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I have seen examples of a Hen growing directly atop an oak stump... maybe 3 feet off the ground... but 30 feet high! Difficult to rule out, though. From what I can discern in the photo, it looks like it could be a Hen. I suppose Climacodon septentrionalis is a possibility. But oak would be an unusual host for this type. Hmmm... actually, there's a number of different polypores that seem possible. Bjerkandera adusta...?

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Ladyfish, I live in NW Georgia, but my family is in Florida. We go to Live Oak and also visit family and friends near Clermont, Silver Springs and Orlando.

Don't often go to the west coast, though we have visited friends in Brandon.

I have not found Hericium in FL. I have found chicken of the woods here though since we have tons of oaks. Also Lactarius indigo. It will start to dry out once hurricane season is over, so no on mushrooms in the winter. Mushrooms come with rain, so no rain = no mushrooms. Where in central FL are you? I'm in Sarasota.
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Sunny, the best time for mushrooms here is June, July, Aug. Sept, Oct. Just like most of the east coast. After that it starts to dry out too much. I have found Armillaria tabescens in my yard in Oct/Nov so I have that to look forward to.

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Novice that I am, I'm not good at ID's but that cluster high in the oak was pretty obvious if you could see it. It is a Chicken of the Woods, again I apologize for the poor quality of the pictures. This is rough country, all I carry is a little Fuji point and shoot. I do realize the importance in good photos when attempting to ID from a picture. I'll try to do better, but it's like that little white mushroom in the center ... it was early morning, VERY cloudy, dark and I could not get a good angle for a shot without disturbing the mushroom.

I am loving a lot of the pics here though and commend the photographers. WTG y'all !!

'rum

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Dave I should have also explained that it was very old and had turned mostly white. It didn't have much color at all. It was waaaaay past prime. I do hope to do better with my pics though. I'm beginning to understand the importance for the best pic available or possible ... particularly when requesting help with ID.

Thanks everyone for being so patient.

'rum

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  • 2 weeks later...

I got out some I think last Friday or Saturday and found some stuff. Don't know what these are but the color was golden and very pretty.

post-325-0-47678800-1350484295_thumb.jpg

Then I found one small VERY fresh chicken of the woods.

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I don't know what this one is either. It was a beautiful brown on top, white polypore underneath and on a dead maple snag about a foot from the black oak that the chickens in the previous pic was on.

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Some tiny puffballs ... are these little dudes edible?

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And one puffball much bigger. It was past prime but I fried a slice of it anyway. I'd never eaten puffball before. It was good but not as good as chicken mushrooms to me.

post-325-0-00263400-1350484658_thumb.jpg

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4rum, the giant puffball is a good edible, as long as it's still pure white inside. Once they start to turn green, yellow (or for some other types of PB, purplish), one runs the risk of getting sick. Same with the smaller puffballs, like the little dudes on the wood, which are possibly Lycoperdon perlatum or Morganella pyriformis. When collecting puffballs to eat, always be certain that what you have collected is not actually a round unopened button of a gilled mushroom. Some deadly amanitas are known to occur as such. Slice the "puffball" vertically. A mushroom button will show the outline of a mushroom inside.

The cluster of golden yellow mushrooms growing on wood is a species of Pholiota. Although a few are listed as edible in some guides, I have yet to try a Pholiota that I'd call a good edible. And the genus contains a few sickeners.

I think the brown-topped polypores may be Ischnoderma resinosum. It's the right time of year for this type; I just photographed some last Sunday. The flesh of the young I. resinosum is softish and pliable, unlike most other brown shelf polypores which are tough/hard-fleshed.

http://mushroomexpert.com/ischnoderma_resinosum.html

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Hi Mike, I took a look at your link. I think you nailed the brown polypore (great pics by the way). The giant puffball was still in pretty good shape, I sliced it in half because I wanted to see how fresh it was inside. One side near the outer circumference has a slightly brown tinge to it. I stayed away from that area and 'carved' a slice about 1/4 inch thick and about the size of a playing card. Browned it in evoo with just a little salt and pepper. I wanted to taste it. I still prefer the chicken and I STILL want to find a hen.

Thanks for the invaluable guidance.

'rum

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