huge wild mushroom

[grumpymoe]

for the second time in less than 2 weeks, and almost in the identical spot....up pops this huge mushroom...overnight it easily doubled in size from a puffball like appearance...i can't seem to find any reference in identifying wild mushroom links...can anyone help? cider???its about 8-9 inches across with a pure white flesh                                                                                    [/img]     [/img].....grump.......      [/img]     [/img]..got a shot from underneath....its definetely a gilled shroom.....now since i posted the big one....just a couple of feet away....is another....in the early stage...i would expect that by tomorrow morning....it will be in the 5-6" range and more by tomorrow afternoon.....i've seen alot of wild ones...but this one i can't find in the references i've looked at.....grump                              [/img]

[fozsey]

WOW GM. Thats one BAM...Big *** Mushroom. I am going out on a limb here and assume that it isn't the eating kind...

[grumpymoe]

fozsey.....its about as big as i've seen....caution when it comes to shrooms...its not one i've ever observed before....but sure looks delectable...hope someone on the forum has seen it and knows what it its....grump...BTW...that's an 18" spruce tree trunk that its growing beside..

[Hookset]

Hello Alice, can you give me directions to Wonderland?  Ohh, just follow the rabbit... thanks.

[billditrite]

that will certainly make alice 10' tall...any hookah smoking caterpillers around?

[TroutFishingBear]

All i can say is wow

[Jigwiggler]

Grump, did you ever ID that whopper of a shroom?

[missfishylicious]

looks like (lepiota rachodes) when you bruise it is it yellow-orange (chlorophyllum molybdites) is poisonous this family has both poisonous and non poisonous species they sometimes form fairy rings in lawns .I'm not sure about it thou

[wet waders]

Sorry moe, don't know what they are.  Since we are on this topic, does anybody pick sheephead mushrooms?  Just wondering.

Wet Waders

[grumpymoe]

missy...this mushroom does not bruise....its pure white inside and smells edible...but no way until its positively identified....i believe its a birch bolete...but pretty much every web site you hit....you need to buy their book or products...i'm not that hungry yet... ......thats about as much as i know jigwiggler.....grump

[fozsey]

Ok, Moe,

Here is what I found.

This urban mushroom typically appears in late summer or early fall, in sawdust piles, on wood chips, around waste places or on stumps. It can be identified by its reddening, thick stem and its distinctive, reddish-scaled cap. It is an edible mushroom, but I strongly urge you to forget about eating it until you are an extremely confident mushroom identifier; there are a number of poisonous look-alikes. Additionally, its urban habitat frequently places it near roadways, which can mean toxicity from pollution.

Description:

Habitat: Gregarious in lawns and meadows, in sawdust piles or wood chips, near waste places, sometimes on stumps; late summer; widely distributed but primarily east of the Rocky Mountains.

Cap: 3-15 cm, oval when young, becoming convex to broadly convex or plane in age; dry; smooth becoming scaly, the scales reddish to reddish brown, the disc typically remaining smooth in age; whitish but reddening with maturity.

Gills: Free from the stem; white when young; staining pinkish to reddish brown; close.

Stem: 7-14 cm long; .5-2.5 cm thick; enlarged towards the base or spindle shaped; smooth; firm; white, but soon discoloring reddish to reddish brown; with a collarlike ring on the upper portion.

Here is a picture that they included with the description, but it doesn't look exactlly like yours. It is very close only a little darker in color. The description sounds right on.



HOLY SH**! That pic is big. Sorry, I took it off theri website. You can go to MushroomExpert.com and get a lot of information about mushrooms and even Morels.

[Skiff]

Hi fozsey - I checked out the Lepiota americana you identified, and thought grumpy's mushroom looked like a Lepiota when I checked my books also.  What I couldn't see from his photos was whether his had the ring on the upper stalk, and was hesitant to ID it, because of not seeing a diagnostic characteristic.  Like you said - there are a number of look-alikes that might be toxic, so grumpy should be really careful.

[grumpymoe]

thanks fozsey, monophil and missy...those pics look very similar....except the color hues are slightly darker in color.....more red/brown.....the ones growing and pictured seem to be more white.....no doubt its Lepiota...but which one.....there's now about a dozen or more in the same area......thanks....grump