Here are some new finds from a recent trip to Wisconsin for #fungifriday by @ewkaw
I found quite a few tiny elf cups. These are only about a quarter inch in diameter.
These are technically edible but have no taste. They are mostly used as garnish for fancy meals.
Here is a matching critter next to the elf cups. A red velvet mite. He could be quite camouflage inside the elf cup.
I found some peziza fungi growing on a rotting log.
From a distance I thought they might be wood ear.
As I found more on the log I noticed their shape and texture wasn't wood ear at all.
My best guess is that this is Peziza repanda, technically edible but bland and tasteless with a brittle texture.
Later on I spotted my favorite edible fungi, chicken of the woods.
Sadly these were high up in the tree and might of been a bit too old to try and harvest anyway.
I also spotted this weird cryptid creature staring at me in the forest. It kind of reminds me of the main character from the movie "The Goonies". Maybe it was begging me to pick off all the mushrooms slowly eating away at its trunk.
The poor guy had golden oysters hatching out of his trunk. This is a clump just starting to pin.
And some fully grown ones towards the ground. These were harvested and cooked with a nice pork loin. They absorbed the flavors of the peppered pork loin and worked well in gravy over mashed potatoes, almost as good a prize as chicken of the woods.
Happy #fungifriday :-)