Forest Standards Field Guide
Hedgehog Mushroom
Growing in groups and circling a conifer, the lumpy caps stand out against leaf litter. With face to floor one can observe spines on the hymenium, long and fragile. The main theme of the Hedgehog appears throughout, often highlighted by the glockenspiel.
Beautiful Bolbitius
Based on Beautiful Love, the Bolbitius is the most fragile of mushrooms, disintegrating at the softest touch. The double bass and brushes attempt a stable stem while the guitars blend superimpositions into an almost transparent cap. The bulb can be followed by focusing one’s attention on the root notes of the bass.
Gnome Steps
With musical steps better suited for the gnome sized (as opposed to the standard giant), the guitar presents the lydian contrafact while the bass observes the original chords. The drums are free to explore what it means to “walk like a gnome”.
Spore Dimensions
In the spirit of the Scandinavian fungal expedition team that compiled the Vedsvampflora handbook, guitars devise methods of spore measurement atop the double bass homage to Dear Old Stockholm. Given the spore density found beneath most caps, only one pass though the form is needed.
Light
Fungi prefer dark and damp environments, often living in the soil hidden from the casual spotter. Although light might not seem important from a fungal perspective, their energy is derived from decomposing plant matter which was powered through photosynthesis. Even if beyond the immediate awareness of mushroom mind, light is the very foundation on which they thrive.
Saffron Parasol
Bright orange-yellow to reddish-fawn, a nylon stringed umbo blends seamlessly into an earthy bass stalk. The stem is the same color as the cap, providing a palate cleanser from the polychordal application of many mushrooms. Cream-colored gills of percussion radiate a small ring.
Boletus Badius
Also known as The Bay-brown Bolete, the pale-brown stem follows a standard Bb Blues form, but varies in shape. At times the yellow-brown fibrils of the bass seem to exist independent from the lemon-yellowed spores, but the supporting bulb is stable.
Wolf’s Milk (Slime Mold)
Growing on logs of dead wood, these cushion-like globs are often mistaken for fungus rather than correctly identified as myxogastrid bubbles of plasmodia. Tiny reddish-pink puffballs ooze tones of mbira when popped. The guitars are netted.
Mushroom Weeds
In the same way that human values have created delineation amongst trees, labeling certain volunteer growth as “junk trees”, certain mushroom spotters dismiss a category of fungi as “weeds”. Not to be mistaken with ominous or grotesque specimens such as Dead Man’s Fingers or The Stinkhorn, Mushroom Weeds are easily forgettable clumps of bland fungus, often smushed and covered with bugs.
Spore Print Orange
With implications of Gymnopilus liquiritiae, this sunburst spore deposit provides a gill-gazing alternative for those unable to access the underbelly of a mushroom. While following the permutations of the repeated theme, one can become mesmerized by the spoke shaped sequence of spores. On the forest floor, print color can be determined by observing the guitar stipes.
Amethyst Deceiver
A violet-colored mushroom with otherworldly beauty, the slender stem is fragile in appearance but soon becomes fibrous and furrowed. According to elemental teachings, if you can become tiny enough for the dust of an amethyst spore to fall directly on your forehead, you will disappear.
The Cep
Imposing and bulbous, mushroom spotters display an almost regal reverence for this squatly-huge mushroom. The cap is not much wider than the stem, making it easily identifiable. Many enthusiasts carry a homemade “cep horn” that they sound upon spotting.
Vol. 2
Cloud Ear
A colloquialism for a listener with expansive ears, this jelly fungus is elastic and gelatinous. Original in composition, the cup-shaped ruffled edge contains no stem. Not to be mistaken for the tree dwelling Wood Ear, this mushroom is said to “float in the air".
Humble Mushroom
Mushrooms come in all shapes, sizes and colors; from convex to conical; velvety to fibrillose; orange to purple. The Humble Mushroom does not compare itself to others. Recognizing itself as part of the great web of mycelium, it enjoys its precious and limited time as a fruiting body.
Pin Oak
With leaves of deeply cut guitar, a rich profusion of short side-shoots cover the lower part of the crown. Roots expand though swampy ground.
Tubifera
Twelve tones of slime mold growing on Tune Up: Applanata! Casparyii! Corymbosa! Dictyoderma! Dimorphotheca! Dudkae! Ferruginosa! Magna! Microsperma! Montana! Papillata! Pseudomicrosperma! Overlapped into densely packed sporangia, spores release in all directions as the bass seeks stability through its log.
Turtle Mushroom
With the bulb firmly attached to its stem of There Is No Greater Love, this squamosus resembles a turtle shell hidden amongst lichen. For deeper listening, follow the standard chord progression of the double bass and notice the shift in the harmonic qualities of cap and shell.
Conifer Tuft
Found in both the old and new world, the stem of Confirmation is confined to conifer logs. With shreds of veil hanging from the margin, do not mistake the guitars of this gray-gilled agaric for the poisonous Sulfur Tuft or Deadly Galerina. Although frantic, the namesake motif is safe and edible.
Epiphyte
An homage to the epiphytic nature of the Extended Lydian Polychordal System, the phorophyte of Epistrophy is implied but not stated. The concurrent guitar compositions are left to interact harmonically without roots from their source.
Red Bananas
Slang for a type of slime mold, these “weirdos of the forest” are neither plant nor animal. Free moving while in the plasmodial stage, the reddish-pink tubes of guitar and bass move together in complex patterns, oozing a logic all their own.
