Mycology

This was a good chunk of the chickenfat, but the rest were more spread out.
Several other kinds of mushrooms are growing in abundance, too. I posted several of them in /c/Mushrooms before I discovered this community. Maybe you can help me ID some (read: most) of them! I may have also mis-ID'd some, too.

The first flush stopped with two pingpong sized fuzzy balls, after low oxy, high temperature thanks to a record summer.

This is the second flush. Probably got too moist and a bit too warm again because of a late heatwave. Any other guesses on why its so deformed?

Will make some battered wings from this :)

I had a bit of grain left during my last run, so I mixed the bits I had left.

This is interesting, actually. Over the next few months, I'll continue this experiment to see what grain mixes might work better for spawn.

While this wasn't a "proper" test, I had still hypothesized that the higher starch content in the popcorn would do better. I guess not.

I'll try and separate testing into different categories like starch content, moisture content, mycelium strain, etc. There is probably a ton more conditions to isolate as well.

Credit goes to @northamericanmyco (North American Mycological Association) on Instagram

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/7458945

Many mushroom identification and foraging books being sold on Amazon are likely generated by AI with no human authorship. These books could provide dangerous misinformation and potentially lead to deaths if people eat poisonous mushrooms based on the AI's inaccurate descriptions. Two New York mushroom societies have warned about the risks of AI-generated foraging guides. Experts note that safely identifying wild mushrooms requires careful research and experience that an AI system does not have. Amazon has since removed some books flagged as AI-generated, but more may exist. Detecting AI-generated books and authors can be difficult as the systems can fabricate author bios and images. Relying on multiple credible sources, as well as guidance from local foraging groups, is advised for safely pursuing mushroom foraging.

Found a big one this time. It's supposed to be edible but doesn't sound to tasty and is supposed to be gathered young.

Btw I love the English names, the German ones are often times very scientific/descriptive but don't evoke images like the English ones (there are exceptions of course).

Sorry for the mediocre image quality.. I didn't get the focus right.

Passed this on a backpacking trip in the Berkshires, northeast US. Very new to mushroom ID, but iNaturalist said it was Chicken of the Woods! Didn't try to eat it, but it was cool to find something potentially edible! I later spotted a ton more on fallen trees farther off trail.

West Germany

Found a mushroom growing up in a tree in my backyard. Curious to know what variety it is. Any information is appreciated!

We found a lot of that blue wood lying around before finding these little fellas that produce it.

I think it looks delicious though.

Hypholoma fasciculare

The edible species is Hypholoma capnoides which looks quite similar.