Bolivian Fungi

In January 2007 I was working in the South American country of Bolivia, collecting mushrooms in the Amazon jungle under an agreement with the Bolivian National Herbarium. In just 4 full days of collectiing, my research crew found over 276 different mushrooms in the jungle. some of these were familiar; there were Ganoderma lucidum, the medicinal reishi or lingQi mushroom; 3 or 4 species of edible oyster mushroom, growing on tropical palm or hardwood; over 20 collections of conks, wood-decomposing brown rot fungi that slowly decompose the tropical hardwood trees; a large variety of Marasmius mushrooms, a genus not much found in the north; 2 species of Boletus, 2 unique mushrooms that seem to be Amanita, several Cortinarius, 6 collections (4sp?) of Cordyceps, a group of insect-killing fungi; 3 Auricularia (tree ear) species; 3 species of Cotylidia, a tropical cartiliginous mushroom, over a dozen species of Lepiota, 3 Oudmansellias, 5 or 6 Agaricus, one with amazing blue gills; two species of mushroom cultivated by termites or ants, one of which produces large edible fruits; a Volvariella on a fig tree; a host of fungi in the Xylaria family, some with white tufted heads, others branched like barbed wire, some long and wiry, others short and corky; two adorable little scarlet cup fungi of the Cokeina genus, about a dozen other species that were members of familiar North American genera, two very different coral mushrooms, at least one species of mushroom that displays bioluminescence, and probably 40 or 50 species of fungi which were new to me. That is a lot. So I have a lot of work to do, to compose collections of the image of the mushroom, the image of the microscopic mushroom spore, and the field collection information in a single place. The physical specimens remain in Bolivia at the national herbarium for reference.
If you are interested in joining a research trip to Madidi next year, just contact fungus@fungaljungal.org and Ill keep you posted about the details.

From winter 2006: Mushroom Hunting in January? Let's go to Bolivia!
Get your Passports dusted off and buy your airline tickets while they are cheap. Larry is returning to Madidi National Park in Bolivia in early January to document the fungi of the upper Amazon rainforest. This incredible opportunity is available to all interested mycophiles. In-country expenses can be covered for the 8 days for $1000. Under an agreement with the Bolivian National Herbarium, we will collect and photograph the mushrooms of the rain forest, and the collections will then be stored at the Herbarium in LaPaz. We will stay in Conservation International's first Ecolodge, owned and operated by the indigenous people of the area. All in-country food, transport, and lodging provided.

Below are pictures of some of the fungi found in last year's trip.

A woody toothy resupinate fungus from Mindo rainforest in Ecuador