The story of Agaricus lilaceps is not an uncommon one, in the Bay Area. Originally from Monterey, where it was first described in the 1930s, A. lilaceps has been traveling up and down the California coast, spending its days decomposing things, wearing a yellow or orange veil, and mostly appearing under or near Monterey cypress. We’ve all gone through similar phases.

Its genus, Agaricus, includes hundreds of species found all over the world, with a particularly diverse population in California. Agaricus mushrooms are saprobes, meaning they survive by breaking down organic matter for food. They have a few defining physical characteristics, such as dull caps, brown gills, dark-brown spores and an often orange or yellow “partial veil”, tissue which protects the gills as a mushroom matures. The one that most people are familiar with is surely Agaricus bisporus, the common button or crimini mushroom found in grocery stores and salad bars (which are just a young version of the larger portobello mushrooms … did everyone know this except me?). A. lilaceps is pretty much along those lines. It also may stain a red-wine color when cut, and the cap can acquire a lilac tinge in cold weather—hence “lilaceps.” 

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What makes A. lilaceps stand out from (and above) its brethren is its stature and girth. They don’t call it the Giant Cypress Agaricus for nothing. The cap can be 6–30 cm across: up to nearly a foot. This might not seem like much, but in person, especially when it’s amongst other Agaricus, you can tell this one is different. You would need a bun the size of a dinner plate to make a burger out of this bad boy.

Size matters when identifying A. lilaceps, but location is also an important factor. A. liliaceps strongly prefers the Monterey cypress (though it is okay with some other trees, like eucalyptus), and Monterey cypress doesn’t appear just anywhere. Historically, this conifer stuck to two small areas near Monterey and Carmel on the central coast.

Now, though, these cypresses can be found up and down the coast, as their beachy, windswept look has seemingly proved popular with landscape designers and farmers (barbers are another story, none yet willing to give me “the Monterey cypress” or “sideways Kramer,” as it is sometimes called). 

For Thea Chesney, a mycologist, keen mushroom-hunter, and U.S. Forest Service forester, who went to school at UC Berkeley, A. lilaceps is emblematic of the Central Coast. “It’s a mushroom with a pretty strong sense of place, for me.”

Lo and behold, as the cypress has spread, so too have its fungal followers, although the exact mechanism of how these hikers hitch remains a mystery, according to Rick Kerrigan, author of Agaricus of North America.

Maybe it’s us. “People are really good at moving around fungal species without noticing,” says Chesney. Which, despite being a little gross when taken out of context, rings true. 

Perhaps you have seen some suspiciously produce-aisle-esque mushrooms growing in a local lawn or cow patty. Indeed, the common button mushroom, originally European, has escaped into wild places from commercial farms (is it bad to hope that Agaricus bisporus is as successful in its new environments as sourgrass has been?). But A. lilaceps isn’t farmed commercially, despite being “edible and choice!” and one of the “meatiest of all edible mushrooms” (or so renowned expert David Arora judged them in Mushrooms Demystified. He also says to cook it thoroughly). So that can’t be it.  

Maybe it flew. Many mushrooms migrate by releasing spores into the air, where they float around until they land in a hopefully agreeable environment. That’s what fruiting bodies (the mushrooms we see above ground) are for—they’re spore-dispersal machines. In a 2012 study conducted at the Point Reyes National Seashore, scientists determined that spores could travel many miles, but that their success at making new mushrooms greatly decreased the farther they traveled from their source. Lead author Kabir Peay, a Stanford associate professor of biology and earth systems, says, “The longer the time scale, the more likely that you would get one of these what you would call a long-distance dispersal.” Peay notes that there are even plausible theories of spores making successful transoceanic flights. 

Or maybe the fungi has just been traveling around California in soil brought along with the cypress. When Monterey cypress is propagated from seeds or stem cuttings, there isn’t much soil for A. lilaceps to hide in. But even a tiny bit could do it. Or spores could stick to the seeds. Peay lends some credence to this possibility: “When people go out and plant Monterey cypress,” he says, “they are actually moving soil.”

