Eddie's Point Fall 2009
Posted by Jennifer Greever on Friday, March 5, 2010
These pics are from a hike I took on Signal Mountain one beautiful day last fall. The hike is roughly a 7 mile loop from Signal Point down over Middle Creek and up to Eddie's Point including the return. It had rained for several days before this hike and so I was lucky to get some really nice pictures of mushrooms along the trail. Unfortunately, I am not well versed in the subject of mycology, so I will not be able to accurately identify what these mushrooms are, like I can with plants, but I do have a fabulous (and large) dichotomous key for mushrooms called "Mushrooms Demystified" and I will at least give it my best guess at what they are. : )
Swinging bridge over Middle Creek
BEST GUESS?!: Fungi on left: Collybia acervata?
Fungi on right: Armillaria mellea?
yeah, not even a best guess on this one!!
I believe this is Polytrichum, but I am not positive. It is definitely a Bryophyte (moss) though.
This flower is in the family Asteraceae, one of the largest plant families in North America. Other flowers included in this family are sunflowers, dandelions and black eyed susans. While the flower in the picture above might appear as one single flower, it is in fact a flower head with numerous flowers on it. One major defining characteristic of the aster family is that the flower heads have two types of flowers, disc and ray. The purple petals are actually what are called ray flowers and the yellow ones in the middle are called disc flowers. You can remember this because the "rays" of the sun radiate out from the middle. Think of a dandelion that has gone to seed. When you pick it up and to your parent's dismay blow on the flower head and send those little furry things flying, you are dispersing seeds....many many seeds, from many different flowers on that flower head!
This picture to me just completely represents fall. A beautiful and colorful, but quiet time of year, where nature slows down, drops all the unnecessary stuff and tends to her roots. To me, fall is a time of reflection on the past year and time to slow down and pay more attention to myself.
Lichens: a symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae and/or cyanobacterium. Remember fungi must absorb their nutrients from other organisms. Algae are protists that are photosynthetic, as are some cyanobacterium. The fungi get energy from the algae or cyanobacterium and the algae or cyanobacterium get protection from the fungus as it is better at holding on to moisture and can obtain nutrients from the substrate they are latching to. Sometimes, lichens can be a tripart symbiosis with all three of the above organisms together. Fascinating examples of symbiotic interactions!
Yet again, I do not know much in terms of mycology, so my BEST GUESS is that this is something in the genus Lactarius?
It was a beautiful hike (as it always is) and one of my favorite as it only takes a quick drive up Signal Mountain and an hour or two of your time to complete. This is the turn around point, Eddie's Point. It has a beautiful view of the Tennessee River and the Chattanooga Valley and without a doubt requires a nice 10 minute sit to soak it all in, before you depart on the return portion of the loop!!
Swinging bridge over Middle Creek
BEST GUESS?!: Fungi on left: Collybia acervata?
Fungi on right: Armillaria mellea?
yeah, not even a best guess on this one!!
I believe this is Polytrichum, but I am not positive. It is definitely a Bryophyte (moss) though.
This flower is in the family Asteraceae, one of the largest plant families in North America. Other flowers included in this family are sunflowers, dandelions and black eyed susans. While the flower in the picture above might appear as one single flower, it is in fact a flower head with numerous flowers on it. One major defining characteristic of the aster family is that the flower heads have two types of flowers, disc and ray. The purple petals are actually what are called ray flowers and the yellow ones in the middle are called disc flowers. You can remember this because the "rays" of the sun radiate out from the middle. Think of a dandelion that has gone to seed. When you pick it up and to your parent's dismay blow on the flower head and send those little furry things flying, you are dispersing seeds....many many seeds, from many different flowers on that flower head!
This picture to me just completely represents fall. A beautiful and colorful, but quiet time of year, where nature slows down, drops all the unnecessary stuff and tends to her roots. To me, fall is a time of reflection on the past year and time to slow down and pay more attention to myself.
Lichens: a symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae and/or cyanobacterium. Remember fungi must absorb their nutrients from other organisms. Algae are protists that are photosynthetic, as are some cyanobacterium. The fungi get energy from the algae or cyanobacterium and the algae or cyanobacterium get protection from the fungus as it is better at holding on to moisture and can obtain nutrients from the substrate they are latching to. Sometimes, lichens can be a tripart symbiosis with all three of the above organisms together. Fascinating examples of symbiotic interactions!
Yet again, I do not know much in terms of mycology, so my BEST GUESS is that this is something in the genus Lactarius?
It was a beautiful hike (as it always is) and one of my favorite as it only takes a quick drive up Signal Mountain and an hour or two of your time to complete. This is the turn around point, Eddie's Point. It has a beautiful view of the Tennessee River and the Chattanooga Valley and without a doubt requires a nice 10 minute sit to soak it all in, before you depart on the return portion of the loop!!
