Kate MacQuarrie
@katemacquarrie.bsky.social
Award-winning biologist, naturalist, and author in Prince Edward Island, Canada
Here’s a group of mushrooms that’s common, edible, easy-to-identify and - here on PEI at least - everywhere! Meet the Slippery Jacks.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/slipper...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/slipper...
Slippery Jacks
Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. Today we have not one species but a whole group that’s both reasonably easy to identify and edible: Suillus speci...
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November 23, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Here’s a group of mushrooms that’s common, edible, easy-to-identify and - here on PEI at least - everywhere! Meet the Slippery Jacks.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/slipper...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/slipper...
It’s alien-looking, toxic, medicinal, and the bane of farmers in some places. Meet the interesting - and native - Cocklebur.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/cocklebur
www.pei-untamed.com/post/cocklebur
Cocklebur
If I had to design vegetation for a movie set on an alien planet, I’d take inspiration from this PEI plant: the odd-looking Rough Cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium). Cocklebur gets its name from spine-c...
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November 19, 2025 at 10:00 PM
It’s alien-looking, toxic, medicinal, and the bane of farmers in some places. Meet the interesting - and native - Cocklebur.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/cocklebur
www.pei-untamed.com/post/cocklebur
It looks like the leftovers from someone’s lunch but may have an important future in medicine. Check out Orange Peel Fungus in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/orange-...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/orange-...
Orange Peel Fungus
Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. Not all mushrooms have the cap-and-stem look we tend to expect, and today’s species is a well-named example of a d...
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November 16, 2025 at 3:18 PM
It looks like the leftovers from someone’s lunch but may have an important future in medicine. Check out Orange Peel Fungus in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/orange-...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/orange-...
They look like a fungus and produce sugar-rich poop. Meet Woolly Alder Aphids!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/woolly-...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/woolly-...
November 12, 2025 at 9:45 PM
They look like a fungus and produce sugar-rich poop. Meet Woolly Alder Aphids!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/woolly-...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/woolly-...
Today’s mushroom is beautiful and delicious but does have a toxic lookalike to be aware of. Meet the Shaggy Parasols!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/shaggy-...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/shaggy-...
Shaggy Parasols
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...
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November 9, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Today’s mushroom is beautiful and delicious but does have a toxic lookalike to be aware of. Meet the Shaggy Parasols!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/shaggy-...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/shaggy-...
Edible, medicinal, and ecologically important? Sounds like the bears are on to something! Meet Bearberry in today’s post.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/bearberry
www.pei-untamed.com/post/bearberry
Bearberry
PEI has more than 30 native, wild plants with edible berries, but here’s one of the lesser-known: Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi). Bearberry doesn’t compete taste-wise with some of our other wild...
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November 5, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Edible, medicinal, and ecologically important? Sounds like the bears are on to something! Meet Bearberry in today’s post.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/bearberry
www.pei-untamed.com/post/bearberry
A delicious, purple mushroom? Why, yes, don’t mind if I do! Meet the Blewit.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/blewits
www.pei-untamed.com/post/blewits
Blewits
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...
www.pei-untamed.com
November 2, 2025 at 2:11 PM
A delicious, purple mushroom? Why, yes, don’t mind if I do! Meet the Blewit.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/blewits
www.pei-untamed.com/post/blewits
Happy Halloween!
October 31, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Happy Halloween!
It doesn’t tower like its Birch-tree kin, but it’s still beautiful. Meet Bog Birch in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/bog-birch
www.pei-untamed.com/post/bog-birch
Bog Birch
This fall, we’ve been exploring some of PEI’s least-common trees, including Balsam Poplar, Ironwood, and Jack Pine. Today it’s one many people haven’t even heard of: Bog Birch (Betula pumila). We ofte...
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October 29, 2025 at 8:15 PM
It doesn’t tower like its Birch-tree kin, but it’s still beautiful. Meet Bog Birch in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/bog-birch
www.pei-untamed.com/post/bog-birch
When you think of culinary Sweetbreads, mushrooms are probably not the first things that come to mind. Check out today’s post to learn about this smelly, edible fungus!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/sweetbr...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/sweetbr...
