Dave W

The cap colors --somewhat zonate-- reminded me of appalachiensis I have found here in PA. Color of stalks and fertile surfaces is more in line with tubaeformis, as is the habitat. I agree, tubaeformis is a better possibility here.

I think these are a species of Hypholoma. Spore print is dark grayish/purplish-brown for Hypholoma, and white for Armillaria (Honeys).

My dad used to call Popinkies (Honeys/Armillaria) "stumpies". I don't think he was referring to any particular color/species, just the ones that grew on stumps/trees. Correlating "common" names with scientific names is a dubious pursuit. But, the ones you show here are not A. mellea. A. gallica...? maybe. The way to determine gallica is that the partial veil is flimsy, structured like a cortina (sorta like a cobweb). A. solidipes is another species name to consider for these. Yup, the result of the species Entoloma abortivum is to parasitize Armillaria mushrooms and turn them into the whitish blobs as seen in the one photo.

These look to be kinda on the old/dried side. The dark staining may not set in like with fresh material.

Grifola porter... health-food beer! Can't go wrong there :-) I harvest only young/firm Armillaria, preferably ones with the cottony partial veil still intact.

And... regarding spore prints, when taken on a porous piece of paper, the paper may absorb moisture form the mushroom, and this can throw off the perceived color of the print. A hard non-porous surface --white and black-- is best. But glossy paper will do. Also, you may take a print on a glass microscope slide and then position the slide over white/black paper to view the print. The drawback with this method is that if the print is not sufficiently thick, it can be difficult to get a good read on color. Actually, another possibility comes to mind for the ID here... a species of Laccaria. These types have mainly white prints, sometimes with a very pale lilac tint. But, my guess is still L. tarda.

I don't often find tabescens up here. But I ran across a massive tabescens fruiting last week. Like I do with the ringed types --mellea, gallica, solidipes, etc.-- I took only the young firm ones (buttons). I boiled/froze about a dozen portions and reserved one small batch of par-boiled ones that I used in Beef Stroganoff. Both my wife and I thought they were really good... tasted pretty much the same as the ringed types and with a similar texture.

Thanks for sharing your results, thewildyam. Actually, I also made Beef Stroganof the the other day. I used Armillaria tabescens, the "Ringless Honey Mushroom" in mine.

I think these are Entoloma abortivum, the "Aborted Entoloma" mushroom. Are there also whitish blobs nearby on the ground? If so --and I think I may see some in the photos-- then the blobs are deformed Armillaria mushrooms... parasitized by the Entoloma fungus which also produces the (healthy) grayish mushrooms. Entoloma abortivum and Clitopilus prunulus (Sweetbread) are easily confused. Each type has decurrent gills, a pink spore print, and the odor of each is similar to the other. Sweetbread Mushrooms tend to be white-capped, and E. abortivum tends to have a grayish cap. Viewing the spores at 400x with a microscope would settle any doubt. Entolomas have distinctively angular spores. Entomola abortivum is one of very few Entoloma species that's edible. Most Entolomas are toxic.

These are not a type of Yellow Chanterelle (various different species from genus Cantharellus). But I think they are a species of Cantharellus (same genus as Yellow Chanterelles). My guess is they are Cantharellus appalachiensis http://www.mushroomexpert.com/cantharellus_appalachiensis.html . Another possibility for the species is Craterellus tubaeformis, the "Trumpet Chanterelle". I have eaten tubaeformis but not appalachiensis.

It's almost certainly one of the "Varnished Ganodermas"... Reishi. MushroomExpert says G. tsugae occurs in NA on both eastern hemlock and western hemlock. ME also suggests that G. tsugae and G. oregonense may actually be the same species. The most important difference ME sites is the spore size, which would require 400x magnification (microscope) and a measuring device (micrometer). Mattsutake, do you know the type of tree it's growing on?

