Mushroom Monday - Mandalas

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(Edited)

Here is some mushroom art for this #mushroommonday
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Winter is the off season for mushroom hunting around here so I am looking at some of my past finds to turn them into some interesting mandala compositions while I wait for spring.

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The first mushroom find is a dryad's saddle. These are some of the first mushrooms I see in spring and they are a decent edible if you can find them in time before they turn tough and spongy.

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This is what the dryad's saddle turned into as a mandala. It kind of reminds me of the an eye iris of a reptile of some kind.

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The next find is a giant puffball. I find these in October after a rain and they are huge and work well in all sorts of dishes. You can even cut them in slices and use them as pizza crust.

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The puffball turned into some kind of star portal or perhaps an energy core for a spaceship.

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Here is Polyporus alveolaris, though not terribly useful for eating they have an amazing color and gill pattern.

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This hexagonal polypore made an interesting hive-like texture. Perhaps a bunch of weird insects will hatch out of this strange alien nest.

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I believe this one is a pholiota of some kind possibly Pholiota flammans. I wouldn't recommend eating these as they have some poisonous lookalikes, They do have an interesting bright orange color and are somewhat tough in texture.

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The pholiota has turned into a huge sunburst explosion. Perhaps it is creating another big bang that will create a new universe.

That's all for now, I'll have to try and figure out what to do for #fungifriday for mushroom art... Thanks for looking :-)

hive-166168 mushroommonday art creativecoin palnet design amazingnature
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Pretty cool how each mushroom turned out. My favourite is polyporus alveolaris. The texture and pattern is interesting. I've never seen those before. In the art, it does look very much like alien hive, but also has a tree-like look.

My knowledge of fungi is limited but I have always loved them. Lately I've been fascinated with puffballs, having found around eight very large ones last year.

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How big were the puffballs you found? Most of them are edible unless they are green inside or dark black. The hexagonal polypore is my favorite as well too bad it isn't quite edible though its not toxic it's too tough to eat.

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The largest were easily ten inches, possibly more. One bunch really caught my eye due to size and that there were six or seven growing in an exact circle about twelve feet or so in diameter. I know they are edible and three of them were in good shape that way. It's the location where they were growing; the soil has toxins.

I had the impression from looking at the hexagonal polypore that it would be tough in texture.

Ever find lobster mushrooms? I've never found those, they are not common here. I have found amanita muscaria a couple times, photographed only, lol.

The strangest fungi I've seen, was this giant, absolutely massive growth of I don't know what kind, located in the grass courtyard of three apartment buildings. It was at least five feet by four feet and almost three feet high. I'm wondering if the location and size of this was due to proximity to some sort of sewage. I watched it grow for years to that massive size. Finally, they got rid of it. Not an easy task. It had texture like wood, plus whatever was underground.
(my weird fungi story)

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The puffballs you found sound like Calvatia gigantea, they are good when they aren't too large maybe around softball to volleyball size. Any larger and they get too foamy in texture. I dehydrate the foamy ones and turn them into powder for soup or you can even add it to bread.

I have found lobsters and they are really good, I have to go up north to find them though in Michigan or Wisconsin.

I bet that huge mushroom you found in the courtyard was a polypore of some kind, those just keep growing slowly forever, then if they die smaller ones often grow out of them.

Here's my lobster harvest from last year along with some bay boletes and chanterelles.
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I didn't know you could add puffball to bread like that. Very interesting. Thanks. I really enjoy learning more. Some delicious lobster mustrooms there! I've never had bay boletes before.

I think you're right that is most likely was a polypore. Now that I recall, they had previously cut it off but it regrew with a fury and they had to dig it up to get rid of it completely. The very nature of fungi fascinates me, in addition to the way they look.

Have you harvested chaga?

So many mushroom questions, lol.

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I have seen chaga before but wasn't able to harvest it because it was way up in a tree. I do buy a chaga powder and drink some with my tea every now and then for health benefits. The bay boletes are ok tasting but nothing compared to the king boletes from Europe.

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Hahaha! Yes, you need to scale the tree a bit and also take a hatchet. I thought you'd be familiar with chaga, that's why I asked. It's excellent medicine.

The king boletes must be much larger (in my imagination).

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Oh yeah the king boletes are huge, theoretically they grow here too but very rarely. Next time I go up to the northwoods I'll remember to bring a telescoping saw for chaga. One big chunk of chaga can last quite a while.

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I looked them up to see and they are huge! They must be rarer where you are. I've never heard of them here, even from the fungi foragers I know. Yes, a saw or some way of cutting it. It's quite woody in texture. I had a large chunk and ended up using my carving chisel on it to split it. My friend has something he wears on his boots, probably some kind of climbing thing so he can get up to where they are. One large chunk will last you quite a while. It's good to note where they are and leave part of the chaga intact to grow back (from what my friend told me, I've never harvested one).

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I love your presentation, love the colours, textures, and the creative attitude. TNKS for sharing, and have a nice day!

!BEER

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I'm looking forward to spring again for some good morel textures.

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That one had the best geometric features embedded already. Perfect for making textures. I'll have to try this on a few maze gilled polypores to see what happens.

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That's amazing. You have shared something very beautiful to look at today. Thank you for sharing.

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Thanks, it was fun making mushrooms into mandalas :-)

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You're welcome, brother, keep up the good work.

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Now I just need to figure out what to post tomorrow lol.

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I hope you will find something even more interesting tomorrow. 😁👍

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Cool!
How you do this images?

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I just did these in photoshop as numerous layers with different transparency blends and some filter distortions.

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it remind me j-wildfire)))

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Ah yeah it would be much more difficult to do this in jwildfire. It is possible but tricky.

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Oooooo I really like the light in that last one.

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It kind of reminds me of gold foil with some chemical wash on the outsides.

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The mushrooms really looks amazing and beautiful. Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful day

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Wow these are absolutely awesome!!! This is my favourite one for sure...you could sellthem on greeting cards or something!

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(Edited)

Haha greeting cards is a great idea. We wish you a Merry Mushroom and a happy new Wood Ear.

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Love it!!!

Happy Earthball Day, All the Best for the Shiitake Season, and that kind of thing.

My favourite t-shirt says 'Shitake Happens' underneath a picture of amanita muscaris. Brilliant.

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Haha perfect series of mushroom themed card concepts. I'll have to check and see if its already been done by someone.

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