Not that I'm considering eating it, but can you identify it?
ME: what is this fungus that is yellow and looks like macaroni
ChatGPT: It sounds like you might be describing a type of fungus called "Xylaria polymorpha," commonly known as Dead Man's Fingers. It typically appears as yellowish or yellow-brownish cylindrical structures that resemble macaroni or fingers emerging from decaying wood. These fungi are saprobes, meaning they feed on dead organic matter, particularly wood, and are often found in forested areas. However, without seeing an image or more detailed description, it's challenging to accurately identify the fungus you're referring to. If you're uncertain, it might be helpful to consult with a mycologist or someone knowledgeable about local fungi for a more precise identification.
ME (after checking photos of Xylaria polymorpha and seeing it's clearly not that): can I show you a photo of it?
ChatGPT: I'm afraid I can't view or analyze images directly. However, you can try describing the features of the fungus in more detail, such as its size, shape, texture, any distinctive characteristics, and the environment where you found it. With that information, I can do my best to assist you in identifying it or providing more information about similar fungi.
ME: It looks like Cheetos and is growing out of a tree stump. It doesn't have a stem and cap like a mushroom
ChatGPT: Based on your description, it sounds like you might be describing a type of slime mold rather than a fungus. Slime molds are organisms that can resemble fungi in appearance but are actually quite different. One type of slime mold that fits your description is the "Fuligo septica," also known as the "Dog Vomit Slime Mold" due to its appearance. It often appears as a yellowish, slimy mass resembling vomit or melted cheese and can be found growing on decaying organic matter such as tree stumps or mulch. Despite its unappealing appearance, it's a fascinating organism with a unique life cycle.
ME (after checking photos of Dog Vomit Slime Mold): But it doesn't look disgusting. It's pretty
ChatGPT: Ah, I see! Given the description of its appearance and growth pattern, you might be referring to a different type of fungus. One possibility could be "Fuligo septica," commonly known as the "Scrambled Egg Slime Mold." Despite its unappetizing name, this slime mold can indeed have an attractive appearance, resembling yellow blobs or strands, often growing on decaying wood or other organic matter. While it's not a true fungus, it's often mistaken for one due to its similar appearance and habitat. It's fascinating to encounter such unique organisms in nature!
ME (after checking photos of Scrambled Egg Slime Mold): It's more well-shaped than that
ChatGPT: If it's more well-shaped and resembles macaroni or Cheetos, it's possible you're describing a different type of fungus. One possibility could be "Tremella mesenterica," commonly known as "Witch's Butter" or "Yellow Brain Fungus." This fungus typically grows on decaying wood, and when young, it can have a gelatinous or rubbery texture, often with a bright yellow to orange coloration. As it matures, it may become more wrinkled and brain-like in appearance, which could resemble macaroni or Cheetos to some observers...
Okay, I'm going with Witch's Butter/Yellow Brain Fungus. What do you think?
ADDED: From the Wikipedia article, "Tremella mesenterica" — AKA yellow brain, golden jelly fungus, yellow trembler, and witches' butter. It quotes the 1789 publication "Satan's invisible world discovered" as a possible explanation for the name witches' butter (or witch's' butter):
[Witches] confessed also, that the devil gives them a beast, about the shape and bigness of a cat, which they call a carrier; and he gives them a bird, too, as big as a raven, but white: And these creatures they can send any where and wherever they come, they take away all sorts of victuals they can get, as butter, cheese, milk, bacon, and all sorts of seeds, whatever they can find, and carry it to the witches. What the bird brings, they may keep for themselves: but what the carrier brings, they must reserve for the devil, and that is brought to Blockula, where he gives them of it as much as he thinks fit. —They added, that the carriers filled themselves so full oftentimes, that they are forced to spew by the way, which spewing is found in several gardens, where colworts grow, and not far from the houses of the witches. It is of a yellow colour like gold, and is called the butter of the witches.
UPDATE: Here's how it looked 20 hours later:
Posts
60 comments:
Nothing a bag of tuna won’t fix.
It's amazingly patient with you!
Young caps of Laetiporus sulphureus, "Chicken of the Woods" or "Sulphur Shelf".
Edible and delicious to most, but some have gastrointestinal sensitivity to it, so folks should take care to first try a small amount; eating a meal of only it could lead to some time "wishing one had two toilets, facing each other" (as I put it). (This advice applies to pretty much all mushrooms.)
