weird white mushroom

[Bob80]

I found these growing all over down in the woods they kinda look like brains, some on the ground some on wood. 

[Old Oak]

I'd say that entoloma abortivum. 

http://www.mushroomexpert.com/entoloma_abortivum.html

I've never found these though so I'd wait for somebody else to chime in before eating them. 

[eat-bolete]

I would agree.

[Dave W]

Yes, generally known as "Aborted Entoloma", these white globs are actually aborted fruit bodies of an Armillaria species. The Entoloma fungus --which produces grayish-capped mushrooms with decurrent gills-- parasitizes the Armillaria fungus and causes what would otherwise be Honey Mushrooms to become the whitish globs.

[angela]

7 minutes ago, Dave W said:

Yes, generally known as "Aborted Entoloma", these white globs are actually aborted fruit bodies of an Armillaria species. The Entoloma fungus --which produces grayish-capped mushrooms with decurrent gills-- parasitizes the Armillaria fungus and causes what would otherwise be Honey Mushrooms to become the whitish globs.

Ah, that makes a lot of sense to me.  Both honey mushrooms and aborted entolomas give me the same horrible nausea, while my husband can eat both with impunity.  I stay away from both, which was a shame last year because they were all over my yard and had a pretty long season.

[Dave W]

Angela, the Armillaria that caused you to become nauseous... were they par-boiled/drained before they were prepared for consumption?

[angela]

No.  They were sauteed (and braised) in a frying pan for about 20 minutes.

[Bob80]

should you parboil the Aborted Entoloma as well?

[Dave W]

Not sure, Bob. That's one reason for my asking Angela. But, I think if the aborted Armillaria fruit bodies are boiled, they will become very soggy and undesirable. 

I par-boil/drain all my Armillaria mushrooms, except for the aborts which I rarely consume, and only in small quantities. I think there are a few possibilities here. Maybe Angela is highly sensitive to Armillaria and cannot tolerate them prepared in any way, neither the normal ones nor the aborts. But, it may be the case that Angela's sensitivity has been heightened by having once consumed Armillaria that was not par-boiled. Once a person has a single negative reaction to a type of mushroom, it may be the case that this person will experience a similar reaction to the same type of fungi regardless of amount/preparation. 

This is the first I have heard of a person having a negative reaction to Armillaria aborts (although presumably this strange fungal form is not widely consumed). Negative reaction to Armillaria consumption may be mild or quite severe. One person I know was sick for two days after consuming Armillaria mushrooms that had not been par-boiled. 

Thanks for the information, Angela.