Here are some new finds from a recent trip to Wisconsin for #fungifriday by @ewkaw
I found quite a few tiny elf cups. These are only about a quarter inch in diameter.
These are technically edible but have no taste. They are mostly used as garnish for fancy meals.
Here is a matching critter next to the elf cups. A red velvet mite. He could be quite camouflage inside the elf cup.
I found some peziza fungi growing on a rotting log.
From a distance I thought they might be wood ear.
As I found more on the log I noticed their shape and texture wasn't wood ear at all.
My best guess is that this is Peziza repanda, technically edible but bland and tasteless with a brittle texture.
Later on I spotted my favorite edible fungi, chicken of the woods.
Sadly these were high up in the tree and might of been a bit too old to try and harvest anyway.
I also spotted this weird cryptid creature staring at me in the forest. It kind of reminds me of the main character from the movie "The Goonies". Maybe it was begging me to pick off all the mushrooms slowly eating away at its trunk.
The poor guy had golden oysters hatching out of his trunk. This is a clump just starting to pin.
And some fully grown ones towards the ground. These were harvested and cooked with a nice pork loin. They absorbed the flavors of the peppered pork loin and worked well in gravy over mashed potatoes, almost as good a prize as chicken of the woods.
Happy #fungifriday :-)
Wow nicw ;))
Thanks, got a good meal out of the oysters too.
That little bugger is like a perfect match!
Awesome red colour... on both :)
I wish I lugged my macro lens with me for that red mite. I found these on a 6 mile hike up one of the bluffs on the side of the Mississippi river. Next time I find one I'll bring it home for a macro photoshoot. They are really fuzzy.
Also I need a large plush pillow in the shape of one of these red mites lol.
I see those small regular (I guess) on the plants around at this time of the year. A true infestation in some places! But they are not fuzzy.
Now you are talking! :D
That would be so cool.
Yeah the little teeny tiny ones are always on my balcony eating my plants. I think they are red spider mites Tetranychus urticae.
Yeaa I have those on my balcony too sometimes. They make the damage even if I don't see them.
The red one is very beautiful. I never found that kind of mushroom. seems to need a macro lens to shoot.
Yeah they are very tiny, there is a larger variant of this elf cup that is bigger but it tends to curl up more like the pezizas below it.
Wow.
Your mushroom problem is extraordinary.
Everything you show is very good.
I wish I could have harvested the ones high up in the tree, but they might have been too dried out.
Yes.
hopefully you can use it even though it's starting to dry.
I have tried doing that once before but unfortunately its like eat dried wood lol. The best you can do is to boil them then use the broth for a soup and throw away the mushroom. The broth gets their taste and works well for a soup.
lol.
That's a great idea too.
The important thing is that it can be used.
Amazing shots!
Thanks, the oysters tasted amazing as well.
Yes, last year I harvested these mushrooms for the first time and checked it myself)
Hopefully they aren't too spongy after freezing. Or did you cook them then freeze them afterwards?
I freeze the mushrooms after boiling, it's more convenient, and they take up less space)
Yeah that's the trick, I do that with chicken of the woods. Next time I find some dryad's I'll give cooking and freezing a try.
I wish you a good harvest!
Great photos!
You took two targets with one "shot": a red mite and a red mushroom! Great!
Next time I find one I'll bring it home for a proper photoshoot. Quite fuzzy when looking at them close-up.
Looks like velvet :-)
Very soft little guys