Currently I am looking into four species of fungi that I believe could be found in the Albany area. Below I have put general information on each of them.
Amanita Morrisii
This mushroom is featured on the title slide and the about me page on this website. The reason this mushroom is considered rare and vulnerable is because it has a very niche habitat. This habitat is wet soils near Pitch Pine (Pinus Rigida), which grows near sand dunes. This and a description of this species I will be using to identify this species can be found here
Sarcodontia Crocea
This mushroom is a brightly colored polypore that can be found in Europe and the Eastern United States. The reason it is considered rare worldwide is because its host trees are old trees in the rose family, with the main host species being the apple. This information and a description of the species I will be using to identify it can be found here
Picipes Rhizophilus
This mushroom is relatively normal looking and small. The reason it is considered rare is because of the environment it needs to grow. This mushroom needs unmowed, unmaintained, grasslands to grow. This mushroom uses the grass plant as a host by directly attacking the grasses roots. This information and a description I will be using to identify this species can be found here
aurantiporus croceus
This species of fungus is very distinct and believed to be very rare. There are two reasons this fungus is believed to be very rare. Firstly it is very distinct and identifiable so it is believed there would be more reports of it if it was more common. Secondly, it has only ever been observed growing on old growth oak and birch trees, which are pretty rare. All of this information and a description for this species can be found here
Update
My research has now taken a turn and I am now looking into how climate change has affected mushroom biodiversity and growing time in the Albany Pine Bush. To do this I am using historical records from the Pine Bush in the New York State Museum of natural history. A link to this data can be found here . I have started my research project and will carry it out throughout the rest of the summer and into the fall.