anyone know what kind of mushroom this is?

[mamabear]

went for a drive on this beautiful day & found this. I can't ID it in my books so was hoping someone here could. the flesh isn't hard, it doesn't smell bad. hope it's edible cuz it sure looks yummy! but of course I won't eat it without verifying it is good. this is a cool late summer day that to me is just about perfect! hope y'all have as good a day as mine!

 

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[TheRandyMan]

Might try sending the pictures to this site...does look interesting...

tree mushroom identification

 

[Ray S S]

That is a Lichen (pronounced- lie ken) They grow on dead or sometimes dying trees and in areas that are shaded from
the sun where moisture in the bark is not dried by the sun. Most of the ones I've seen are dark brown on top and cream
colored underneath. During mosquito time, toss these in a campfire and it will keep them away. I think I have a couple
pics of some here. I'll post them if I can find them.

Ray

 

[spartacus53]

Ray, I don't think that is lichen.... If brown, or dark brown it could be rock tripe, which is also a form a lichen. The shape doesn't look right to be either to me, it is too well formed.

Most lichen I recall is more like a moss and various greens in color and lichen can also grow on rocks and rock outcrops. Lichen itself is edible, you boil it and you have imitation scrambled eggs. But again, that fungus does not appear to be lichen. As it stands, I would not be trying that meal out

You may also want to post this in the hiking and camping section and get some of their input

 

[Ray S S]

Spartacus, you are right about the sort of funnel shape underneath. They are pretty uniform in shape. I've got some on some trees in my back yard that are almost the same color but don't have that funnel or cone shape but look the same on top. I have some
pics that I took last summer but I didn't resize them and now after work was done on our computer it was changed just enough
that I cannot figure out how to shrink them down for posting
I've been raised around the woods and have seen them all my life but, for some reason, I've never heard about anyone eating
them. That is a new one on me.

Ray

 

[spartacus53]

Lichen and rock tripe are edible, I learned this during a survival week with the Boy Scouts. They say it is supposed to taste like scrambled eggs nasty is the only word I could use to describe it. There were a ton of better things out there to eat, but we had to try them all

It was OK if you washed it done with a black birch tea

I never even tried to learn about fungus, too many types and even the experts have difficulty sometimes. I'd rather go for something I know won't kill me. Maybe Hemlock tea

 

[Tuberale]

First off: this is just a guess. Please verify with google photos and descriptions before doing anything silly (like eating this based on a photo online). The following is based on David Arora's "Mushrooms Demystified", p. 561-2, under Polyporus decurrens:

Polyporus squamosus, also known as Dryad's Saddle. Usually found east of the Rocky Mountains on hardwoods. Should have decurrent pores (small openings in the white underside) extending down the stipe (stem). (Decurrent is mycology-ese for down the stem.) Appears to be nearly planar (flattened), so probably too old to eat, anyway. They should have a pleasant fungal aroma. Mature material should bruise black on the edges when this mature, which I don't see.

Also possible is Polyporus fagicola (=P. Lentus), slightly smaller in size, and typically from eastern U.S. Don't know whether this species bruises black at the edges.

Definately fungal, NOT lichen. But please, get a second, third, (and possibly a fourth opinion if possible) before you take my word for it! I've never had this species in my hand before, and have never personally seen it, only read descriptions of it. Much depends on how large and wide this specimen(s) are, which was not included with your description.

 

[trikikiwi]

Looks Yummy

Mike

 

[Tuberale]

Revisited, and saw your finger in 2 of the photos. If you are female (mamabear), I'd guess the larger fungus is 15 inches or more across? The underside is comprised of tiny tubes tightly packed together, making this for certain a member of the Polyporaceae (many pores family), a huge fungal group including Polyporus, Ganoderma, Trametes, Stereum, Laetiporus and a host of others that grow on dead or dying trees or straw. Provided it is 15 inches wide or wider, it is probably Polyporus squamosus and known to be edible. (Most fungi are. Even deadly fungi can be eaten ... once.) It may have medicinal value. Similar Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi) known to stimulate the immune system, and stimulates production of both alpha- and beta-interferon, beneficial in some cancer treatments as well as the common cold. In China, Reishi was reserved for royalty only, and was sometimes called "Herb of 10,000 Days". The tiny related Trametes versicolor or Turkey Tail, is also among the most sought-out traditional herbs in the Chinese pharmacopaea, and is used for both cancer treatment as a pain killer, like aspirin. T. versicolor sells out quickly in Chinese markets for that reason. (See Mushrooms: Poisons and Panaceas for more information.)

While fungi may look more like plants (herbs) than animals, they are more closely related to animals than plants, and have their own Kingdom in today's scientific organization of life. Fungal spores (seeds) can survive extreme heat, cold, and dehydration, yet still germinate (sprout). Fungi found in Egyptian tombs for thousands of years have been grown. It has been theorized life might have been introduced on Earth by way of embedded fungal spores in meteorites or comets.

 

[Ray S S]

I stand corrected. I understood that all those on the trees were lichens. Thanks for setting me straight. I won't remember all
these names but now I know that they are not all lichens. LOL. If I can figure how to resize the pics I have, I'll post them
and maybe you can identify them. I just assumed they were lichens and maybe they are not.

Ray

 

[mojjax]

It looks kinda like a polyporus squamosus .

 

[Tuberale]

I stand corrected. I understood that all those on the trees were lichens. Thanks for setting me straight. I won't remember all
these names but now I know that they are not all lichens. LOL. If I can figure how to resize the pics I have, I'll post them
and maybe you can identify them. I just assumed they were lichens and maybe they are not.

