Mushrooms and Other Fungi - Muir Woods National Monument (U.S. National Park Service) Turkey tail is one example of the 200 varieties of mushrooms and fungus that can be found in this old growth redwood forest. NPS Photo. You may think of mushrooms as strange and slimy objects that are neither plant nor animal. Or you may be one of the lucky hikers out after an early winter rain that can experience mushrooms in the myriad fascinating forms these fungi take. Appearing seemingly overnight, they come in a vast array of fantastic colors and shapes, from brilliant red, to purple, to golden orange, with caps ranging from the size of a pinhead, to as large as a dinner plate. A slow walk through almost any landscape in Golden Gate National Recreation Area during the rainy season can produce a world of wonder at your feet, but Muir Woods National Monument highlights some of the showiest. Over 200 different species of fungi live in the old-growth Coast Redwood forest and the surrounding hillsides.
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