I hope you enjoy that insane Fungus of the Day. It looked weirder in person, because it's not tiny, as it might appear in the photograph. Think of the cap as half of a softball to picture the size.IN THE COMMENTS: Hassayamper said a lot of useful things, including: "As I’ve mentioned before, we could use a good look at the gills under the cap.... Careful examination of the entire stem including the base would also be necessary to clinch the identification." I remembered your advice from before and did go for that gills-y shot. Perhaps this is enough:
UPDATE: 21 hours later, it had flipped into this:
And here it is with a quarter to show the size and with a smaller and younger version of itself:
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37 comments:
Gnomes should trade stocks under that thing! (Soory. People who love finance will get it…)
A fascinating look at fungi growth in time-lapse.
It looks as big as a tree.
Ann, you could put a coin next to the fungi you photograph to establish scale.
Those little warts on the cap are a feature of a number of species in the genus Amanita. This is a large and important genus that contains some of the most deadly mushrooms of all, i.e. the Death Cap and Destroying Angel, as well as some that are delicious and expensive gourmet edibles such as the Caesar’s Amanita, a favorite of the Roman emperors.
In this case the pinkish tinge and slightly swollen base suggest that this is a “blusher”, A. amerirubescens, which is a very tasty edible species. They can be quite common and easy to collect, although they require thorough cooking to destroy a heat-labile toxin that can cause hemolysis if large quantities are consumed raw.
However, it could also be a sun-bleached specimen of the moderately toxic A. muscaria, A. gemmata, or one of their relatives. As I’ve mentioned before, we could use a good look at the gills under the cap, as well as the “partial veil” membrane that covers the gills as they develop and then exposes them, forming a ring on the stem. Careful examination of the entire stem including the base would also be necessary to clinch the identification. The morphology of the base of the stem, including its underground portion, is especially important for keying out the Amanita genus.
It should go without saying that this is a genus for experienced mushroom collectors only, and should be avoided by novices.
Butterscotch cookies and cream.
More enticing than the dildos!
You should stand under it.
I hate mushrooms, by the way.
I'm a sky man!
Sky Pilot
The Forager Chef, Alan Brego, has more information about blushers. Nobody combines delicious cookery with mycological scientific knowledge as well as he does.
That reminds me, it’s been a long time since Titus posted here.
imTay at 752am - Titus and Lazlo - We need you. It is like Princess Leia searching for Obi-Wan.
The absolutely cheeseball movie "Eurovision" has Icelandic elven worship as a running joke. Every mushroom photo here makes me think of leaving cookies and brandy while respectfully asking a favor.
I read a story once that had aliens that looked like mushrooms taking over the earth. Or maybe I made it up. Either way, I think it fits.
"Ann, you could put a coin next to the fungi you photograph to establish scale."
Good idea!
Maybe I'll go back there today and find it again.
The WaPo is now tracking the number of Democrat officials calling on Biden to withdraw (two, so far).
Did Biden just lose the WaPo?
Preference cascade.
"It should go without saying that this is a genus for experienced mushroom collectors only, and should be avoided by novices."
Clearly, I'm a novice, but perhaps it means something — from deep in evolutionary memory — that when I saw this mushroom I felt visceral revulsion. I literally hated it.
The Atlantic calls on Biden to resign from the White House.
I for one welcome our new fungi overlords.
My old friend and roommate (now deceased, RIP Kenny) was a guitar player at night and a worker drone during the day, to the extent that he so rarely saw the sun that his skin turned an ugly grey-brown and he was dubbed our Ambassador from the Mushroom People.
Good times.
I wasn't sure at first where to post this.. But then i saw 4th of July Fungus and knew!
NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW! (except for Queers.. and Democrats.. And ESPECIALLY QUEER DEMOCRATS)
SHOCKER! Biden's Cross-Dressing Dress Thief Scores Sweetheart Deal
The feds were kind enough to drop Brinton's felony grand larceny charge — which could have sent him to prison for 20 years — down to petit larceny, a misdemeanor.. NO Jail Time
Brinton's sweetie-pie sentence includes the following "punishments:"
Brinton is required to sign up for an adult diversion program;
He must undergo treatment for mental health;
He is ordered to complete 50 hours of community service helping elderly people;
He must also write a letter of apology to the people whose luggage he stole.
