Found near San Diego · September
What people actually find here
324 species have been recorded within about 40 km of here in September, from verified public observations. These are the ones we have written up, ordered by how often they turn up.
Acorns542 records within 40 km this month
Dangerous look-alikeWild fennel219 records within 40 km this month
Broadleaf plantain81 records within 40 km this month
Purslane70 records within 40 km this month
Dandelion39 records within 40 km this month
Also out there, that we haven't written up yet
Recorded near you this month. We have no identification guidance for these, so treat them as a list of things to go and learn — from a regional key or someone who knows them — not as a list of things to pick.
Fungi
Western Hardwood Sulphur Shelf
Laetiporus gilbertsonii
153 records nearby
flowerpot parasol
Leucocoprinus birnbaumii
52 records nearby
Your woods
What's growing around San Diego
The commonest trees recorded nearby, most often seen first. Most of the good mushrooms are tied to a particular tree, so this is the first thing to know about a wood.
- oak
- willow
- pine
- sycamore
- poplar and aspen
- cherry
Know these first
What can hurt you around San Diego in September
3 species on our hazard list have been recorded near here this month, 1 of which can kill a healthy adult. Learn these before you learn anything you intend to eat.
- Can kill1 record nearby
Western destroying angel
Amanita ocreata
- Mistaken for
- Button mushrooms and young puffballs, in oak country on the Pacific coast.
- How to tell
- White throughout, ring on the stem, sac-like base below the soil line. Fruits in spring under oaks, when people are out for morels.
- What it does
- Amatoxin poisoning: delayed onset, then liver and kidney failure.
- Hospital222 records nearby
Green-spored parasol
Chlorophyllum molybdites
- Mistaken for
- Shaggy parasol and true parasol mushroom, which it grows beside in lawns and parks.
- How to tell
- Take a spore print: this one is green, and its mature gills take on a dirty green tinge. Edible parasols print white.
- What it does
- The most common cause of mushroom poisoning in North America. Violent vomiting and diarrhoea for hours; rarely fatal but regularly hospitalising.
- Hospital153 records nearby
Poison oak
Toxicodendron diversilobum
Next
What to start watching for
Coming into season in the next month or two near San Diego, California. Seasons shift a week or two with the weather, so treat these as things to keep an eye on rather than dates.
