Beautiful Blewit

Today I spent the majority of the sunlit hours wandering in Raccoon Creek State Park looking at the ground, you know...like you do.

The beautiful Blewit!

The first find was a little Clitocybe nuda, commonly known as a Blewit. They typically grow in numerous dispersed groups on the forest floor so I frantically scoured the area to no avail. It was a lonely little guy but boy was he tasty!  After confirming that I didn't inadvertently pick up the similar poisonous Cortinarius iodes by spore print. I saw a rosy white spore print as opposed to the dark rust of the Cort, so into the frying pan it went! It was one of the most delicious mushrooms I've ever tasted.  I'll definitely need more, good thing the season just started.

The beautifully bitter Gym

This guy was solo as well. At first glance I thought I had a Bolete by size, shape, and the look of the stem but there's gills under there. It tastes bitter and it's spore print is a rusty dark orange. After some digging and help from my online friends it was ID'd as Gymnopilus luteus. I'll not be eating this one.

So soft, you want to pet this one

These gorgeous velvety shelves are Ischnoderma resinosum.

Nope, not bubble gum.

This isn't candy sprinkles, it's Lycogala epidendrum or Wolf's blood slime mold. If you poke these bubbles, pink slime oozes out Ghostbusters II style. Actually looks kinda yummy, but I'll pass.

Root

This was a cool one. Xerula radicata is a rooted mushroom with a sturdy woody stipe. Supposedly it's an edible but I left it behind (I actually replanted it).

This little fuzzy guy is Tyromyces caesius or the Blue Cheese Fungus. No mystery there.