The caps will get bigger and fan out. I'm most fond of them when they're small and squishy, then they have a texture more like imitation crab meat (but good). As they get older, the texture gets more like chicken meat, but can be dry and tough.
https://www.mushroomexpert.com/laetiporus_sulphureus.html
I think you should download the 'iNaturalist' app, which I've been using for a couple of years to identify native plants on my land. It's free. You take a few pictures of the plant in question, upload them with your GPS position, and it plugs into a network of other users and (I'm presuming) A.I. to identify it. It presents options to select from, which include photos and known geographical distributions, and even the seasonal cycle for the plant. Once you select the one that matches, it adds to your personal library. Really handy, although sometimes I have to wait until I get home for a decent signal to upload them.
I just know it presided at Trump's trial.
And Aggie beat me to it- there are apps for your phone that are really pretty decent for identifying things like this.
If you don't want a dedicated app, google reverse image search is often helpful.
"Young caps of Laetiporus sulphureus, "Chicken of the Woods" or "Sulphur Shelf"...."
It doesn't look like that to me.
"If you don't want a dedicated app, google reverse image search is often helpful."
A Google reverse image search backs up my tentative decision that it's "Yellow Brain Fungus" — that is, "Tremella mesenterica" AKA "Witch's Butter."
I tried going for an app but was annoyed when it turned out to want to bill me $30 a year.
I'll try 'iNaturalist'
I used to use PlantSnap but it wants money... or, no, wait... I can accept the free version with ads
PlantSnap sees it as a Buttercup Tree!
Did you find any old canoes in the lake?
I saw that internet story and when I read Lake Mendota I had to come to Althouse and see if there was a post.
Cheers all!
I was going to suggest a dedicated app, but then thought "Althouse would be annoyed by having to pay $30 a year." So I didn't.
And having used Plantsnap and PictureThis in the past, they don't always provide helpful results. But if you're out and about a lot, it really is an interesting way to get to know the plants and such of your area. But then you also see insects/bugs and birds and all sorts of other stuff, each of which have their own dedicated app, and associated yearly fee. Maybe doing one per year and getting to know one's local ecology over time is worth it. Or maybe just the Peterson Field Guide library and a portable backpack bookcase.
iNaturalist is not free. It has a free trial. Not doing that.
Somebody had eaten too many Cheetos.
I hope this is not a recurring feature.
Ann, after looking at the images in the link I sent you, I can see why it doesn't look like that. Some of the caps were smashed which gives them the look of the jelly fungi. But those caps don't get this big. https://www.mushroomexpert.com/tremella_mesenterica.html
There are some better pictures of L. sulphureus here (though not great):
https://www.foraged.com/chicken-of-the-woods-life-cycle-and-look-a-likes
People don't seem to take a lot of pictured of partially-smashed young caps.
The habit (growing out of a long-dead cut end of fallen deciduous wood) and timing (Midwest, early summer) are a good fit for L. sulphureus.
Come back tomorrow... it will be much larger (or someone will have cut of off to take it home).
Are either you or Meade on iOS? The iOS Photos app has an integrated image identification tool for plants, animals, landmarks, food. Give it a try! This is the internet ... I may just screen grab your image on my phone, see what iOS says.
I have a 30ft flag pole in my back yard. It was here when I bought the house in 2015. Have to fly at least a 5'x8' flag or in looks like a napkin. I fly and American flag. Because I'm on a ridge of a hill, you can see it from around the neighborhood. It looks good, but it doesn't feel good right now.
The constitutional ideals behind the American flag are dead. Ideals which once united the left and the right. I'm not neutral. The left has taken our country and society down and evil path, and they are winning because they are willing to do and support things working class Americans won't.
I'm not neutral. But I will admit there is a part of me at 55-years-old that wants to throw in the towel. Enjoy the violins as the ship sinks. I worry about my Gen Z kids, but they don't know any better. They were indoctrinated.
So...the part of me that wants peace wants to take down my 5'x8' American flag, fly a 5'x8' white sheet with the word "UNCLE!" written in big black letters.
But I won't. Watching Trump fight in admirable. Inspirational. It's not really the politicians that are exhausting.
