Fungi Friday - More Strange Mushrooms

Here's a few 2019 finds for this #fungifriday by @ewkaw

Here's a strange shroom. At first glance I thought this was wolf's milk slime mold but at a closer look it might be a baby puffball.

Here's some shelf fungi. I believe the latin name for this is Fomes fomentarius, some common names include hoof fungi or tinder conk. This stuff can be shaved off into a sort of velvet substrate that can smolder for a long time allowing you to start fires easier. There are theories about early human using this as a natural lighter to start camp fires as they crossed over the land bridge. You can even make a sort of leather out of it, just be careful wearing it you could catch on fire lol.

Here's some ramaria growing on the forest floor. Off in the distance there are a couple dead man's fingers growing as well.

I found one of Shrek's ears here. Just kidding this is a baby dryad's saddle. Eventually this will fan out into a huge mushroom. About midway through their growth they can be harvested and eaten, they are best battered and deep fried.

Here's a slug for @ewkaw headed for a nice mycena mushroom meal. His eyes are bugging out looking at the feast in front of him.

Here's a strange funnel mushroom I haven't been able to identify yet.

It has gills that run all the way down the stem. This seems like a pretty unique identifier coupled with its conical shape.

This week my lion's mane mushroom block sprouted some more pom pom looking buds.

This is the block's 5th bloom. Who knows it may produce five more if I maintain it properly.

Here you can see the tiny branch like structures that make up the mass. When peeled apart it has a similar texture to crab meat. The taste is very mild, barely a hint of mushroom taste. It is good for accepting spices or sauces and has a nice firm texture for cooking.

Happy #fungifriday