Just his last week I've seen in both my own and a friend's garden a
nasty mushroom/fungus - about 4" across - that has a stalk but looks
like brains or tripe. Fairly gross anyway. Anyone recognise it from my
description ?

I'm always in a dilemma about fungus. Do you leave them be ? Dig them in
? Remove and compost ? Remove and bin ?

Anyone out there with expertise in these matters ?

"Joe Bloggs" wrote in message
...

(CROSTPOSTED TO ANOTHER APPROPRIATE FORUM)

Just his last week I've seen in both my own and a friend's garden a
nasty mushroom/fungus - about 4" across - that has a stalk but looks
like brains or tripe. Fairly gross anyway. Anyone recognise it from my
description ?

I'm always in a dilemma about fungus. Do you leave them be ? Dig them in
? Remove and compost ? Remove and bin ?

Anyone out there with expertise in these matters ?

Looks like brains or tripe? Have you considered that it might be a morel?
Don't eat any until you're completely sure and have checked the ID, as some
other species have been mistaken for a morel and are very poisonous... Look
here for a start.

http://www.bright.net/~wildwood/

I would personally just leave it be. But then I'm a mycophile

The message
from Joe Bloggs contains these words:

Just his last week I've seen in both my own and a friend's garden a
nasty mushroom/fungus - about 4" across - that has a stalk but looks
like brains or tripe. Fairly gross anyway. Anyone recognise it from my
description ?

I'm always in a dilemma about fungus. Do you leave them be ? Dig them in
? Remove and compost ? Remove and bin ?

Anyone out there with expertise in these matters ?

Like brains, i.e., rounded and sinuous folds, it sounds like a false
morel, Gyromytra esculenta. Despite its specific name, do not be tempted
to eat it. Raw, it is deadly, and even cooked its remaining poison(s)
is/are believed to be cumulative.

Like tripe, i.e., a bit like a sponge on a stalk, it sounds like a morel
- several varieties exist, and are good to eat. Excellent, in fact.

I suggest you go the the library and take out Mushrooms and other Fungi
of the British Isles by Roger Phillips. (ISBN 0-330-26441-9)

If you find it is the latter, feel very lucky, and leave them. Was there
ever a fire where they grow?

--
Tony
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Viz Gyromytra esculenta ( Turban Fungus ):-
"Uncommon but can be mistaken for Morel, and is deadly poisonous.
The broad, fist-shaped,deeply lobed brain-like, red-brown cap is divided
internally into a number of hollow chambers. The short, creamy-brown stalk
is externally furrowed and internally hollowed into several chambers. It is
fragile in texture. Habitat coniferous woods, less rare in Scotland, season
spring to early summer. Size, cap 2"-6", stem 2-5cm x 2-3cm. Sporeprint
cream."

As for the commom Morel, it seems more likely that is what you have. It has
a
more cellular appearance than the turban fungus, like large open-celled foam
nor
honeycomb, "pale brown to grey ( darker when old )". The habitat is
"well-drained
soil, usually under broad-leaved trees in woodland edges, hedgerows and
gardens".
The season is April to May. The sporeprint is also cream. "The pale ochre
stem is
grooved near its base and has a single hollow chamber".

Sounds as though a slice through the stem and a slice through the cap would
be a
good diagnostic test. Let us know if you come to a conslusion as to what it
is.

Andy

"Anthony E Anson" wrote in message
...
The message
from Joe Bloggs contains these words:

Just his last week I've seen in both my own and a friend's garden a
nasty mushroom/fungus - about 4" across - that has a stalk but looks
like brains or tripe. Fairly gross anyway. Anyone recognise it from my
description ?

I'm always in a dilemma about fungus. Do you leave them be ? Dig them in
? Remove and compost ? Remove and bin ?

Anyone out there with expertise in these matters ?

Like brains, i.e., rounded and sinuous folds, it sounds like a false
morel, Gyromytra esculenta. Despite its specific name, do not be tempted
to eat it. Raw, it is deadly, and even cooked its remaining poison(s)
is/are believed to be cumulative.

Like tripe, i.e., a bit like a sponge on a stalk, it sounds like a morel
- several varieties exist, and are good to eat. Excellent, in fact.

I suggest you go the the library and take out Mushrooms and other Fungi
of the British Isles by Roger Phillips. (ISBN 0-330-26441-9)

If you find it is the latter, feel very lucky, and leave them. Was there
ever a fire where they grow?

--
Tony
Replace solidi with dots to reply: tony/anson snailything zetnet/co/uk

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi

Sorry, it looked so gross, like something that had died, that thoughts of eating
it were not on the agenda at all.
I was more concerned to find out if it was related to honeyfungus and would do
damage to my shrubs.


andrewpreece wrote:

Viz Gyromytra esculenta ( Turban Fungus ):-
"Uncommon but can be mistaken for Morel, and is deadly poisonous.
The broad, fist-shaped,deeply lobed brain-like, red-brown cap is divided
internally into a number of hollow chambers. The short, creamy-brown stalk
is externally furrowed and internally hollowed into several chambers. It is
fragile in texture. Habitat coniferous woods, less rare in Scotland, season
spring to early summer. Size, cap 2"-6", stem 2-5cm x 2-3cm. Sporeprint
cream."

As for the commom Morel, it seems more likely that is what you have. It has
a
more cellular appearance than the turban fungus, like large open-celled foam
nor
honeycomb, "pale brown to grey ( darker when old )". The habitat is
"well-drained
soil, usually under broad-leaved trees in woodland edges, hedgerows and
gardens".
The season is April to May. The sporeprint is also cream. "The pale ochre
stem is
grooved near its base and has a single hollow chamber".