An Amanita
No mushroom is more iconic than An Amanita. The bright red cap and red warts of the fly agaric present as a guitar duet between nylon and electric. Whimsical, hallucinatory and poisonous.
Coltricia
The stem structure of Countdown is unique to the point of necessitating a new genus. The bass observes a literal pass while the guitars rest wonkily on a floppy cap. Lyrics are composed but not performed, as implied by the vibraphone.
Blue Morpho
Perching atop a hebeloma of nylon-stringed guitars, iridescent-blue wings fan the forest floor. With no hidden stems or micro-songs, all eyes are upon this majestic glowing butterfly.
Nectaries
Nectar producing structures of Nardis provide ample space for interaction between flowering plants and pollinators. Padlike around the base, floral disks of lydian pulsate through petals. Sugary glockenspiels call out to the fairies.
Mossy Maze Polypore
While getting lost in wavy brackets, moss drops provide a backdrop to the concentric bands of color. Elliptical spore surfaces and thick-walled hyphal systems only deepen the maze.
Purple Polypore
A traditional polychordal duet with no stock present. The violet melody radiates along the margins.
Sphagnum in Oval
Set against a backdrop of orange acorns, this aleatoric moss bed is home to numerous butterfly compositions including Large Blue, Small Heath and Marsh Fritillary. The alto flute sings the song of sphagnum while the double bass plays the progression of Say It (Over and Over Again).
Yellow Dragonfly
Also known as “Knowing What Light Is”, this Libellulidae finds its genus in You Don’t Know What Love Is. Flying amongst trees- from the double bass of Horse Chestnut to the marimba of Crab Apple- the alto flute carries the theme.
Trees Yield Tomte
Amidst a kaleidoscope of mushrooms from Sweetbread to Slippery Jack, butterflies gather for their sunrise ritual of “gnome spotting”. With some watching the mallets of the Common Walnut and others the ostinato of Bird Cherry, tomtes begin to emerge from spaces under roots. The morning festivities have begun.
All Orange Aleuria
Also known as The Orange Peel Fungus, this cup shaped mushroom is bright orange and externally fuzzy. Distorting into irregular shapes, the stem of All Or Nothing At All is almost absent due to the weight of the guitar and vibraphone. Like other species of Elf Cups, its spores propagate in visible clouds.
In Woods I Know
Inspired by I Wish I Knew, a journey into the forest investigates the perennial question of “Who am I while in Forest Mind?”. The answer is unmistakable from the vantage point of root consciousness but not easily translated into thought. Low flutes and vibraphone provide the scenery.
Wood Nymph
The bass roots of What’s New are stable throughout, while branches of guitar are supported by moss covered trunks of marimba. The presence of the nymph is felt, but never heard.
Infant Elm
Percussion spreads through soil as a new “battery of the earth” takes root. The acorn of It’s Easy To Remember expands though active bursts of flute, while guitars bud their leaves towards the sky.
Nectria (With the Lilac Frond)
A genus of Ascomycete fungi, these tiny bulbs are most commonly found on decaying wood. Growing over Nancy (With the Laughing Face), blobs of strings scatter under a canopy of lilac flute.
Tree Sap in Winter
Migrating down to the roots of They Say It’s Wonderful, vibraphone sap and arch top concentrate to ensure the survival of the tree. The marimba of trunk is grateful.
Green Cap
With an unorthodox shape of stem, the bass plays the melody of Greensleeves rather than its chords. A floppy guitar cap sits awkwardly above, rhythmically and harmonically obscuring the source.
Sessile Earth Star
Surrounded by triangular segments, woodwind transmissions are emitted from the ostiole of its spherical center. This lydian language allows for communication between ground-dwelling and space-dwelling stars. Also known as the Fringed Earth Star.
Hornbeam
Held in a three-lobed bract, the ribbed-brown bass is surrounded by high strung guitars and oval shaped leaves of woodwind. Double toothed around the margins.
Myriostoma
Resembling an earthstar, but supported by multiple columns of composition, the bass follows My Lucky Star before cracking its mycelial layer into a percussive drone. Falling raindrops disperse spores in bursts.
Star Spored Entoloma
Also known as Star Pinkgill, its spores are star shaped and irregular. Often fruiting through the onset of winter, this widespread fungus is referred to as “stars of the grassland” as they mirror the night sky.
Giant Puffball
Resembling a large balloon with the potential of becoming huge, the exoperidium is smooth and the gleba is compact. Large shreds of bass clarinet detach into the air.
Lion Pluteus
With a double bass of Played Twice, the golden-yellow cap and crowded gills are played simultaneously. Wood-rotting and solitary, it stands out against the leaves.
Astraeus
Despite a similar appearance, this genus is not closely related to earthstars. The mycelium is thready and originates from all parts of the ostinato. Melodies are highly branched and interwoven. The spores are large.
Star Jelly
Informed by the progression of Joy Spring and the rhythm of the Confirmation improvisation, this gelatinous substance is thought to be deposited on Earth during meteor showers. Also referred to as “a star that has fallen” or “rot from the stars”, the origin of this astral jelly is unknown.
Moss Omphalia
The stem is short and uniform in color, while the cap changes hue. It prefers to be surrounded by sphagnum moss and is comfortable atop a soft bed of percussion.
Earthball
Depending on one’s vantage point, this East of the Sun contrafact can either be seen as a clump of fungus or as a floating blue sphere of space. Woodwinds highlight the mycelial filaments while glockenspiels send light to the stars.
References:
Lamaison, J., Polese, J. (2005) The Great Encyclopedia of Mushrooms. Konemann.