Fungi Friday - No Chanterelles Yet

I went out looking for chanterelles for this #fungifriday

Instead I found this group of hands waving at me. This is a type of Ramaria mushroom. I suspected crown tipped coral but I did a tiny taste test nibble to see if it was spicy and it was not so I think it is Ramaria stricta. Some guides say it is edible others say it causes stomach upset so I didn't take a chance on it. The Amish around here eat them but I'm not sure how they prepare them to avoid stomach aches, I suspect parboiling?

An alien crashed its spaceship and in the wreckage its brain flew out of its head and landed on the ground.

Just kidding this is a common gem studded puffball.

The Latin name is Lycoperdon perlatum and they are edible if you can cut them and see fully white flesh inside.

Here is a mysterious white mushroom my daughter found in someone's yard while we were on our evening walk.

The gills were just white so not quite a clue as to their identification.

Younger ones fully hid the gills with a veil that would eventually turn into a ring.

If I didn't have dad brain at the moment I would have cut the stem and checked to see if it was a yellow bruiser. You just have to pinch the stem to see if it turns yellow, if so then you can differentiate between an edible red bruising one called a reddening lepiota.

Here is an ethereal looking ghost of a mushroom.

They are wispy ink caps easily unnoticed on the forest floor. They also tend to disappear in a day or so and completely vanish by turning into a black goo or dust to spread their spores.

The common name is hare's foot inkcap and they are edible if you can find them before they've opened. Even then you have to boil them as pan frying them will turn them into inky goo.

The Latin name is Coprinopsis lagopus maybe their fast lifecycle was associated with the speed of a rabbit... As with most inkcaps don't ingest alcohol after eating them, it will cause a stomach ache as they carry a compound that is toxic when mixed with alcohol. I rarely ever eat ink caps as they are boring to cook (just boil in soups) and they have a radishy taste, only good in Asian style soups. Still good to know they are edible if you find yourself in a survival situation.

Sadly I found no chanterelles, maybe this weekend they'll be out as it got really hot and they tend to grow in the heat of summer.

That's all for now, thanks for looking :-)