It's the AWFLs that live in your neighborhood who called the police on kids in the park during COVID. It's the Pride Flag liberal educators infecting your local public school. The fentanyl, crack, and heroine destroying a city you loved, only 20 mins from your house. People I've known my whole life think removing a "how to give a blow job" book from a grade school library is book burning.
To fight this evil, you either have to be willing to bomb Dresden, or just say "fine, have it your way. I don't give a shit anymore." UNCLE!!
Fungi are the most superior life form on earth. They were here long before us and will be here long after us. They can rest dormant for long periods of time and can travel through space. Some theologians speculate that the true purpose of the cosmos was to create a suitable environment for fungi and that humanity's sole purpose on earth was to build spaceships in order to launch fungi to other planets....Humanity is jealous of these creatures and gives them invidious names, but there's no doubt about who's superior.
In the third season of Clarkson's Farm (which everyone should be watching, it's really good) Jeremy Clarkson decides to grow mushrooms to sell at his farm store. The person selling him the growing bags explains that the mushroom is actually the sexual reproductive organ of the mycelium that grows below the substrate. He further explains that some people believe that the mycelium actually came to earth from Space. So, naturally, when the mushrooms are harvested Clarkson promotes them in his shop as "Space Penises".
I've been using iNaturalist for almost 2 years with no charges at all !
"Did you find any old canoes in the lake? I saw that internet story and when I read Lake Mendota I had to come to Althouse and see if there was a post."
Thanks. I had to look it up.
Is there anything amazing about them? We knew people lived here thousands of years ago, and the canoes are dugouts, not a surprising level of technology.
You've proven that ChatGPT is not completely worthless.
Fun post. Thanks.
"I've been using iNaturalist for almost 2 years with no charges at all !"
I downloaded it and to get past the introductory screens, I needed to agree to pay after a free trial, so I deleted it.
I uploaded the images to Chat-GPT+ and asked for identification:
GPT: The fungus in the photos appears to be Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus spp.). This type of mushroom is known for its bright orange and yellow colors and grows in clusters on tree stumps or logs, which matches the description in your images.
Here are some characteristics of Chicken of the Woods:
Bright yellow to orange color.
Grows in clusters or shelves on dead or dying hardwood trees, occasionally on conifers.
Has a smooth to slightly wrinkled texture.
Edible when young, with a chicken-like texture, hence the name.
However, always exercise caution and consult with a local expert or mycologist before consuming any wild mushrooms, as there are look-alikes that can be harmful.
Me: Could it be "Witches' Butter"?
GPT: While it is possible that the fungus in the photos could be Witches' Butter (Tremella mesenterica), there are distinct differences between Witches' Butter and Chicken of the Woods that can help differentiate them:
Color: Witches' Butter is typically bright yellow to orange and has a more gelatinous and jelly-like appearance. Chicken of the Woods, on the other hand, has a more solid and fleshy consistency.
Texture: Witches' Butter has a smooth, gelatinous texture that is somewhat translucent. Chicken of the Woods has a more fibrous, dense, and opaque texture.
Growth Habitat: Both fungi can grow on dead or decaying wood, but Chicken of the Woods often forms larger, shelf-like clusters, while Witches' Butter tends to form smaller, more irregular, gelatinous masses.
Given the bright orange and yellow color and the somewhat dense, fleshy appearance in your photos, it is more likely to be Chicken of the Woods rather than Witches' Butter. However, without a closer inspection and considering factors such as the exact texture and consistency, it is always best to consult with a local mycologist for accurate identification.
Let it grow and further characterize itself. I have seen a lot of those mushrooms that come up in the searches in the woods as a kid, where I spent a lot of time wandering, before there was the internet to know what things were, and being too poor to afford field guides, and I have frequently seen witch's butter, without knowing what it was, this is not that, and those chicken of the woods things too, more fully grown out, which this might be. Who knew you could eat them? I sure didn't. Probably if I dragged my grandma out with me, she would have done. She told me once that the way they practiced handwriting and spelling, etc, was to identify, draw, and write down all of the names of the plants and the flowers that grew around them, kind of like Henry David Thoreau's notebooks about species of grass growing in Concord. Alas, my education was far poorer.
Was there a dead dog nearby?
