Hoosierfunguy

*Clathrus

One day I might figure out how to set the auto correct dictionary and maybe proofread before I submit...?

Dude,  you come up with some of the most unique fungi.  I think that's a Cathrus Ruber. At first glance I thought maybe a deformed Clathlus Archeri, but I had to do a little checking in my book.  Didn't find it, so I did the walk of shame and googled Clathlus and the Ruber showed up ?.  I've never seen one before.  ??

That looks perfect! Great picture and great find.  Thanks for sharing? Where did you find it? 

If the flesh is white and soft and doesn't bruise or stain any color,  I wouldn't hesitate to clean it up and cook it. We're at the very beginning of maitake season.  I'm gonna hit the woods soon.  

They both look like a young hens to me. Is there a tree stump close by, or are they popping up over where a tree once was? 

If they are,  they're old ones, but they don't look like cinnabar reds. The gills of cinnabar red chanterelles are the same color as the cap.  

Her fear sounds like it's based from the unknown,  so I would educate.  I suggest signing her up for a mycology class or getting some educational books and have her learn from "the ground, up" about mushrooms and other fungus. She'll probably have fun learning to identify the "destroying angel" and so many other beneficial mushrooms.  

What a great find.  My knife would be cuttin away! There seems to be a lot of Chickens this year.  I hope there's as many hens fruiting! 

They look like lycoperdon pyriforme (pear shaped puffballs). 

Yes

*Sulphureous (I forgot to edit talk to text)

Those look prime.  

It does look like an older Leatiporus sulfurous.  "Chicken of the Woods" 

Not to be confused with Sciurus Carolinensis "Chicken of The Trees." Although they are both edible,  the Sciurus is fuzzier in appearance and lacks the sulfur yellow color.  ? 

These come up every year against my house on the northern side where I let the oak leaves stay under the eaves of my house,  where they get plenty of water.  I'd been trying to ID these guys for years; and until yesterday,  I had been stumped. The cap is brown,  the pores are a brilliant yellow,  the stalk is yellow at the top and (before it's handled) is orange and brown, descending the stalk.  The flesh is yellow and immediately stains blue when exposed to oxygen.  The slightest touch on the pores and stalk will stain them blue and the blue becomes black then a very dark brown. After being most certain that I've identified them,  I'm dehydrating them to later add to a soup and sample their flavor.  I haven't found any look alikes. 

PSometimes the scales are very soft and fluffy. 

Strobilomyces strobilaceus aka "Old Man of The Woods" grows all throughout my lot.  The cap and the stipe have gray to black scales that feel fuzzy when young.  The flesh is a dirty white and the pore surface is a grayish white when young,  becoming black with age.  The stipe, pores and flesh bruise rather quickly to an orange color then becoming rusty to black within a few minutes.  They are edible, and have a pretty thick and delicious mushroom flavor.  They grow under oaks between late July and October.  My soil here is also sandy,  but I don't know how picky they are with soil types.  I rarely find worms on the young ones,  such as are pictured below.  

Aka skull shaped puffball.  Edible and considered choice by some *as long as the flesh is white and firm)

Apprently this mushroom has gone through a couple of classifications and is back to the boletus family(according to a couple of websites I found). The young ones with the thinner pore surfaces are tastier than the mature ones.  I wanted to note that most choice boletes I find (especially the king) seem to sprout right ontop of beetle colonies ? I slice the stem to check for larva tunnels and larva.  Sometimes the stem should be discarded but the cap can be untouched by insects.  Boletes also can be dehydrated either in a dry location or on a dehydrator,  then rehydrated for later use in soups. Cream seems to extract a stronger, richer flavor from dehydrated boletes,  than fresh,  moist ones; so I almost always dehydrate boletes to add to soup. Even though the season for these are nearing the end,  I hope you have the opportunity to harvest some youngins??

20 hours ago, hoosiermushrooms said:

Thanks for all the great info!

You're welcome.  I should be the one thanking you! Your knowledge, and the knowledge of so many others here,  is priceless, so thank you for making the time to share all your information.  

Here's a website, dedicated to boletes,  that has unique search search parameters.   https://boletes.wpamushroomclub.org/

Here's a website, dedicated to boletes,  that has unique search search parameters.   https://boletes.wpamushroomclub.org/

If you have a glass slide,  take a spore print by setting the cap with the pores facing down on the glass overnight.  Identifying the spore color will help identify the kind of Boletus you found

They seem to love growing in the north woods of Minnesota?

31 minutes ago, Benbaker47974 said:

ok Thanks,  and if I’m not mistaken the only dangerous lookalike would be jackolatern which would be growing from wood,,    And after more reading today boletes are safe some could just Make you sick,, but none deadly, 

Only the edible boletes are safe.  Positive identification is extremely important.  Although some might not kill you,  you might wish they would,  if you eat the wrong ones. Some effects are endurable, while others are so horrible,  it can be beyond words. That vase shaped mushroom is likely a Chanterelle.  If the flesh inside is white(ish) then I'd cook it and eat it,  but the boletes are not as easily identified. 

Dhuntington's advice is good??

Two years ago I found my first lobster mushroom. That day I scoured the woods with my sons and found at least 30 lbs of them.  To date, they are the tastiest mushrooms I've ever had.  Just went out today with my sons and we probably found >60 lbs. Sadly,  more than 90% of them were already past their edibility life,  but that still left us with about 7 lbs of good ones (after cleaning them).  Note to self- "Go in late July/ first week of August."

The lobster mushroom isn't just a mushroom.  It's a mutation of either a Milky or Russula that has been parasitized by an ascomycete. It then retards the fruiting body of the mushroom,  making it unidentifiable. The gills become ridges,  it deforms the shape and gives it a lobster tail appearance.  The best thing about them is that when they mutate,  something happens to the meat that makes it much more delectable than the original host mushroom.  

I find them in coniferous forests usually on a western slope near(and on) trails and paths that are well shaded from the afternoon sunlight.  They really don't seem to need a lot of moisture to grow, but I find most of them in the vicinity of tributaries and lakes or ponds.  

If you've found them in other habitats,  I'd love to hear about your experience.