Nice post, BastedBrew. I like the photo-documentation of the Armillaria --Honey Mushrooms. The partial veil covering the gills --seen in both their entirety and in profile when the Honey Mushroom is sectioned-- is a trait missing from the Jack 'o Lantern mushrooms (Omphalotus illudens). Also, the sectioned Honey Mushroom shows the structure of the stalk, a whitish pithy internal stuffing surrounded by a darker "skin" that's fibrous/tougher. These Honeys are in prime condition, buttons with the partial veils intact. The quality of Armillaria diminishes as the mushrooms mature beyond this point. I recommend par-boiling Armillaria before preparing as part of a meal. And, if you've never previously eaten them, try a small amount that's thoroughly cooked to see if you may have a sensitivity to them. Some people experience a very unpleasant reaction to eating Armillaria... possibly --in at least some cases-- due to the mushrooms not being cooked long enough. Also, long slow cooking tends to make the caps less slimy/slippery.

I have eaten the caps of C. rhacodes. Not my favorite edible mushroom, but good. One person I know makes mini-pizzas out of the expanded caps. Another C. rhacodes trait is that the flesh in the stalk turns reddish after it's cut.

The Hypomyces attacks the Amanita mushroom as soon as the Amanita pops out of the ground. So it's often the case that the Amanita host mushroom is never seen as a healthy entity readily identifiable as an Amanita.

I think these may be Black-staining Polypore, Meripilus sumstinei. The fronds are large and these look like they've been in this spot for awhile. Meripilus sumstinei occurs throughout the summer into the fall. If you cut off a frond of M. sumstinei and rub it, it will slowly darken. Grifola frondosa --Sheepshead-- does not start to fruit until the latter part of August.

I think this is an example of Clitocybe tarda (=Lepista tarda... aka Lepista sordida). If I'm correct, then the spore print will be pale fleshy-pink, not a lot different than white, best seen on a white background. The "Blewit", Lepista nuda looks similar and has the same color spore print as L. tarda, but with gills that are spaced more closely. Also, some species of Cortinarius look similar to this. These types have spore print color ranging from rusty-brown to rusty-red to brown. But if this was a Cort, I'd expect to see some webby deposits on the stalk looking kinda rusty from spore drop.

Oh, and I just realized... The mushroom atop the stump looks like one of the Honeys that's was harvested and placed there upside down.

Probably still in good enough condition to prepare. Maybe add a little liquid to the skillet....

Most likely Chlorophyllum rhacodes, which is probably the most common species of "Shaggy Parasol" found east of the Rockies. Caps are edible for most people, although there have been reports of adverse reactions for some individuals. Stalks are too fibrous to eat. There is a similar mushroom that's toxic for most people, Chlorophyllum molybdites. C. molybdites has a green spore print and is usually found on lawns. C. rhacodes --and a few similar Shaggy Parasols-- has a white spore print. It grows in a variety of habitat, most commonly in needle duff under conifers.

These look like Oysters (Pleurotus)... a bit on the dried-out side, though.

The yellow ring on the stalk and the yellow caps with relatively few scales point toward Armillaria mellea, the classic Honey Musrhoom species. Looks like maybe the single mushroom atop the stump is a different type. I prefer young buttons with partial veil intact --cottony covering over gills. I par-boil all of my Honey Mushrooms before preparing as food. Some people are sensitive to them, with some unpleasant reactions on record.

Regarding the first mushroom, were there any whitish blobs on the ground near the mushroom? Like this what is seen in a few of the photos found here http://www.mushroomexpert.com/entoloma_abortivum.html ...? Spore print color would probably help a lot here. The mushroom looks like Entoloma abortivum to me, but I'd need more info to make a confident proposal. Second mushroom looks like a species of Psathyrella, or maybe one of the other genera of smallish dark brown to almost black spored mushrooms. Lots of possibilities for a species here.

Looking forward to seeing what changes are observable.

I don't eat the eastern NA Ramaria species. They have a reputation of producing a laxative effect, and some of them are bitter-tasting.

I think this is a Stinkhorn Egg... maybe Phallus impudicus. There's a photo of a sectioned "egg" seen here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phallus_impudicus .