A lesson was imparted to me early and often in my life by my Father, a son of rural North Carolina, when he explained that it was easier to learn the few non-dometic local plants that are safe to eat, and that I should just avoid all the unknowns, most of which are at minimum not that edible, some of which will put you down permanently. So I spent my youth eating wild strawberries, blackberries, and plums in the summer woods and fields, while just admiring the fungi of the area. Good advice in an area where, as I later learned, there are poisonous mushrooms that are indistinguishable from edible varieties except under microscopic examination by experts.
Go find some fruit, It is yummy and rarely can kill you.
Rabel said...
Was there a dead dog nearby?
*********
If so, did it belong to Semolina Pilchard?
Sometimes when I take a a picture on my iPhone and swipe up, it will gove me an option to identify the plant, animal or bird. Sometimes it works better than others. It helped me to identify stinkhorn the other day.
I have plenty of mushrooms coming up where forest used to be. They're feeding on the remain tree roots. One part of the back yard, about 16-ft by 8-ft, collapsed into a 3-ft deep sink hole where buried wood decayed into nothing. I finally finished filling it in with top soil removed from where I'm adding an 8-ft by 4-ft patio extension.
My "PictureThis" app suggests Bracket polypores, but I'm not convinced.
The app works great for identifying trees and plants in the yard, as long as you get a whole leaf in focus, but I suspect fungi are harder.
It definitely looks like 'dead man's fingers' to me. But then, I live in Florida.
I have the same Picture This results as clint - Brackey polypores Fungi Fomitopsidaceae. (I looked it up before I saw his comment.)
It's been accurate on everything else I've check so far.
Lot of rings.
That tree was older than Joe Biden when they cut it down.
It now looks somewhat like his latest cranial MRI.
Ann Althouse said...
"Is there anything amazing about them? We knew people lived here thousands of years ago, and the canoes are dugouts, not a surprising level of technology."
I know they sunk Birch Bark canoes in the winter, but I didn't know the sunk dug out canoes.
Chicken-of-the-woods. You can tell because it looks moist and watery. Some folks eat this one, but there's taste and then there's looks. I'm disinclined to eat anything that looks like vomit.
The Fungus of the Day and every day grows between Joe Biden's ears. The particularly rancid slime mold will remain the Fungus of the Day until he's gone forever.
That’s Caninicus Breakfastius
I'm onboard with others who think its the primordial-stage of Laetiporus sulphureus. Take a look at the Midwest American Mycological Information's page for L. sulphureus and scroll down to the photos. The first couple of photos are the primordial stage, before growth and development into the mature, flattened structures.
"I hope this is not a recurring feature."
Sufficient unto the day, is the fungus thereof.
"I'm disinclined to eat anything that looks like vomit."
So, not a Democrat.
So, will someone in D.C. try to arrest Netanyahu and send him to The Hague when he arrives to address Congress?
There is only one edible fungus I will gather and enjoy, and that's the giant puffball, Calvatia gigantea. All the others I leave to the experts. Several locals are raising shiitakes and oyster mushrooms which they sell down the street at the farmer's market. Occasionally I see morels at the markets, but I'm not as impressed by them as some are. Puffballs sautéed in butter are fab, and there's more than enough to make the main course for two. They must be firm and pure white under the skin. If they're even slightly yellow it's too late. You'll make yourself sick. Younger is frequently better. When at their peak, it can only take a few hours before the yellow appears. But don't pick them too early. Young destroying angels look quite similar to very young puffers.
In my neck of the woods, puffballs start to peak above ground about the first week of September. They start out about the size of a golf ball and can grow larger than a volleyball depending on the rainfall. Usually, I harvest them when they're somewhat smaller, 8 to 10 inches. Leaving them to grow larger often gets them devoured by the local non-humans -- beetles, squirrels, and deer enjoy them, just as they do my tomatoes. Some dedicated mycophiles make chickenwire cages to protect the developing basidioma from wildlife. I have yet to bother to do likewise. Maybe this season. It can be frustrating to have scouted out a nice one and return a few days later to find it eaten to the ground.
I did iNaturalist and the closest match for your area that I found was Orange Jelly Spot or *Dacrymyces chrysospermus*
I’ll add that I don’t pay for iNaturalist. Just hit “skip” at the bottom after you swipe through to the login screen. It is super handy and it really is free. Not sure what you get for the paid version but for just ID’ing flora and fauna in the wild, you don’t have to pay anything.
I live on a lake and also am a Scout Troop Adult Leader and use it on campouts as well as for doing macro-photography on interesting plants I find where I live.