Chesney wonders if A. lilaceps might be an endophyte—an organism that lives within its host plant. Not necessarily a parasite like Cordyceps, the HBO-famous fungus that turns ants into zombies, but something less malignant and more simpatico, just living its life “within and between the cells of the cypress, until the needle cluster or bark or whatever tissue it is ends up shed from the tree,” Chesney mused. 

Peay thinks spore dispersal is the likeliest answer. “People have long assumed that the terrestrial surface is just blanketed in fungal spores,” he says, just waiting for the right environment to happen around them. But he wouldn’t rule out the endophyte idea, though it’s undocumented. There are “a lot of fungi that have some kind of endophytic phase of their life,” he says. “And if it’s endophytic, it’s possible it’s moving around in seeds.” 

Here, we start to brush up at the edge of the unknown, a familiar place for mycologists. But technological advances like DNA sequencing are giving them tools that could finally answer questions about how mushrooms move, Peay says. They can find fungi in the soil—even ones that haven’t produced visible mushrooms above ground—then analyze how related they are to fungi elsewhere, and use that information to try and suss out their paths. 

And who knows where that path, however it is traveled, will take our intrepid explorers? Maybe they are ready to leave the comfortable climes of coastal California and travel abroad. Kerrigan mentions that cypress plantations around the world are “routinely noted to ‘pull’ rare local species of Agaricus out of the air, and they become regular features of these planted cypress groves.” According to Peay, all it may take is enough time and a friendly updraft to launch our unlikely hero into the air. Stay tuned over the next many thousands of years.

Often referred to as ships of the desert, the camel family (Camelidae) first evolved in North America approximately 44 million years ago during the Eocene period.

Yes, it’s hard to believe when you consider that today they are only found in the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Asia, such as China’s Gobi Desert and the Mongolian steppes.

There are three types of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel with its single hump and distinctive long legs; Bactrian camels with their stocky bodies, shorter limbs, and two humps; and the wild Bactrian, the rarest of the three.

While they also have two humps, wild Bactrians are genetically separated and physically leaner than their domesticated counterparts — and there are barely 1,000 of them left on the planet.

Domesticated for approximately 3,500 years, they have long been valued as pack animals due to their ability to carry large loads for up to 25-30 miles a day. Dromedaries can weigh between 700 and 1,700 pounds and stand over 7-feet tall at the hump.

Speaking of which, their hump can store up to 80 pounds of fat, which has the ability to break down into fluids and energy when other sources aren’t available. These reserves give camels the ability to travel up to 100 miles without agua. When they do take in water, a very thirsty camel can drink 30 gallons of water in just 13 minutes!

These one-humped camels represent a whopping 94 percent of the camelid population and can tolerate up to 30 percent water loss, which no other mammal can achieve.

Bactrian Camels

Ideal for carrying people and goods across rocky Central Asian deserts, Bactrians can weigh between 1,300 and 2,200 pounds and are considered the largest animals in the desert. They are able to survive extreme weather fluctuations and, like other camels, their humps store fat, not water, that breaks down to supply them with the resources they need.

Known for their large two-toed hooves and thick, wooly coats that provide warmth from the cold and insulation from the desert heat, there are over 2 million Bactrian camels, and almost all of them are domesticated.

Named after Bactria, a region in ancient central Asia, their history intertwined with humans in about 2,500 BC, around the same time as domestication. Two-humped camels are known for assisting early merchants traveling on the Silk Road by pulling caravans.

Wild Bactrian Camels

Living in relative isolation in the far reaches of China and Mongolia — including the Taklamakan, Kumtag, and Gobi Deserts — their habitat consists of arid plains and hills where water sources are scarce and very little vegetation exists. Shrubs are their main food source.

