In article ,
Jan Flora wrote:

In article ,
Omelet wrote:

In article
,
Isabella Woodhouse wrote:

For positive ID, you need to get a spore print. Cut the stalk off a
mushroom cap; put the cap, gills down, on a piece of paper or half on a
dark piece of paper and half on a white piece of paper; put a bowl over
the 'shroom cap. Let it sit for awhile (up to 12 hours), then see what
color spores drop out of the cap.

Thanks so much for responding. These are not mushrooms. There are no
recognizable caps or gills. These things are huge. One is nearly the
size of a loaf of bread.... and growing.

Or if you have a natural history museum or college with a
biology/botany/horticulture dept. in your area, bring them a 'shroom
for
ID. There will be someone around who's a fan of fungi who will know
what
it is.

Thanks.

Could be a puffball!!! Those are edible, but I'd want to be sure.

A true puffball will be solid inside, like a marshmallow, when you cut
it in half. An immature amanita can have a little fetal looking thing
inside. The amanitas are deadly poison. Puffballs are good eating if you
pick them when they're really fresh. (We have puffballs all over the
place here.)

Never eat a 'shroom that you aren't sure of. It's not worth the risk.

Jan

Absolutely. :-)

BTW, Amanita muscaria is NOT deadly poison...

but it's better to let the reindeer eat it first. g
--
Peace! Om

"Crime does not pay as well as Politics".
-- Anon.

In article ,
"Steve Peek" wrote:

Look at species Ganoderma for starters.
Steve

Thank you for that tip! I did find it on wikipedia and, while I'm not
sure it's the right group, it did lead me to find a wealth of pics.
These two somewhat resemble the ones in my garden:

http://www.shortcourses.com/naturelog/fungi04.jpg

http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20p?see=I_JP1510&res=640

What a fascinating array of fungi I've seen.

Isabella
--
"I will show you fear in a handful of dust"
-T.S. Eliot

In article ,
Jan Flora wrote:

Look up "birch conk" or "artist's conk." IIRC, that's what Steve means
by the Latin name he gave you. Something along those lines. Here's some
pictures/photos of conks:

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/bracfung.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingzhi

http://www.mushroomthejournal.com/st...amushroom.html

Sorry about sending you a bummer link... I was trying to do three
things at once and didn't chase any of those links on that site to make
sure they were good or worked.

A funny looking thing that doesn't look like a mushroom is still a
fungi, just not what you think of as a mushroom.

What sort of wood is it growing on? That's always a big clue with fungi.

I posted a couple of pics, from the web of what they look like, in
another post. My DH is coming home tonight (with the camera), so I'll
try to take some pics tomorrow. My main concern was if we were doing
something wrong in the garden to cause these fungi to grow. And I
thought if I at least knew the fungi type, that might give me a clue.

I can't see that they are attached to wood but they are growing at the
base of our wood bean poles. Soft wood I imagine--- pine, spruce? Mr.
Bill bought the stakes at the lumber yard. I can ask him that tonight.

Thanks again for the help. What a fascinating topic.

Isabella
--
"I will show you fear in a handful of dust"
-T.S. Eliot

In article ,
Wilson wrote:

Isabella, even with the best pictures, if you could find them, won't be
enough to correctly identify any mushroom except some of those with unique
structures. But, we could be of a lot more help if you could post a picture
at any one of dozens of free sites. No plug intended, but I set up an
account at http://good-times.webshots.com/ with little trouble and have room
for many postings.

Yes, I have a webshots account. But like I said in my original post, my
husband is out of town with the camera.
--
"I will show you fear in a handful of dust"
-T.S. Eliot

In article ,
Jan Flora wrote:

A true puffball will be solid inside, like a marshmallow, when you cut
it in half. An immature amanita can have a little fetal looking thing
inside. The amanitas are deadly poison. Puffballs are good eating if you
pick them when they're really fresh. (We have puffballs all over the
place here.)

Never eat a 'shroom that you aren't sure of. It's not worth the risk.

Jan

I definitely would not. My husband had a bad experience in college---
extremely ill for days--- from mushrooms picked by a friend who claimed
he knew what he was doing.

When I lived in Ohio, we had a lot of puffballs. My dad ate wild
mushrooms a lot (picked by a friend). I was wary even then.

Isabella
--
"I will show you fear in a handful of dust"
-T.S. Eliot

In article ,
Pat Kiewicz wrote:

Isabella Woodhouse said:

Out picking beans yesterday, I noted the appearance of three huge fungi,
one at the inner base of each pole, on one "teepee" of my pole beans.
This is the first I noticed them so I have no idea how long they've been
there. Seems like it can't be too long since I pick beans at least
every other day. I've searched and searched but cannot seem to find a
pictorial database of fungi so I can identify these critters. They are
a mottle ecru and light adobe color and look similar to those oyster
fungi in that they are kind of layered. But I can't be sure what (or
why) they are since I can't seem to find a large library of pics for
comparison.

Maybe something like hen-of-the woods, or some other type of
shelf fungus?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maitake -- these can get huge

Those are indeed beautiful but are not the ones. I'm far more curious
than worried. I don't want them taking over the garden.... lol....
attack of the killer fungi! And there's that story about that man who
merely inhaled spores and it killed him. That'll give you pause.

Izzy
--
"I will show you fear in a handful of dust"
-T.S. Eliot

Heck, and I always thought they were one and the same.

"This is a free country, young man."

