Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess counties in NY state and Bergen, Essex, and Passaic counties in NJ."

So if your observation is from beyond those areas we encourage you to add it to other, local non-NYMS projects. The FunDiS iNat Diversity Database is also glad to accept high-quality observations from anywhere in North America. https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/fundis-fungal-diversity-survey

And if your observation is from within the five boroughs, please add it to our "Fungi of NYC" project.

Our two projects are mutually exclusive.

Alan Rockefeller sequenced a Gomphus clavatus he found in Humboldt County, California, and found that it's not the same as the European Gomphus clavatus. That means that the west coast Gomphus clavatus is either a new species, or it's Cantharellus (Gomphus) brevipes, described from New York by Peck in 1883. To figure this out, Alan needs a specimen from New York state or adjoining states.

If you happen to come across something looking like Gomphus clavatus this summer, please notify me (sigridjakob@gmail.com) or Alan Rockefeller (alanrockefeller@gmail.com) and preserve the specimen.

It looks like this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomphus_clavatus#/media/File:Gomphus_clavatus_II_Totes_Gebirge.jpg
It's called the pig's ear mushroom because it looks like a wrinkly purple pig's ear. It's distinctive and hard to confuse with anything else.

This rare (or perhaps just under-reported) ascomycete has never been found as far North as New York before but we think there's a chance that it's here and we're just not noticing it.

It pretty much looks exactly like its common name: popped popcorn on top of mulberries:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/41900855
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/43834001

Mulberry trees are just starting to fruit. So next time you pass one, have a quick look at the fruit on the tree and the ground and see if you can see this odd little asco.

Thanks everybody!

-Sigrid