While not as big as their domestic cousins, genetic studies have established that it is actually a separate species that diverged from the Bactrian camel about 1.1 million years ago. Still, they weigh between 600 and 1,500 pounds and live to be 40 years old in the wild. They also have a well-developed sense of sight and smell.

Like all camels, their splayed feet allow them to walk on rough, hot, or sandy terrain with relative impunity. Their shaggy body hair changes color during winter and sheds in the summer. Considered social, they migrate in herds of up to 30 and are known to be good swimmers.

Critically endangered, wild bactrian camel populations continue to decrease. The Wild Camel Protection Foundation (WCPF) is the only charity in the world with a specific mission to save this remarkable creature and its pristine desert environment from extinction and destruction.

This article by Rebecca West was first published by The Animal Rescue Site. Lead Image: PIXABAY/INDE.

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Some of the strong feelings people have about squirrels may be due to misunderstandings about them. Here are some answers to common questions about squirrels.

1. What Do Squirrels Eat?

Acorns are among squirrels’ favourite foods but not the only thing they eat. Squirrels are happy to eat just about any kind of nut, including almonds and walnuts. They naturally gravitate to nut-bearing trees and gather whatever they can find, eating some nuts right away and storing others for later.

Squirrels eat nuts because they are packed with protein and other nutrients and don’t go bad when stored for long periods. However, squirrels have many other secondary food sources. They may eat vegetables and fruits, such as berries, when they are in season and save the nuts for winter when food is scarce. Though they derive much of their nutrition from plants, squirrels are technically omnivorous and can eat insects. Squirrels are also willing to dig into human garbage cans and eat trash if necessary.

2. Are Squirrels Rodents?

Squirrels are rodents, which means they are distantly related to mice and rats, as well as larger rodents, such as beavers and porcupines, and domestic rodents, such as hamsters and guinea pigs. There are about 1,500 rodent species worldwide. Representing approximately 40% of all mammals, rodents range widely in size and habitat. The thing that sets rodents apart from other mammals, is their front teeth, which continue growing throughout their entire lives. Squirrels and other rodents need to keep their teeth filed down so they don’t get too long, which they accomplish by constantly gnawing on things. Of all the wild animals that get into your home, squirrels can be the most destructive, so prompt squirrel removal is vital.



3. Where Do Squirrels Sleep?

Unlike their burrowing cousins, the ground squirrels, tree squirrels sleep up in trees. They make nests called dreys that are sometimes mistaken for birds’ nests, though squirrels’ nests tend to be larger and messier. Squirrels also sometimes build dreys in the hollows of trees rather than the branches, in which case they are harder to see from the ground.

Tree squirrels don’t hibernate in winter, though they may sleep more hours than they do when the weather is warm. When food is plentiful, they eat as much as they can to build up layers of fat for winter, meaning that they can eat less often. When they do need to eat, they take food out of the stores they’ve been saving while foraging for food in the summer.

4. Why Do Squirrels Nest in Attics?

It’s instinctual for tree squirrels to seek shelter as high off the ground as possible. Usually, this means trees, but if squirrels get on your roof, they may find a way into your attic, which offers all the benefits of trees and more. It offers more protection from predators, a consistent temperature, and potential nesting material in the form of insulation. Getting inside the attic is no problem, especially if there’s already a vulnerability that squirrels can exploit. Squirrels can squeeze their bodies through very tiny holes, and if an opening isn’t big enough, they can make it wider by gnawing, and filing down their teeth in the process.

5. What Can You Do To Prevent Squirrel Intrusion?

Squirrels stick around where food is easy to find, so avoid feeding them, either by hand or with a feeder. Maintain your yard and keep long tree branches trimmed. Don’t leave pet food outside and use wildlife-proof trash receptacles. Maintain proper roof drainage by keeping gutters clean and inspect your roof at least once a year for damage that squirrels could exploit.

If you do have a squirrel problem, call Skedaddle for Vancouver Island wildlife removal services. We remove squirrels humanely, clean up after them, and keep them from coming back.