Pluteus plautus as Art
Being a mycophile and recently beginning my hobby as a photographer I thought I would experiment with mushrooms as my subject. This photo was taken May 15th on my property. I thought the lighting and texture of the photo would make a pleasing black and white. I have identified the mushroom as Plutieus plautus. Not a particularly interesting species but beautiful nontheless.
Scarlet Cup Fungus
I found this specimen in late May near Springfield, MO. These are fairly common in spring, but are one of my favorites to photograph.
According to Michael Kuo of mushroomexpert.com:
Field guides typically treat this mushroom as “Sarcoscypha coccinea,” though that species is actually found only in the Pacific Northwest. Sarcoscypha dudleyi and Sarcoscypha austriaca are the eastern species–but separating them, unfortunately, requires a microscope. See the gory details below, under “Microscopic Features.”
