A Naif in the Forest by Darrell Berger

Wing Tips to Hiking Boots: Musings of a New, Full-Time Poconos Resident

Recently I wrote about the rare bright orange colors found in the forest: an orange newt and an orange mushroom. Proving that “Naif in the Forest” is accurate, I now discover, thanks to the diligence of a careful reader, I was mistaken.

What I had identified as an orange peel mushroom is in fact a Jack O’Lantern. Or, at least, that is my current understanding, unless I get yet another opinion from a more advanced expert. The orange peel is actually a fungus. I was confused by photos of the fungus, where I could not see it lacked the gills and stem of the true mushroom. As I describe these details, you may find yourself dozing, the hobby of mycology being rather less exciting that say, Formula 1 auto racing.

Like racing, mycology is occasionally a matter of life and death, or, more frequently, life and vomiting. The orange peel fungus, as I reported, is bland but edible. The Jack O’Lantern mushroom, which I wrongly identified as the harmless orange peel, is poisonous! I trust that no readers, motivated to find an orange mushroom and eat it, mistakenly ate an orange fungus.

The premise of the blog holds, even if the examples have been bungled. Bright coloration by itself is no indication of what is inside, though, bright orange does indicate that which is often poisonous, or at least in bad taste.

I am thankful for my error being called to my attention. I learned some lessons in fungi identification, which is new to me, and another lesson in the limits of my expertise, which is not.

I stand by my naifness and will continue reporting on it. This error reminds me of one of my favorite quotes, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble, it’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” Often attributed to Mark Twain, it is more likely to be from John Billings, the second most famous humorist of the 19^th century, just as my Orange Peel was, in fact, a Jack O’Lantern.

** Warning: Please do not pick & eat mushrooms, or any other forest plant, without the advice of an expert.