Mushroom weather

It’s like an Easter egg hunt for grown-ups.

That may not be the first thing that comes to mind when staring at the mud-caked cap of a four-inch tall fungal blossom, but then again, you’ve never gone on a mushroom walk with wildlife biologist Gregg Miller.

Every winter when the weather is right, Miller’s hunting ground at the Environmental Nature Center in Newport Beach comes to life. Blanketed within the rain-dampened earth, endless tentacles of fungus vein through the center. When the conditions are perfect, as Miller says it is now, the fungus produces a fascinating fruit, more commonly referred to as a mushroom.

“This recent rain that we’ve had over this weekend and these past days bodes really well for the environmental nature center,” Miller said. “To me, this is wonderful weather. I think we’ll see a lot of mushrooms fruiting.”

Fruiting, yes. Finding? Perhaps.

The center’s paths tracing through the trees means mushroom hunters will have to have keen eyes. Maybe bringing a child along would help, Miller said.

“They’re lower to the ground and they see better,” he said.

Miller has no problems getting his hands, feet or knees dirty to educate people about mushrooms. He’ll enthusiastically overturn rocks and sift through leaves and dirt to show people his passion.

Unlike plants such as poison oak, people don’t need to hesitate to touch a mushroom, he said.

“I drive the Los Angeles freeway system. I’m going to be afraid of some mushrooms?” he said.

Any kind of mushroom species could blossom out of the dirt, thanks to the center’s changing settings, Miller said.

“If you can see [the color] on the spectrum, a mushroom probably has it,” Miller said. “Mushrooms are as different from plants as you and I are from plants.”

They’re just as important as plants too, he said. Fungi seem to be earth’s own scavenger. The fungus can grow off nearly anything that needs to decompose, as long as it’s near moist ground. Without them, Miller said, “the world would be full of orange peels.”

Miller is hosting two mushroom walks, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., Saturday at the Environmental Nature Center, 1601 E. 16th Street in Newport Beach. He recommends reserving a spot by calling (949) 645-8489.

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.