Honey fungus with brains growing out of the middle?

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by Geoff23

Is this thread being boycotted because I am threatening to eat russulas or is nobody interested or does nobody know the answer?

plenty of people have looked at this thread so I wouldn't worry

ultimately this is all about agarics behaving atypically, but that is a very frequent phenomenon - I have seen examples of numerous species where one fruit-body has appeared upside-down on top of another, with the gills pointing upwards (including in shops in the past although of course nowadays every mushroom sold has to conform to strict dimension rules)

it's to do with the way that this particular group of fungi (the "mushrooms/toadstools") develop - they're all over the place, give me fungi that grow in a way that you can identify and therefore understand them - these lumbering macro's can vary a lot - hence all the posts of honey fungus in its different guises recently . . .

I am genuinely puzzled as to what you mean by "boycotted" - there's a limit to what can be said about what are basically freakish growths - a bit interesting but not significant at all really - rather like going on about a bird with a deformed beak . . . - the response begged tends to be . . . . and?

Chris

[Geoff23]

Originally Posted by Chris Yeates

I am genuinely puzzled as to what you mean by "boycotted" - there's a limit to what can be said about what are basically freakish growths - a bit interesting but not significant at all really - rather like going on about a bird with a deformed beak . . . - the response begged tends to be . . . . and?

I am not a mycologist, but I am interested in fungi, and not just so I can eat them. I have learned a bit more from your answer. When I initially posted this thread, I had no idea how interesting or rare they might be. Then more than one person made posts that indicated to me that they actually might be quite interesting, somebody bothered to take a sample and look at them and then he appeared to not be able to understand what he was looking at and asked anyone for their thoughts. Nobody posted any thoughts.

I also think it ought to be perfectly obvious what "boycotted" means. I am a forager and this board is clearly a place where people who forage for mushrooms are not welcome.

[TeresaW]

Geoff, I really think you are taking things a little too personally. This particular thread is about your unusual fungus, why would anybody boycott it because of your other, unrelated thread?

I think if you look back through the threads on the fungi forum, you'll find plenty of others discussing the edibility of fungi, or whether it is believed to be ethical or not, or even where decent crops might be. In fact there have been a few this week, along with yours.

As for the person who kindly bothered to stop and take a sample, maybe there is a little more than meets the average eye to the deformity that will need a more scientific explanation. Nothing personal against you at all.

You've had a better response than on many threads, and you've brought an interesting topic to the fore again. But as someone else said, until or unless it is investigated more throuroughly, there isn't much more to be said about it.

[Geoff23]

I understand...perhaps took it the wrong way. I've met mycologists before who don't like foragers - not hugely surprising really.

[RobSutton]

Does anyone else find the idea of Honey Fungus with brains quite a scary idea. Aren't they already supposed to be one of the largest organisms on the planet and just think what they could do if they had brains as well Today the A23 near Crawley, tomorrow the world

[Geoff23]

Originally Posted by RobSutton

Does anyone else find the idea of Honey Fungus with brains quite a scary idea. Aren't they already supposed to be one of the largest organisms on the planet and just think what they could do if they had brains as well Today the A23 near Crawley, tomorrow the world

I did actually think about eating the brains, but you're right, it's just a bit too weird.

[stickman]

Hi all.

Indeed, after looking at said fungi, I'm still interested. I originally only posted because (for once) I thought I could answer someone's question:

Can a parasitic fungus be ruled out ?

But sadly, as is quite often the case, microscopy just opens up another bag of questions.

Cheers, Nick.

[fairplay]

I think Chris has indicated earlier on that this is just 'freakish growth' and that seems to rule out a parasite, so I guess we shall have to accept that.

Neil.