Ray

Maybe. Probably not. I have a few books on lichens, but I don't understand them. Lichenologists have a different language than I use. Mycologists have a different language too. Sorry if I use the words once in awhile.

Lots of lichens do grow on the ground, on trees, or even on rocks: anywhere they can be in sunlight and be stable. Lichens are usually thin, have a different color top and bottom, and often have rhizimes (root-like thick hair-like structures, that allow them to remain stable).

Lichens are very diverse. They are actually always made up of 2 different organisms: an algae and a fungus. So you are at least half right in calling fungi lichens.

 

[mamabear]

thanx all for the input. & no! I won't be feasting on it. maybe if I see someone else try it & they live I might. anyone want to give it a go?? I also saw the dryads saddle, & thought it a possibility. It would be wonderful if it was medicinal. & thanx for the sites, I will be browsing them later.
& yes, that is my hand, & the shroom is huge! that's what caught my eye.
I am waiting for the chicken of the woods to come out, & oyster shrooms. missed the morels this yr.
again thanx for all the info.

 

[Tuberale]

thanx all for the input. & no! I won't be feasting on it. maybe if I see someone else try it & they live I might. anyone want to give it a go?? I also saw the dryads saddle, & thought it a possibility. It would be wonderful if it was medicinal. & thanx for the sites, I will be browsing them later.
& yes, that is my hand, & the shroom is huge! that's what caught my eye.
I am waiting for the chicken of the woods to come out, & oyster shrooms. missed the morels this yr.
again thanx for all the info.

You can always grow your own morels. I've done it a couple of times now. Pretty simple, but no guarantee of huge amounts of mushrooms.

For Morchella elata (and M. angusticeps) I chip about a cubic yard of fresh, green branches (old Douglas-fir Christmas trees work too), and lay out no more than 4 inches deep on top of bare soil. Take a dried morel, put it in a blender, and powder it fine. Add the powder to a back-pack sprayer, add 1-2 gallons warm water (about 70-80 degrees if possible: stimulates spore germination), and spray on your prepared mushroom bed. Try to place the bed in an area where you notice it every week or so, or more often. First time I tried this, the 'shrooms sprouted several weeks before I expected them, in mid-March as I recall. Fortunately, it was my neighbor's front yard. "Beauty Bark", a local brand of bark mulch for flower beds, works as a good substitute for freshly-chipped branches.

I know this is going to get me talked about, but growing morels is not that big a deal, really. I've done it at least 6 times so far, and only had one location where I didn't see any mushrooms produce. Probability of success over 80%, then.

Only thing you MUST remember is that the morel mycelium can cross a Petri dish of agar in a day at 77 degrees F. That translates to nearly 40 feet in a year! So don't be surprised if the mushrooms fruit 20 feet or further away from where you established the mushroom bed: they seek out water, and once supersaturated, will fruit wherever they want to.

 

[mamabear]

Tuberale, thank you for the "recipe" I will whip up a batch this spring. their spreading rate is amazing! Usually I find quite a few in the woods by my house, but so many trees were blown down, that I can't get to the spot. A friend has them growing under her apple tree, & the biggest ones I've ever seen are just down the road from her. my mouth is watering! nothin like an omelet with fresh morels, poke & wild asparagus!
are you familiar with the co. Fungi Perfecti? they are out of Olympia, WA. great catalogue to drool over.

 

[Tuberale]

Tuberale, thank you for the "recipe" I will whip up a batch this spring. their spreading rate is amazing! Usually I find quite a few in the woods by my house, but so many trees were blown down, that I can't get to the spot. A friend has them growing under her apple tree, & the biggest ones I've ever seen are just down the road from her. my mouth is watering! nothin like an omelet with fresh morels, poke & wild asparagus!
are you familiar with the co. Fungi Perfecti? they are out of Olympia, WA. great catalogue to drool over.

Yes, I know Fungi Perfecti, and have met Paul Stamets. Used to be a contributing editor to Mushroom, The Journal of Wild Mushrooming, but was, uh, dropped. Stamets may have had some input on that, since he is a major advertiser for the magazine. Or not. Have other differences of opinion, which is probably healthy.

The method Stamets uses and my inoculation methods are completely different. He wants to know how I grow things, and I consider it proprietary information.

Sounds like your morels may be one of the mycorrhizal variety, in which case you can just spray the dilute spore slurry around whatever apple trees are near you. Should work, but may take a few years to see results. We have a similar relationship here: morel with Black cottonwood, and morel with Oregon White oak. Two different species of morels, so be sure you use the morel you find with apple trees instead of some commercially dried material from Oregon.

 

[BIG61AL]

I used to call them tree steps as a kid!

 

[mamabear]

Ahh, you know Paul. It's been yrs since I lived in Oly. I went to Evergroove. but was always kinda on the outside lookin in. we had a big crawdad feed at his place during one of the "soft tech" seminars. It's been more than 20 yrs, & I see he has made a lot of changes. As did I.
we are lucky enuf to also have black morels. There is a stand of old pines where I find them. tucked away in a little creek bottom, close to an old homestead site. so I get to have 2 of my fave hobbies in one place.
Will share your reply with my friend that has the morels. her son will be interested.

Big61Al, these shrooms are to soft for that. but I know what you are talking about we have them too.
Now if only I can find some truffles! I'd be a happy girl.

 

[Tuberale]

Just gotta look for 'em, mamabear. They're all over the continental U.S. and Alaska, even the deserts. Only U.S. state I'm not certain would be Hawaii: a little distant for animals to get there from the mainland.