This was the third time Brinton was convicted of stealing luggage belonging to real women.
I notice Joe’s “lifelong stutter” is making a comeback in the Lefty media lately.
I worked for about five years among speech therapists and audiologists, some of whom had stutters themselves, and can spot a stutterer in no time; I even know the signs of former stutterers.
Biden is no stutterer, he's just a lying midwit.
All is well. All is swell. All is speckled white and a yellow hue with fun guys.
@Hassayamper
Thanks... and check the update to the post.
And, to link to the philosophical talk in another post, it is in all probability a younger version of itself as it looks close enough to be from the same base mycelium.
Cool progression shots.
I feel like that mushroom is now communicating with its alien overlords.
If I ever make a sci-fi invasion movie, I'm definitely going to have mushrooms in it.
If Althouse ever decides to publish a coffee table book of her cafe photography
might I suggest
Shit and Sky for a title?
Temujin,
That sounds like Ray Bradbury's "Boys! Raise Giant Mushrooms In Your Cellar!"
He is ordered to complete 50 hours of community service helping elderly people;
=================
can attend Biden family con-fabula-tions cooking up tales
6 days of debate prep
start at 11:00 am
take a nap in the afternoon
cut the debate prep short by two days so he could go to the beach
he almost fell asleep during the debate
and now, no events after 8:00 p.m.
It's bizarre that he thinks this is reassuring
a large mushroom size of small lawn table/bird-bath
House Democrat calls for him to get off the ticket
it's up to 3 now
blood in the water
I've been enjoying these pictures. Nature is amazing!
U.K. Labour Party On Track for Landslide Victory, Says Exit Poll - Ruling Conservative Party is expected to suffer one of its worst performances at an election in modern history
https://www.wsj.com/world/uk/uk-election-results-2024-6649b68c?mod=hp_lead_pos7
Hard to believe the party that produced Boris Johnson and Liz Truss could falter like that. Clearly they could learn something from the GOP about how to be terrible and still win at the ballot box.
Looking on from across the pond, I’m incredulous that this WSJ analysis omits the following: this is the reckoning for Brexit.
The blatant populist lie that the was Brexit backfired spectacularly, causing economic pain and failure of vision. Torry “exhaustion” is rooted in this lie. But it seems to me that the entire British society feels awkward about admitting this gigantic failure. it’s just not supposed to be discussed in the “polite” society. In fact, Sunak uses re-opening of conversation about Brexit reversal as a “threat” against labor. This lack of reckoning is a real problem moving forward. Labor should be bold and move to rejoin.
UK’s version of MAGA has burned out already, alas it seems it will take a few more years for that to happen in the US. .
UK’s version of MAGA has burned out already,
If you think the conservative party in the UK is even remotely close to 'MAGA', you're more delusional than I thought.
Seriously. Find another hobby.
Thanks for the additional images, Ann. And thanks for the vanity tag, I am honored. I have been posting here on and off under at least 4 different pseudonyms for more than 15 years, and the day may come when I change it again, but for now I will bask in the glory.
Genus Amanita is confirmed. However, it is not one of the blushers. I consulted an amanita guru and he thinks the warts and short shaggy volval rings at the base are typical for A. muscaria var. guessowii. This is a lighter colored, yellowish version of the familiar fly agaric, the red-with-white-polka-dotted inspiration for everything from Christmas cards with gnomes and pixies sheltering under its cap, to the trim on Santa Claus's suit, to the power-up mushroom in Mario Bros. and its spinoff games. The lack of a ring on the stem is probably weather-related; they can be quite flimsy.
And your instincts were correct, this one is toxic. Not lethally so, as a rule, but definitely not one worth bringing home.
@ Jim — Sunak described Starmer as a “decent, public-spirited man who I respect.”
Irrespective of your views on Sunak and the Tories. This is how the transfer of power should happen.
A very good speech from Starmer outside Downing Street. Liked the magnanimous comments about Sunak, and the pledge to serve the whole country not party interests. The Starmer era begins on a positive note.
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