Fungi Friday - from the archive

Digging today the folders of my little Summer vacations; two days spent at the countryside brought me a good harvest of shroom pics to share with you, my friends. pretty sadly, most of these were highly photo-friendly but not good enough for the soupee, except of a few Boletus and Léccinums.My refrigerator is missing them frozen, neither I have them dried or pickled. Maybe, next year I better spend more time in the forest with a big bag and a knife, instead of a camera?..

Ok, here we go. Enjoy the excerpts from my summer collection.

This is some amazingly looking polymorph, definitely not a Turkeys tail. View drom the downside is superior to the cap's top view.

A close-up of a yound edition: a real mushroom labyrinth!

This is a Lactárius nécator (simply 'Чёрный груздь' as we name it in Russian) of Russula family.

It is not very rare but pretty hard to find -- if you have no idea where to look for them in advance. They love birch forests, but can be found in other places, as well. They prefer to hide under the leaves and in soil, if one of them inadvertently crawled out and caught your eye, do not leave - the whole family is probably hiding nearby! They are ideal for pickling, they crunch very well on the teeth and go along well with vodka. Thats the reason they were traditionally valued and considered one of the best mushrooms (even more valuable than ceps!)

---

A good grown-up Léccinum. We found him before the worms did! Luckily, he grew on a dry sandy soil.

---

Here goes a little cat intermezzo. Our white cat dont like to sleep all day long on the window, she is not of that kind! She is hunter and traveller ... and overseer of the whole location; always inspecting what goes on around.

---

Something unknown to me - therefore, better to count it as unedible. But maybe I am wrong.

---

Another nameless unedible, but his fluffy cap was looking so cool, he didnt escaped my camera.

And a special #trippythursday edition for @blacklux challenge:

---

As far as I can see, someone has already tried this mushroom -- and seems, it tasted nasty!

---

Lycoperdon perlatum, aka puff-ball mushroom, has many funny folk names: hare potato, tobacco mushroom, damn tavlinka, bee sponge, grandfather tobacco, wolf tobacco ... and even "lady's farting". Many mushroom pickers bypass it, but this is not only an edible mushroom, but also a delicious one with delicate taste. Its main feature is the ability to absorb a lot of water from the soil, so it is not recommended to pick mushrooms immediately after rain: in this case, the taste spoils, you be getting an unpleasant jelly-like mass instead of a mushroom. Young fruiting bodies should be consumed while their core is white and elastic. This mushroom is best to slice and fry in oil. Theres also another intresting receip: you may dry it in an aerogrill, turning it into shroom dust - a wonderful and simple seasoning that improves the taste of dishes.

---

Another good news: these mushrooms can be found in all types of forests, they are unpretentious to weather conditions and soil quality, and can be collected throughout the summer and early autumn. There exist several varieties, all of them are edible: meadow, giant, pear-shaped, prickly, brown (umbra), yellow.

---

Above is the brown (umbra) puffball I found in my yard back in September. Focus staked from two macro shots. This one was pretty small, 2cm only.

---

all the images taken with Canon 5D +Sigma 150mm macro-tele

---

Happy Fungi Friday to you!

---

#FungiFriday fun challenge by @EwkaW

I hope many of you will join, as there are only 2 simple rules:

• when Friday comes, share your fungi with us! post your own, original photo/drawing/art/food/anything-at-all of any type of fungi (yes, stolen images will be checked and reported !)
• add #fungifriday (not necessarily must be your 1st tag). that's all!