Sweetbread Mushrooms
Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. It’s often helpful to use more than just sight when identifying mushrooms, and today’s species has a very distinct...
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October 26, 2025 at 2:20 PM
When you think of culinary Sweetbreads, mushrooms are probably not the first things that come to mind. Check out today’s post to learn about this smelly, edible fungus!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/sweetbr...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/sweetbr...
Holey rocks may or may not bring us good luck, but they definitely benefit the creatures that make them. Check out today’s post to learn more.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/holey-r...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/holey-r...
Holey Rocks
PEI’s shores are full of interesting finds, including holey rocks like this one. At first glance, you may think this stone was shaped by waves and tides, but the creators of these holes are biological...
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October 22, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Holey rocks may or may not bring us good luck, but they definitely benefit the creatures that make them. Check out today’s post to learn more.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/holey-r...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/holey-r...
I usually ignore LBMs (Little Brown Mushrooms) as being too challenging to identify, but these are uncharacteristically distinctive. Meet Mica Caps!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/mica-caps
www.pei-untamed.com/post/mica-caps
Mica Caps
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 Mi...
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October 19, 2025 at 2:47 PM
I usually ignore LBMs (Little Brown Mushrooms) as being too challenging to identify, but these are uncharacteristically distinctive. Meet Mica Caps!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/mica-caps
www.pei-untamed.com/post/mica-caps
Scientific names are important and can keep you from mistaking a toxic plant for an edible one. Check out today’s post and don’t confuse Wild Lily-of-the-Valley with Lily-of-the-Valley!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/wild-li...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/wild-li...
Wild Lily-of-the-Valley
You may think of summer as peak season for PEI’s wild berries, but a few tasty treats are at their best this time of year. One of my fall favourites is Wild Lily-of-the-Valley (aka Canada Mayflower, M...
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October 15, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Scientific names are important and can keep you from mistaking a toxic plant for an edible one. Check out today’s post and don’t confuse Wild Lily-of-the-Valley with Lily-of-the-Valley!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/wild-li...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/wild-li...
Happy Thanksgiving! Today’s fungus is appropriately pumpkin-coloured but not one you want to add to the table. Check it out! 😊
www.pei-untamed.com/post/false-c...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/false-c...
False Chanterelle
Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. Today’s species is one I’ve known about for decades but hadn’t found until this year: False Chanterelle (Hygrophor...
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October 12, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Happy Thanksgiving! Today’s fungus is appropriately pumpkin-coloured but not one you want to add to the table. Check it out! 😊
www.pei-untamed.com/post/false-c...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/false-c...
It’s not as well-known as its siblings - Trembling Aspen and Large-toothed Aspen - but Balsam Poplar is a beautiful, rare native tree. Check it out in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/balsam-...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/balsam-...
Balsam Poplar
Most Islanders are familiar with Poplar (aka Trembling Aspen, featured last week), and many know of its relative, Large-tooth Aspen. But you may not have met PEI’s rarest member of this group: Balsam ...
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October 8, 2025 at 8:34 PM
It’s not as well-known as its siblings - Trembling Aspen and Large-toothed Aspen - but Balsam Poplar is a beautiful, rare native tree. Check it out in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/balsam-...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/balsam-...
I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll send your spores out! Today’s post features the fun, edible, and ecologically helpful Common Puffball.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/common-...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/common-...
Common Puffball
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 species in North America: the Common Puffball (Lycoperdon perlat...
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October 5, 2025 at 12:25 PM
I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll send your spores out! Today’s post features the fun, edible, and ecologically helpful Common Puffball.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/common-...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/common-...
Have you ever wondered why Trembling Aspen leaves tremble? Check out today’s post to find out!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/trembli...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/trembli...
Trembling Aspen
One of PEI’s most common trees is Poplar, aka Trembling Aspen (Populus tremuloides). The ‘trembling’ name comes from the habit of this tree’s leaves to flutter in the barest of breezes; the gust in th...
