Thursday, July 12, 2012


Can anyone identify this Ecuadorian mushroom?

The stipe is about 7 mm diameter and the cap roughly 7 cm. It is initially white and dry on the outside. It looks and smells very much like a supermarket Agaricus mushroom, except it has a wider and thinner cap and a longer and thinner stipe.

It was found sprouting from woven polypropylene sacks full of human feces (plus a mix of sawdust and wood ash that was added to cover the fresh feces). These sacks were filled in Urine-diverting Dry Toilets in Puyo, Ecuador (900 meters elevation, on the edge between Amazonia and the Andes). These were stored for over 2 years, protected from rain, but on the soil and thus absorbing some humidity from it via capillary action. More info on these ecologically friendly toilets on my blog, http://www.inodoroseco.blogspot.com/. Also www.ecosanres.org and www.susana.org. Switching to UDDTs is likely one of the easiest ways to reduce one´s ecological and carbon footprint.

Is this species known to be associated with feces? Or is it mainly digesting the sawdust?
Could it be destroying Ascaris helminth eggs, other pathogens, etc.?

Thanks.

Best wishes,
Chris Canaday, canaday2@gmail.com

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Napo River, Ecuador, Fungi Finds 2012

Napo River, Ecuador,  Fungi Finds 2012
In late May / early June 2012 we found some fungi I have not been able to identify, having searched through all I can find on the web. Most I can at least get to Genus, but not these few. Our location was within a mile of the Sani Lodge, 75km downstream from Coca (as the Hoatzin flies) / 165km river miles from Coca, at an elevation of 750 ft.
Perhaps someone here can offer assistance. Thanks to all.

I'll be back to post a note with a web link to many Ecuadoran fungi when I get all the images sorted. Lots of interesting clubs, especially some growing inside Tauga seed casings and inside cork tree seed casings. A beautiful place to photograph and study fungi.


FIRST Fungus
Viscid top attracted flies like a stinkhorn. Cotton margin was dry. No ring on stipe. Growing on terra firma in primary forest. It had the appearance of a small Lepiota. I only found one of these. The fourth image shows a red-eyed fly on the fungus.






SECOND Fungus
A group of balls about 5" /13cm across in all. Firm, dry. Sad to say, I did not cut them open and the images are not crisp. These two images were taken within a meter of each other, so the fungi might be related. Notice the enlargement of the small balls appearing at the lower right of the conks in the second image.




THIRD Fungus
Very viscid, like a Hygrophorus. 2" tall. Growing on wood.