In January, I found a variety of mushrooms around the yard and photographed them. This was just before some heavy rainfall that wiped them out.
I shared the photos with Joe Szuecs of Renga Arts who knows mushrooms and he helped me identify them. (Having a couple of photos of a mushroom is not the same as identifying them in the field.)
Amanita Muscaria
Laccaria laccata or L. amethysta
Not sure
probably some sort of Mycena
Boletus zelleri
Helvella lacunosa
Cauliflower Mushroom
This cauliflower mushroom was quite large — and brain-like. It is also edible so I brought it inside. While washing it in the sink, I found dozens of insects from earwigs to millipedes living within its folds.
I boiled the whole mushroom — so big it wouldn’t easily fit in the pot. I added some pieces of it to a stew. The taste was mild and it had a woody scent, pretty much what you’d expect. I created a broth from the mushroom but I found I couldn’t really tackle eating much of the mushroom itself. Maybe it was the thought of more insects. Maybe it was the tortuous foldings. Maybe it was too old.
Okay, I was squeamish. Such as it is.
Wow, great pics of the mushrooms. This will help me identify some on my property.
Most recent pic: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2738/4285749340_7991145c1b.jpg
Did you know mycelium (fungi, mushroom) weave a layer throughout the earth in the soil, not just where we see them pop to the surface in mushroom form? It composes the threads holding it all together and are major players in the nitrogen cycle. They deserve a big mycelium thank you!