whateva17's Journal

Psathyrella candolleana are known as brittlestems and they are a type of fungus. It is a very common type of fungus and it is usually found clumped together. They grow near roots of trees, on lawns, and they are all over the world (O'Reilly, 2016). They are small and usually white or golden brown in colour (O'Reilly, 2016). Brittlestems are not toxic and are edible if grown properly and sanitarily. It is not suggested to eat them directly from the wild. Other than choosing to eat this type of mushroom that is considered low quality in the culinary world, there are no other human uses of brittlestems (O'Reilly, 2016).

Source: https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/psathyrella-multipedata.php

On September 14, I went on a hunt for different types of leaves and I was glad to find some unique adaptations. Firstly, most leaves during this time of the year in Canada are green in colour. This is a unique adaptation of many leaves that dates way back, since leaves produce chlorophyll (their own food) with the help of photosynthesis, and chlorophyll gives the leaves their green pigment. In a specific group of leaves I found, an adaptation is for them to produce poison/toxins. These leaves were determined to be eastern poison ivy by going through a dichotomous key and suggestions from iNaturalist. Lastly, again through a dichotomous key, I was able to determine the phylogeny of one of the types of leaves I've found. I was able to find the species level of the goldenrods I spotted: solidago canadensis var. canadensis. All 10 observation photos (including the poison ivy and goldenrods) are included in this journal entry,