We went to the Spherical Exhibition reception at the A Smith Gallery in Johnson City last night. It was very well attended and I saw and spoke to quite a few fellow Hill Country Photography Club members. Afterward we saw the Johnson City Lighted Hooves and Wheels parade. It was a fun evening!

One of the HCPC members, Lois Schubert, asked me if I knew what kind of mushrooms were in my photograph, “After the Rain”. I told her I’d been trying to identify them without success. She said they were amanitas which are extremely poisonous. She said she’s seen yellow ones too. I mentioned that the ones I saw were white because, of course, “After the Rain” is a black and white photograph.

When I got home, I started researching to see if I could pin down exactly what kind of amanitas I saw. Amanita is the name of a genus which contains about 600 species. The genus includes some of the most toxic mushrooms known worldwide. About 95% of all the deaths due to mushroom poisoning are caused by amanitas. Quite a scary group and something you don’t want to fool with.

The ones in our backyard might have been Amanita polypyramis. The range is right and they’re found among oaks which is where I saw them.

Another possibility is Amanita microlepsis.

Many of the identification guides describe the underside gills and the stalk, which I did not photograph or observe. I’m really careful about mushrooms and didn’t even want to touch or disturb them. That means that I may never know for sure what kind of amanita they are, but I’ll keep looking.