Umbrellas under a leaf

By Aaron Horrell

The tiny mushrooms I have photographed here are only about one and a half inches tall. I found them a few days after our last period of rain. One day I walked an area of sparse grass at the edge of a woods and saw no sign of these mushrooms. The next day I walked the same area and there were hundreds of them in several colonies.

Commonly called Umbrella Mushrooms or Parasol Mushrooms, these are beautiful and tiny. They will fall over at the touch of a finger. Still, as dainty as they are, my photo shows that growing upward together they are capable of lifting a leaf.

The best time to find clusters of umbrella mushrooms is during autumn a day or so after wet weather. Look on level damp ground possibly along an old road at the edge of a woods.