S.L.P. Mushroom Survey
A Mushroom Survey of Sunfish Lake Park was done by the Minnesota Mycological Socienty on September 6th 2026. Their tentative plan is to repeat this effort in different seasons to get a more complete idea of the diversity of mushrooms that exist in the Park. A summary of the results is shown below. It will take time to get more definitive information such as the outcome of DNA studies. Photos below are from Sunday Sept 6th – (l to r) part of the group of 20 attendees discussing mushroom ID, part of the collection that day, demonstration of luminescence from mushroom under UV light.
Sunfish Lake Park Fungi Survey, First Look
Minnesota Mycological Society Funga Scientific Committee, with SMINC
September 6, 2026, Lake Elmo, MN
This is an early list from our first visit. Some names will change as members double-check them, and we will add more finds and lab results over time. You can see the live records here: https://www.inaturalist.
What we found
| Common name | Scientific name |
|---|---|
| Honey Mushroom | Armillaria mellea |
| Lumpy Bracket | Trametes gibbosa |
| Birch Polypore | Fomitopsis betulina |
| White-rot Fungus | Trametes pubescens |
| Deer Mushroom | Pluteus cervinus |
| Purple-bloom Russula | Russula mariae |
| Layered Cup | Peziza varia |
| Gilled Polypore | Trametes betulina |
| Ruby Bolete | Hortiboletus rubellus |
| Shaggy Mane | Coprinus comatus |
| American Yellow Fly Agaric | Amanita muscaria guessowii |
| Turkey-Tail | Trametes versicolor |
| Splitgill Mushroom | Schizophyllum commune |
| Clustered Bonnet | Mycena inclinata |
| Luminescent Panellus | Panellus stipticus |
| Aborted Entoloma | Entoloma abortivum |
| Smoky Polypore | Bjerkandera adusta |
| Common Bird’s Nest Fungus | Crucibulum laeve |
| Green Wood Cup | Chlorociboria aeruginascens |
| Ravenel’s Stinkhorn | Phallus ravenelii |
| Orange Mycena | Mycena leana |
| Shaggy Scalycap | Pholiota squarrosa |
| Sharp-scaly Pholiota | Pholiota squarrosoides |
| Crown-tipped Coral Fungus | Artomyces pyxidatus |
| Flat Crep | Crepidotus applanatus |
| Aspen Bracket | Phellinus tremulae |
| Enveloping Crust | Sebacina incrustans |
| Dendrothele nivosa | Dendrothele nivosa |
| Hypomyces tremellicola | Hypomyces tremellicola |
| Tinder Polypore | Fomes excavatus |
| Hairy Oyster Mushroom | Panus lecomtei |
| Ophiocordyceps variabilis | Ophiocordyceps variabilis |
| Simocybe serrulata | Simocybe serrulata |
| Ash-tree Bolete | Boletinellus merulioides |
| Dryad’s Saddle | Cerioporus squamosus |
| Yellow Fairy Cups | Calycina citrina |
| Pale Brittlestem | Candolleomyces candolleanus |
| Donkia pulcherrima | Donkia pulcherrima |
A few finds worth knowing about
Pretzel Slime Mold. This is a slime mold, not a fungus, though it grows on the same decaying wood. It spends most of its life as a single mobile mass that creeps through the wood feeding on bacteria, then fruits into a network of yellow-orange strands across the log surface.
Ophiocordyceps variabilis. A fungus that parasitizes fly larvae in wet, rotting wood. It infects the larva, consumes it, and produces a small fruiting body from the host. These take a careful eye to find.
Aborted Entoloma. The lumpy, deformed bodies are Entoloma abortivum parasitizing Honey Mushroom (Armillaria), which we also found here in numbers. For a long time people believed the reverse was true. Having both species on one survey makes the relationship easy to point out.
Green Wood Cup. Chlorociboria aeruginascens stains rotting wood blue-green, and the color usually shows up on the log well before the small cups do. The stained wood has been used in decorative woodwork for centuries.
Finds we could only narrow to a group
Some specimens could not be pinned to an exact species from photos alone, so for now they sit at the genus level or broader. These may move to species as members review them or once we have lab results.
| Group | How far we got |
|---|---|
| Oysterlings (Genus Crepidotus) | Genus |
| Bonnets (Genus Mycena) | Genus |
| Brittlestems and Allies (Family Psathyrellaceae) | Family |
| Shelf Fungi (Order Polyporales) | Order |
| Fungi Including Lichens (Kingdom Fungi) | Kingdom |