Found near Toronto · September
What people actually find here
400 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.
Staghorn sumac484 records within 40 km this month
Dangerous look-alikeWild grapes179 records within 40 km this month
Acorns157 records within 40 km this month
Dangerous look-alikeGiant puffball139 records within 40 km this month
Broadleaf plantain103 records within 40 km this month
Dandelion93 records within 40 km this month
Elderberries70 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
Dryad's Saddle
Cerioporus squamosus
240 records nearby
turkey-tail
Trametes versicolor
142 records nearby
Your woods
What's growing around Toronto
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.
- maple
- pine
- walnut
- poplar and aspen
- cedar
- oak
- black locust
- beech
Know these first
What can hurt you around Toronto in September
12 species on our hazard list have been recorded near here this month, 4 of which can kill a healthy adult. Learn these before you learn anything you intend to eat.
- Can kill127 records nearby
White baneberry
Actaea pachypoda
- Mistaken for
- Nothing edible, but the berries are conspicuous and children pick them.
- How to tell
- Porcelain-white berries each with a single black dot, on thick red stalks — the common name is doll's eyes.
- What it does
- Cardiac sedative: a few berries cause severe symptoms in a child.
- Can kill41 records nearby
Lily of the valley
Convallaria majalis
- Mistaken for
- Ramps and wild garlic — it comes up in the same woods at the same time, with the same shape of leaf.
- How to tell
- Crush a leaf. Ramps smell unmistakably of onion and garlic; lily of the valley smells green and of nothing else. If it does not smell of onion, it is not a ramp. Ramps also have a reddish-purple stalk base.
- What it does
- Cardiac glycosides that disturb the heart's rhythm. Every part is toxic, including the water cut flowers have stood in.
- Can kill4 records nearby
Small parasols (Lepiota)
Next
What to start watching for
Coming into season in the next month or two near Toronto, Ontario. Seasons shift a week or two with the weather, so treat these as things to keep an eye on rather than dates.
