Slimy-capped loghugger
inky, oceanic hues
indigestible blues and grays
cap like a domed jelly,
slick and submersed
Blanchbone forest coral
notable for upthrust
extensions,
defiant of its habitat
where things
become soil
as soon as possible
[see, e.g., old man’s beard, lignous lichen,
overbent hemlock]
Rosy bruisecap
nearly always
an incomplete toadstool,
it’s said that
the Russians used
it for broths in
times of
peasant rebellions
Intermittent radish pith
often found in
disturbed earth,
where it forms
symbiotic relations
with undervalued
bitter greens
[witness the young dandelion shoots
before they’re easily identified]
Tumbling goiterwaith
edibility unknown
but believed
to cause
gastric distress
if eaten
with the flesh
of a
hoofed mammal.
dyes wool a
distinct yellow
and leaves
it warm
to the touch.
Of note but not fully surveyed:
half-hand
meadow cypher
widow’s breath
Ian Carr works as a legal analyst in Portland, Oregon. Originally from Phoenix, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Northern Arizona University and his Juris Doctor degree from Lewis & Clark Law School. His work has appeared in Portland Review.
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