Old Oak

That's crazy. Great find!

Can't wait.

Good deal. Thanks!

Old Gyroporus castaneus. None bruising cap/pores and slowly brown-staining stalk. Also association with Oak. I find a bunch of the tiny Gyroporus purpulus every year but have never found these. Cool find! Supposed to be great edible when fresh.

That is a monster chaga!!

That's a great day!!

? That would be pretty sweet to be able to pick the bitter boletes. No competition for those spots!!

I use an Ontario RAT I. It's super sturdy and hold an edge pretty well. That Case is super nice.

Cool! I've found most of my gen spots while driving. I also found a 15 lb hericium last year while driving. That one was probably my coolest driving find.

Awesome!!

You should have harvested it!! Those are excellent edibles and that one is prime. It may grow back in the same spot if you remember where you were.

Some people can't taste some bitter compounds due to genetics, but it is not linked to sex. This may be something else, but everyone has taste buds that pick up bitter at the back of their tongues (evolutionarily to detect poison).

"Mushrooms of the Midwest" by Kuo. It has at least one picture and a great key. Definitely my most used field guide.

They are super cool. Since they don't have chlorophyll they are symbiotic with fungi. Usually russulas I think.

Finally got some rain in my area. Went out with my daughter today for a hike. Found some pholiota, Pleurotus pulmonarius, and some ghost plant. There were a ton of other LMB's and the like also.

Try finishing them with lemon juice. I used to cook them in oil til brown then add some butter and lemon right at the end. I kinda like their weird flavor though.

Sure looks like it! That's my favorite of the hericeums I've had.

Here's another article about the fight against Lyme Disease. This one is way more super-sciency though. It involves using CRISPR gene editing technology to drive immunity against Lyme bacteria through the entire white footed mouse population. The mice would have antibodies against the bacteria so even if they were bitten by an infected tick they would not be infected. I really love reading about this kind of stuff. Everyone is freaked out that CRISPR is going to make us all into Khan (as in Wrath of Khan), but i think its greatest potential is in eradication of diseases like Lyme Disease, Dengue, or Zika. Brave new world...here we come. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/01/02/rewriting-the-code-of-life

Boletes of eastern America is newer so I'd go with that one. I have boletes of NA and it's awesome so the new one is probably at least on par.

It was a crappy summer here in Nebraska but let hope for some more of these times:

They are a lawn grass saprobe so they'll be there if there's rain same time next year. I had them in my old yard.

I'd say it's Chlorophyllum molybdites. The green gills are a good sign.

Lyme Disease’s Worst Enemy? It Might Be Foxes https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/science/ticks-lyme-disease-foxes-martens.html

Suck city. Super dry here.

Those are huge!! Great find.