Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. I taste-tested today’s species for the first time this year, and it’s now among my favourite edible wild mushrooms. Meet the Olive Shaggy Parasol ( Chlorophyllum olivieri ). Shaggy Parasols are large, eye-catching mushrooms that can be found in grassy, open areas as well as in forests (especially under Spruce). Field guides often list them as lookalikes for edible Shaggy Manes, but they’re n

Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. Today’s species is both beautiful and delicious. Meet the Blewit ( Collybia nuda ).   ‘Blewit’ is an odd-sounding name, and the most common explanation is that it’s a shortened form of ‘Blue Hat’, referring to the colour of younger specimens. That’s plausible, though I’m not entirely convinced: these mushrooms are more purple or lilac than blue (main photo). While distinctive, that colour is

Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. Little brown mushrooms can be tricky to identify, but today’s species has features that help it stand out: meet Mica Caps ( Coprinellus micaceus ). Mica Caps are part of the Inky Cap group of mushrooms, just like the Shaggy Manes ( Coprinus comatus ) I’ve posted about before. Although these two species share a similar approach to spore dispersal, they’re not closely related. As we’ve seen in

Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. Today, it’s one of the most common and widespread...

Today’s PEI animal is a good example of why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. This ominous-looking insect is the harmless and...

Late summer is such a wonderful time on PEI. Warm days and comfortably cool nights, water temperatures perfect for swimming, and an...

Many of PEI’s wild animals are more often heard than seen – none more so than Cicadas. Most of us immediately recognize their...

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist, your own personal Google for information on all things natural on PEI. Apologies to my fellow...

We often associate Asters with fall, but PEI has members of this family that flower in spring and summer too. Right now, the bright...

PEI has several yellow wildflowers that are sometimes mistaken for Dandelions. In early spring it’s Coltsfoot; in summer, it’s the...

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist, your own personal Google for information on all things natural on PEI! Over the past week, I’ve gotten...

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist, your own personal Google for information on all things natural on PEI! I was thrilled to get this photo...

Lupins aren’t the only colourful wildflower decorating the Island’s roadside ditches in June. Dame’s Rocket ( Hesperis matronalis ) is...

Today’s PEI plant is one that many of you will be familiar with. This time of year, the scent of its flowers and sound of bees buzzing...

Let’s start the day with a quiz: which PEI animals can be found in saltwater, freshwater, and on land? If you guessed snails, give...

Finding snakes is one of my favourite springtime activities. Cooler weather means they spend more time sunning themselves in the open,...

If you’re counting the days until you can enjoy vegetables fresh from your garden, I have good news: many of PEI’s wild greens and root...

In the last few posts, we’ve looked at aspects of PEI’s forests and wildlife hundreds of years ago, before European settlement. In each...

There are two types of tracks I am seeing everywhere on PEI this year: Snowshoe Hare (featured March 3), and the topic of today’s post:...

Last week, we looked at some of the large mammals that once roamed PEI, including Black Bears, Lynx, Walrus, and Caribou. You may think...