Honey fungus with brains growing out of the middle?

[Geoff23]

Sorry...not a photographer and didn't have a camera, can go back tommorow if worth bothering.

Today I found enough honey fungus to fill a bin-liner, growing in a space of about 20 square metres in about ten large clumps. Two of these groups initially didn't look like honey fungus at all because growing out of the caps were golf-ball-sized things which looked like brains.

Is this just another variation of honey fungus, or were these mutants worth me going to get a photo of?

[Geoff23]

I'll take that as a "nobody knows what you're talking about", right?

[TeresaW]

It's different Geoff, a photo would be good, just to see if there isn't another species growing in the same place, or an aberration of the honey fungus. It's difficult to tell without a photo.

Not many fungi people around at midnight, and they're probably all out and about at this time. They'll be back later I'm sure.

[gleditsa]

Originally Posted by Geoff23

I'll take that as a "nobody knows what you're talking about", right?

Hi Geoff, please dont take this as any kind of criticism, its more a case of " nobody can see what you're talking about"
if you can get a picture and post it here, you will get a better response to your query,
it may be something very interesting, but without a picture, there is nothing to go on,

regards,
j.

[yorkshireTrev]

Hi Geoff, i'd go back and take some pictures, im sure honey fungus grows mainly on living & dead trees/stumps. Its alot easier to identify something with pictures, i'll eat my hat if someone on here can't id it for you

Make sure you get get good closeup shots of both the above and below and if it does turn out to be a bin liners worth of honey fungus - you lucky begger

Trev

[TeresaW]

Lucky as long as it's not in his garden

[fairplay]

Hello Geoff,

I too, urge you to send in some photos as this could be something new to science even.

There is a very strange, rare fungus called Syzygospora tumefaciens which grows out of the caps and on the stems of Collybia species.
This is a pale yellow jelly type fungus which could be described as brain like, but I doubt is what you have on your Honey Fungus.

So yes, please send in a photo (lots !) as this could be important.

Neil.

[gleditsa]

Originally Posted by TeresaW

Lucky as long as it's not in his garden

very lucky! , i have had it it my garden where it has already killed one silver birch,
when we first moved here around 20 years ago the garden was just a wasteland of weeds with one tree, a dead apple tree, when we dug it out there were bucketfuls of the "black bootlaces" of honey fungus on the roots and in the surrounding soil, despite excavating all around the tree and removing all the rhizomes, (at the time we thought we had got it all ) it reappeared about 15 years later at the base of the birch, which was 20 /30 yards away from the site of the apple tree, (the birch around 20 ft tall) gradually withered away in about two years and is now just a dead stump, there is no way i can dig out the rhizomes now due to construction of pond/walling/ patio/ trees etc, so i can expect more trees to succumb to the honey fungus at some time in the future

j.

[Geoff23]

Originally Posted by TeresaW

It's different Geoff, a photo would be good, just to see if there isn't another species growing in the same place, or an aberration of the honey fungus. It's difficult to tell without a photo.

It's not another fungus, unless this fungus is a parasite. The brain-like growths were coming straight out of the caps.

There were a few common ink caps in the vicinity, but nothing else.

[Geoff23]

Originally Posted by yorkshireTrev

Hi Geoff, i'd go back and take some pictures, im sure honey fungus grows mainly on living & dead trees/stumps. Its alot easier to identify something with pictures, i'll eat my hat if someone on here can't id it for you

Make sure you get get good closeup shots of both the above and below and if it does turn out to be a bin liners worth of honey fungus - you lucky begger

I tried some yesterday (haven't tried eating honey fungus before). I boiled them for a minute before frying them. I thought they were rather slimy and not so good to eat....but I guess food is food.