I often go for a walk in Libbey-Wile when the leaves turn in the fall. Libbey-Wile is one of our Charm Bracelet jewels. It is two wet woodlands, 89 acres of New England Forestry Foundation's Wile Forest and 110 acres of Westborough's Libbey Conservation Area. In some years, the fall colors are spectacular. But I like to look for mushrooms when I enter the area from the end of Carroll Drive.

The area is a good example of the benefits of not over-managing habitat. There are many old decaying logs scattered on the ground and it is these that produce some of the interesting fungi in the fall. With over 200 acres of unbroken woodland you also find interesting animals. On my walk we saw a barred owl, one of our larger owls. There are also numerous vernal pools hidden in the woods. Some are breeding areas for spring peepers, wood frogs and various species of salamanders.

An interesting mushroom, the shaggy mane, erupts from the ground at this time of year near the entrance to the woods. Shaggy mane is one of a family of mushrooms called inky caps. This is because the caps melt into inky black goo as they mature. The goo is full of spores which produce the next generation of mushrooms.

Many inky caps including the shaggy mane are edible. While some experts consider shaggy mane one of the fool-proof mushrooms, they must be familiar with a different class of fools than I. I do not recommend eating a mushroom unless you are expert enough to positively identify it yourself.

Shaggy manes are no exception. Some inky caps, including one similar to shaggy manes, contain the amino acid coprine which can produce a very unpleasant reaction with alcohol when both are consumed within a few days. I've been told that it is from these mushrooms that the drug antabuse was developed. And besides that, I'm personally just not that fond of their flavor.

You can find more about Libbey-Wile at the Westborough Community Land Trust's web site including directions and trailmaps.