Gymnopilus junoniusSome fungi look so impressive you would think detailed observation and a good man
Gymnopilus junoniusSome fungi look so impressive you would think detailed observation and a good manual with keys will be enough to find out their identity, but this was further from the truth for this species, which kept me puzzled for months. When I finally gave up and submitted photos and info to the British Mycological Society, it turned out to be a fairly common one, generally known as laughing gym or spectacular rustgill. Widely distributed around the world, it is a saprobic fungus often found in large colonies on the wood of conifers. Its fruiting bodies emerge from the long-lived mycelium every autumn and can grow fairly large: the cap of the ones you see in the first photo were slightly larger than the palm of my hand, probably around 15 cm across.I haven’t really been able to find anything regarding practical uses, but it’s decidedly inedible and more or less toxic and hallucinogenic depending on subspecies and origin. -- source link
#gymnopilus junonius#cortinariaceae#laughing gym#spectacular rustgill#mushrooms#mycology#woodland#scotland#autumn#saprobic fungi#plantblr