Mushroom walk
Wildlife biologist Greg Miller holds up a mushroom during a walk he led at the Environmental Nature Center in Newport Beach. This years abundance of precipitation has been a boon for wild fungus-spotting. (Ann Johansson / For the Times)
A blewitt mushroom grows along a trail at the nature center in Newport Beach. Miller estimates that hundreds of species grow in Orange County, including at least 30 at the nature center. (Ann Johansson / For the Times)
Logan Saunders, 8, takes a whiff of a small brown mushroom held by Miller during the mushroom walk. Children make the best mushroom hunters, Miller said, since “they have better eyesight and are closer to the ground.” (Ann Johansson / For the Times)
Walkers listen to Miller talk about mushrooms at the Newport Beach nature center. “Theres a huge variety of shapes, colors, sizes and flavors, Miller said. Some are so delicious that they make you [dizzy]; its just a big Easter egg hunt for grown-ups. (Ann Johansson / For the Times)
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Lepiota rachodes, or shaggy parasol mushrooms, are among the fungus that can be seen at the Environmental Nature Center. Other varieties at the site include sulphur shelves, blewitt, coral mushroom and deer mushroom. (Ann Johansson / For the Times)