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October 1, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Have you ever wondered why Trembling Aspen leaves tremble? Check out today’s post to find out!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/trembli...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/trembli...
You can roll up this rim, but you won’t win a prize. Meet Brown Roll-Rim, aka ‘Poison Pax’!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/brown-r...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/brown-r...
Brown Roll-Rim
Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. This week we have the interesting, toxic, and relatively easy-to-identify Brown Roll-Rim (Paxillus involutus).I ap...
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September 28, 2025 at 2:06 PM
You can roll up this rim, but you won’t win a prize. Meet Brown Roll-Rim, aka ‘Poison Pax’!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/brown-r...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/brown-r...
Our marine environment is home to amazing and unusual creatures. Unfortunately, this one is also invasive. Check out today’s post on the Golden Star Tunicate.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/star-tu...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/star-tu...
Star Tunicate
Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist, your own personal Google for information on all things natural on PEI. I recently received this beautiful photo with the question: what is this? It’s the amazing (bu...
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September 24, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Our marine environment is home to amazing and unusual creatures. Unfortunately, this one is also invasive. Check out today’s post on the Golden Star Tunicate.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/star-tu...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/star-tu...
It’s common, ecologically-important, medicinal, and easy-to-identify. Meet Birch Polypore!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/birch-p...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/birch-p...
Birch Polypore
Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at PEI’s fascinating fungi. We’re staying with the Polypore group for another week to look at a species that can be found even during this drought: Bi...
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September 21, 2025 at 1:49 PM
It’s common, ecologically-important, medicinal, and easy-to-identify. Meet Birch Polypore!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/birch-p...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/birch-p...
Many people have never seen PEI’s rarest native tree, but you can in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/ironwood
www.pei-untamed.com/post/ironwood
Ironwood
Most people have never seen PEI’s rarest native tree in person, and some have never even heard of it. Meet the beautiful Ironwood (Ostrya virginiana). Ironwood gets its common name from its extraordin...
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September 17, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Many people have never seen PEI’s rarest native tree, but you can in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/ironwood
www.pei-untamed.com/post/ironwood
Biology, Geometry, Greek Mythology, and modern medical research all meet in this mushroom. Check out today’s post to learn more!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/maze-po...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/maze-po...
Maze Polypores
Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. The dry weather has made it a poor year for most mushrooms, but you can still find the tough Polypores. Here’s a n...
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September 14, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Biology, Geometry, Greek Mythology, and modern medical research all meet in this mushroom. Check out today’s post to learn more!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/maze-po...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/maze-po...
PEI’s rarest native conifer comes with a very cool adaptation. Learn all about it in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/jack-pine
www.pei-untamed.com/post/jack-pine
Jack Pine
It may not be majestic, but it’s PEI’s rarest native conifer and has an adaptation unlike any of our other trees. Meet Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana). If you say ‘pine’ on the Island, chances are you mea...
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September 10, 2025 at 9:00 PM
PEI’s rarest native conifer comes with a very cool adaptation. Learn all about it in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/jack-pine
www.pei-untamed.com/post/jack-pine
Beauty, biodiversity, and butt rot - Dyer’s Polypore offers it all. Learn more in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/dyer-s-...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/dyer-s-...
Dyer's Polypore
Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. Today it’s the common, beautiful, and ecologically-important Dyer’s Polypore (Phaeolus schweinitzii). We’ve looked...
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September 7, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Beauty, biodiversity, and butt rot - Dyer’s Polypore offers it all. Learn more in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/dyer-s-...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/dyer-s-...
It may look alien or dangerous, but this lovely insect is both native and beneficial. Check out today’s post to learn more!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/america...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/america...
American Pelecinid Wasp
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 beneficial American Pelecinid Wasp (Pelecinus polyturator, photo by...
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September 3, 2025 at 8:01 PM
It may look alien or dangerous, but this lovely insect is both native and beneficial. Check out today’s post to learn more!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/america...
www.pei-untamed.com/post/america...