I don't drink spoiled milk. And I usually dump the rest of the container if there are 4 days or less until the now mandated uniform across the USA expiration date. Don't even bother smelling it since I know it's going to small bad. My youth when I drank between a quart and half gallon was in NY and NJ, both dairy states, and both required milk to be sold within 48 hours of pasteurization. The milk was consumed long before it could spoil.
Yet, I eat many different varieties of cheese. Which is nothing more then spoiled milk, spoiled by different molds. Doesn't smell spoiled to me. I have read that it's a faux pas to serve a cheese platter to visiting Japanese. Apparently they small spoiled milk...
So I eat stuff made from molds and fungus.
But I draw the line at eating straight fungi. Just a big nope for me. Everyone has different tastes. Some don't like broccoli and cauliflower.
"Sometimes when I take a a picture on my iPhone and swipe up, it will gove me an option to identify the plant, animal or bird."
Look up only appears some of the time and it did not appear for this fungus.
Funnily, on a picture I got of myself reflected in the car window as I was trying to take a picture of the backseat, it said "Look up — mammal" and when I touched it, I got the choice of California sea lion or Madagascan fruit bat!
Was Adam Schiff hiking in the area?
Just Sayin.
My wife, my brother-in-law and I were hiking in the White River National Forest near Vail CO a few years ago and we came across a couple of chipmunks that were acting goofy but happy. Running around and kinda laughing like they were hallucinating. About 100 yards up the trail, we came across some mushrooms that had been nibbled at the edges.
My question is, did the chippies know what they were getting into? They didn't have iphones.
I think this soft, slimy thing isn’t a fungus at all, but rather a slime mold, i.e. a protozoan in the class Myxomycota, related to amoebas. I suspect it’s an older specimen of Fuligo septica, the “Dog Vomit Slime Mold”.
Fungi are the most superior life form on earth.
They really are fascinating organisms. They are far more closely related to us than they are to the trees they grow on, or under. Their genomes and reproductive physiology are among the most complicated of living things, far more advanced than anything in the kingdom of plants, of which they are not members. Some of their gene products, or the compounds they catalyze, will kill you dead, some will make you see God, some will give you the exquisite taste of truffles or porcini, some will ferment your beer and wine and other alcoholic beverages, some seem to have medicinal value, and some will decay the lignin and cellulose in wood in a manner unlike any other organism, ensuring that there will never be any new Petrified Forest formed ever again.
So Witches Butter must be the same color as Butter Pecan. I scream - we all scream for ice cream in Safety cones.
We had a 40ft oak tree next to our house. Last autumn some fungus, unlike yours, appeared at the base of it. Over the winter the fungus disappeared and I thought no more of it.
In April, the whole tree blew over, narrowly missing everything I cared about.
The exposed roots were like a dried out sponge. You could break them with your fingers. The fungus had been feeding on the dead roots.
Looks like my cat threw up his dry food
You should try google lens. It turned out a lot of other pictures like this on the web. I searched google using your photo in my browser. Based on some of those links sounds like it is Laetiporus.
https://lens.google.com/search?ep=gsbubu&hl=en&re=df&p=AbrfA8oyc50vBUeuLw_AWMlYEAVS6pod2tmsiLvg4hsn4p-wJ1KrZjxh6XY1HpRy2CEZ7ZH6Dbtr7mjKwbveSQl4Bo9JOFGeyhIOwN5PbQhP3aUg5CCODjO_AAc3E0UbsRkGcOjPqsWE5datrdywFmjPejhTtdWqtaBNaSoprMwwSh-Pz1cFn02YEvUplX5BWXX0fXoadFEp48klxI-j3Diqy-_JhebVZt24vR-y-ElzfoZJOVHryoD9KMY0k0UMjgMRwzDNLatnC1f0Em3GC-DwxPGUk0V9wiyphhJt#lns=W251bGwsbnVsbCxudWxsLG51bGwsbnVsbCxudWxsLG51bGwsIkVrY0tKRE0zTlRJMlpUYzBMVGRoWm1RdE5EY3dOaTFoWkRoa0xUWmhNekU0T0RFMllXWTBOQklmVlhkSGRsWmZhM05aWlZGWlZVTm1hVWxtYTFwaVJFUTVNWEZxYzE5U1p3PT0iXQ==
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