Posted By auntie on August 31, 2018

1.5 miles; North Stonington, CT

Trailhead

This little local Avalonia property has been on my “Hike’s I’d Like to Do” list for a long time, and today I finally got the opportunity to check it out. It’s really quite lovely, but alas, very short. It was also, thanks to recent rains, a mushroom cornucopia.

Car-cass. Get it?

This property was donated to Avalonia recently by the Benson family. It’s my understanding that you can’t donate land to the state if it has old stuff on it like this. I wonder if they tried the state first?

Dog’s Penis Stinkhorn, Mutinus caninus

One of my favorite common names! This is a member of the Stinkhorn Family of mushrooms, which, true to their name, smell like rotting meat. This attracts flies which in turn helps to spread their spores. Clever.

Dead Man’s Fingers, Xylaria polymorpha

Another brilliant common name!

Old Man of the Woods, Strobilomyces floccopus

This is actually a member of the Bolete mushroom family, and it is one of the edible boletes, though opinions differ on whether or not it could be considered “choice.” I’ve never tried it myself.

Track (click for details)

You can get more info on this property from the Avalonia website (includes a link to the trail map). As always, click the image above for details about this hike and to download the gps track.

Categories: Connecticut, Walks and Hikes
Tags: 2 miles or less, CT, North Stonington CT