"Yup, were free to do exactly what we are told."

In article ,
Tim Perry wrote:

'Omelet[_4_ Wrote:


"Crime does not pay as well as Politics".
-- Anon.

Heck, and I always thought they were one and the same.

"This is a free country, young man."

"Yup, were free to do exactly what we are told."

How do you tell when a politician is lying?

Their lips are moving. ;-)
--
Peace! Om

"Crime does not pay as well as Politics".
-- Anon.

Well the camera made it home but I can't find the darn cable so I can
upload the pics. LOL, it figures. The beans are still growing well
despite those gigantic fungi so I'm not going to sweat it at this busy
time. In fact, I put up another 7# of beans this morning. I sure do
appreciate all the ideas, links and suggestions, though. I had no idea
there were so many kinds of fungi. Good grief it's really amazing.
Thanks again.

Isabella
--
"I will show you fear in a handful of dust"
-T.S. Eliot

In article
,
Isabella Woodhouse wrote:

Well the camera made it home but I can't find the darn cable so I can
upload the pics. LOL, it figures. The beans are still growing well
despite those gigantic fungi so I'm not going to sweat it at this busy
time. In fact, I put up another 7# of beans this morning. I sure do
appreciate all the ideas, links and suggestions, though. I had no idea
there were so many kinds of fungi. Good grief it's really amazing.
Thanks again.

Isabella

The number of variety of fungi is still being discovered afaik. g

I agree, they are amazing!

Look at some books by http://www.fungiperfecti.com

http://fungiperfecti.com/books/index.html

They have outdoor mushroom patches, as well as indoor patches and
"seedings" for deadwood etc. And all for reasonable prices...

I'm a real mushroom fan. They are a real bargain in nutrition.
--
Peace! Om

"If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed." --Mark Twain

In article ,
Omelet wrote:

In article
,
Isabella Woodhouse wrote:

Well the camera made it home but I can't find the darn cable so I can
upload the pics. LOL, it figures. The beans are still growing well
despite those gigantic fungi so I'm not going to sweat it at this busy
time. In fact, I put up another 7# of beans this morning. I sure do
appreciate all the ideas, links and suggestions, though. I had no idea
there were so many kinds of fungi. Good grief it's really amazing.
Thanks again.

Isabella

The number of variety of fungi is still being discovered afaik. g

I agree, they are amazing!

Look at some books by http://www.fungiperfecti.com

http://fungiperfecti.com/books/index.html

They have outdoor mushroom patches, as well as indoor patches and
"seedings" for deadwood etc. And all for reasonable prices...

I'm a real mushroom fan. They are a real bargain in nutrition.

Ps, I keep my cable in the bag with my camera. g
--
Peace! Om

"If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed." --Mark Twain

In article ,
Omelet wrote:

In article
,
Isabella Woodhouse wrote:

Well the camera made it home but I can't find the darn cable so I can
upload the pics. LOL, it figures. The beans are still growing well
despite those gigantic fungi so I'm not going to sweat it at this busy
time. In fact, I put up another 7# of beans this morning. I sure do
appreciate all the ideas, links and suggestions, though. I had no idea
there were so many kinds of fungi. Good grief it's really amazing.
Thanks again.

Isabella

The number of variety of fungi is still being discovered afaik. g

I agree, they are amazing!

Look at some books by http://www.fungiperfecti.com

http://fungiperfecti.com/books/index.html

They have outdoor mushroom patches, as well as indoor patches and
"seedings" for deadwood etc. And all for reasonable prices...

I'm a real mushroom fan. They are a real bargain in nutrition.

Thanks!
--
"I will show you fear in a handful of dust"
-T.S. Eliot

In article ,
Omelet wrote:

Ps, I keep my cable in the bag with my camera. g

It's gotta be in my office somewhere--- probably buried under all my
preserving books and recipes. Not enough hours in the day right now.
--
"I will show you fear in a handful of dust"
-T.S. Eliot

In article
,
Isabella Woodhouse wrote:

In article ,
Omelet wrote:

In article
,
Isabella Woodhouse wrote:

Well the camera made it home but I can't find the darn cable so I can
upload the pics. LOL, it figures. The beans are still growing well
despite those gigantic fungi so I'm not going to sweat it at this busy
time. In fact, I put up another 7# of beans this morning. I sure do
appreciate all the ideas, links and suggestions, though. I had no idea
there were so many kinds of fungi. Good grief it's really amazing.
Thanks again.

Isabella

The number of variety of fungi is still being discovered afaik. g

I agree, they are amazing!

Look at some books by http://www.fungiperfecti.com

http://fungiperfecti.com/books/index.html

They have outdoor mushroom patches, as well as indoor patches and
"seedings" for deadwood etc. And all for reasonable prices...

I'm a real mushroom fan. They are a real bargain in nutrition.

Thanks!

Welcome. :-)

I'm a real Stamets fan. He's done some amazing research. Seems a lot of
the wood consumers, especially polypores, have some anti-cancer activity.

He sells Turkey Tail patches and tea made from those is supposed to be
anti-carcinogenic.
--
Peace! Om

"If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed." --Mark Twain

In article
,
Isabella Woodhouse wrote:

In article ,
Omelet wrote:

Ps, I keep my cable in the bag with my camera. g

It's gotta be in my office somewhere--- probably buried under all my
preserving books and recipes. Not enough hours in the day right now.

There never are... lol
--
Peace! Om

"If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed." --Mark Twain