Sounds as though a slice through the stem and a slice through the cap would
be a
good diagnostic test. Let us know if you come to a conslusion as to what it
is.

Andy

"Anthony E Anson" wrote in message
...
The message
from Joe Bloggs contains these words:

Just his last week I've seen in both my own and a friend's garden a
nasty mushroom/fungus - about 4" across - that has a stalk but looks
like brains or tripe. Fairly gross anyway. Anyone recognise it from my
description ?

I'm always in a dilemma about fungus. Do you leave them be ? Dig them in
? Remove and compost ? Remove and bin ?

Anyone out there with expertise in these matters ?

Like brains, i.e., rounded and sinuous folds, it sounds like a false
morel, Gyromytra esculenta. Despite its specific name, do not be tempted
to eat it. Raw, it is deadly, and even cooked its remaining poison(s)
is/are believed to be cumulative.

Like tripe, i.e., a bit like a sponge on a stalk, it sounds like a morel
- several varieties exist, and are good to eat. Excellent, in fact.

I suggest you go the the library and take out Mushrooms and other Fungi
of the British Isles by Roger Phillips. (ISBN 0-330-26441-9)

If you find it is the latter, feel very lucky, and leave them. Was there
ever a fire where they grow?

--
Tony
Replace solidi with dots to reply: tony/anson snailything zetnet/co/uk

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi

"Joe Bloggs" wrote in message
...
Sorry, it looked so gross, like something that had died, that thoughts of
eating
it were not on the agenda at all.
I was more concerned to find out if it was related to honeyfungus and
would do
damage to my shrubs.

Hmmm... Honey fungus. Some people find it really rather indigestible. I
personally like it with chicken in pie.

The message
from "Colin Davidson" contains these words:
"Joe Bloggs" wrote in message
...
Sorry, it looked so gross, like something that had died, that thoughts of
eating
it were not on the agenda at all.
I was more concerned to find out if it was related to honeyfungus and
would do
damage to my shrubs.

Hmmm... Honey fungus. Some people find it really rather indigestible. I
personally like it with chicken in pie.

The young caps pickle nicely.

--
Tony
Replace solidi with dots to reply: tony/anson snailything zetnet/co/uk

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi

In article , Joe Bloggs writes
Sorry, it looked so gross, like something that had died, that thoughts of eating
it were not on the agenda at all.
I was more concerned to find out if it was related to honeyfungus and would do
damage to my shrubs.

Not honey fungus, which actually is quite an attractive fungus.

Remember honey fungus is pretty common in our woodlands - I'm never sure
whether it warrants the amount of fear it generates. If it is *that*
devastating, how come we have *any* natural woodland left? Why hasn't it
all been destroyed by the honey fungus?
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

"Kay Easton" wrote in message
...

Not honey fungus, which actually is quite an attractive fungus.

Remember honey fungus is pretty common in our woodlands - I'm never sure
whether it warrants the amount of fear it generates. If it is *that*
devastating, how come we have *any* natural woodland left? Why hasn't it
all been destroyed by the honey fungus?

When honey fungus gets into a forestry plantation it can, over the course of
a few years, be quite devastating. It doesn't have the same affect in
woodlands normally because it's not equally good at attacking each tree, the
trees have evolved in parallel with it. But it doesn have an impact.

"Anthony E Anson" wrote in message
...

Hmmm... Honey fungus. Some people find it really rather indigestible. I
personally like it with chicken in pie.

The young caps pickle nicely.

I've never pickled them, but I might try that 'cos they don't dry very well.
Picked a batch of chicken of the woods fungus recently. Looks like cubes of
flesh in a jar, but tastes great.

The message
from "Colin Davidson" contains these words:

I've never pickled them, but I might try that 'cos they don't dry very well.
Picked a batch of chicken of the woods fungus recently. Looks like cubes of
flesh in a jar, but tastes great.

I often dry mushrooms which don't rehydrate well. I grind them to a
coarse meal in a coffee grinder and add them to soups, stews, casseroles
etc.

Powdered dried honey fungus is marvellous for thickening a dish, but if
you're not careful can give it a slimy texture too.

--
Tony
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"Anthony E Anson" wrote in message
...

I often dry mushrooms which don't rehydrate well. I grind them to a
coarse meal in a coffee grinder and add them to soups, stews, casseroles
etc.

I've done that with dried chicken of the woods and other dried polypores,
but as I think one of the finest qualities of these mushrooms is their meaty
texture I think that's a shame. For those ones I find freezing better. I
normally only dry mushrooms that rehydrate well in stews and soups (so the
last batch I dried was Saint Georges mushrooms).

Powdered dried honey fungus is marvellous for thickening a dish, but if
you're not careful can give it a slimy texture too.

A good idea. I might try it. Currently I'm using my experimental dried giant
puffball chunks in more or less that way, and they impart a tremendous
flavour to a dish.

The message
from "Colin Davidson" contains these words:

Powdered dried honey fungus is marvellous for thickening a dish, but if
you're not careful can give it a slimy texture too.

A good idea. I might try it. Currently I'm using my experimental dried giant
puffball chunks in more or less that way, and they impart a tremendous
flavour to a dish.

I had a good haul of Scleroderma aurentium last year and while mildly
poisonous, used in moderation it gives the flavour of truffles to a
dish.

I've a batch of scleroderma-flavoured olive oil which is rather pleasant.

--
Tony
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