Fungi Friday - Ramaria Forests

Here are a ton of different ramaria I found in Wisconsin for this #fungifriday by @ewkaw

Here is a slug munching on some pink ramaria.

This is Ramaria botrytis aka pink-tipped choral.

This is a unique coral fungi that has fat stems and tiny pink tips. This has a nice deep mushroom flavor with a firm texture. The key to identifying it is the fat base stems and the pink tips which is fairly unique to any other coral out there.

Here is another species of pink coral, though I don't have an ID on this one.

This is a slightly younger version of the same unidentified coral. Who knows... maybe it is edible but you have to be careful with ramaria fungi. Many species can cause stomach upset. Fortunately none are deadly.

Now for some bright yellow coral.

This one stood out from a mile away in the dried leaves.

These older specimens were still pretty bright on the forest floor.

There are around 200 species of ramaria and many are yellow. My best guess at this one's ID is Ramaria lorithamnus. I have no idea if its edible or not. Too bad cause I found loads of it.

Now for a strange yellow coral or dare I might say a possible example of cordyceps? This still remains a tiny mystery fungi for me.

Now for some drab tans.

This is probably ramaria formosa.

These are fairly common down in Illinois but I found tons of it in Wisconsin. There is more forest area for it to grow up there.

Sadly ramaria formosa is slightly toxic and causes gas and stomach aches. I did a taste test as well just to see if it had any culinary uses and it is pretty bland. So I would avoid eating this.

Now for a bit of halloween flair. Does this one resemble some creepy fingers coming out of the ground?

I have no idea what this coral is. It seems to just have straight tips an no branches like most corals have.

I'll call it the ugly duckling of the bunch lol.

Finally some snow white ramaria.

These ones have unique structure to them with rounded tips and they are really bright white. Sadly I have no ID on these ones either.

That's it for the ramaria forests, happy #fungifriday