Fungus amongus!

Likely Honey Mushroom. Smell them, good mushrooms smell good. Bad mushrooms are less savory. Be wary of the Angle of Death, never eat a white mushroom with white gills. White mushrooms with pink shading to chocolate brown gills are called pinkies or meadow mushroom and is the standard commercial fruit market variety.
 
You may have heard that Armillaria is the largest living organism in the world.
In the Pacific Northewest there is a mycelium mat of the species that is over 3-4 square miles.
 
That is a honey mushroom almost 100% sure. They grow usually on exposed roots or roots close to the soil surface. There are a lot of varieties. They usually have yellow coloring and grow in clusters in the areas I stated. They are parasitic and will most likely kill the host tree. I’ve seen it happen. They suck the nutrients from the tree. It is also the largest organism in the world growing in Oregon. Something like 2 miles long feeding on the living trees.
 
That is a honey mushroom almost 100% sure. They grow usually on exposed roots or roots close to the soil surface. There are a lot of varieties. They usually have yellow coloring and grow in clusters in the areas I stated. They are parasitic and will most likely kill the host tree. I’ve seen it happen. They suck the nutrients from the tree. It is also the largest organism in the world growing in Oregon. Something like 2 miles long feeding on the living trees.
Very cool to know!
People eat them?
 
Very cool to know!
People eat them?
I know some people who hunt with me who have. They need to be boiled for a long time. I wouldn’t eat them. To many people don’t cook right and there are types that people should avoid eating. But some are ok. To hard to identify the right kinds and the right way to cook for me. I stick with hen of the woods and lions mane. One you start to get a week of consistent cool weather in the 40s and 50’s go hike in an area with old maples and white oaks. You will most likely find hen of the woods at the base of old hardwoods. They are good! Lions mane grows on dead hardwood. The change in temperature triggers the respond for fall mushrooms find most in early fall. This is a pic of hen of the woods at the base of a maple. Both clusters the size of my head lol
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I would be VERY VERY VERY careful gathering your own edible mushrooms. If you're wrong about toxicity of what you have, you could poison yourself pretty severely.

 
That is a honey mushroom almost 100% sure. They grow usually on exposed roots or roots close to the soil surface. There are a lot of varieties. They usually have yellow coloring and grow in clusters in the areas I stated. They are parasitic and will most likely kill the host tree. I’ve seen it happen. They suck the nutrients from the tree. It is also the largest organism in the world growing in Oregon. Something like 2 miles long feeding on the living trees.
You definitely don't want honey fungus (Armillaria) anywhere near your trees! As RKMcGinnis says, they're parasitic to roots - acer, beech, birch, holly, apple, hydrangea, viburnum, magnolia, pear, rhododendron, rose and lilac are all very susceptible.

Digging in the soil, the giveaway is dark bootlace like threads - rhizomorphs. Mycorrhizae are supposed to be good at suppressing them. Be careful what you inoculate soil with, and watch out if collecting trees.
 
I would be VERY VERY VERY careful gathering your own edible mushrooms. If you're wrong about toxicity of what you have, you could poison yourself pretty severely.

Yeah, never have. Don't plan to...but still curious.
 
I would be VERY VERY VERY careful gathering your own edible mushrooms. If you're wrong about toxicity of what you have, you could poison yourself pretty severely.

It took me a year of mushroom hunting and learning before I had the confidence to pick and eat a wild mushroom. Now it’s common for me to come home with mushrooms lol. Mushroom taco’s are great!
 
The only 'shrooms' I collect are the few identified for, or with me, when hunting shrooms with an experienced mushroom hunter.

A few like lion's mane, and morels are easy, not likely to make a mistake. The filled mushrooms have too many deadly look alikes that extra caution is needed. Context is important. There's a parasol mushroom I'm confident in collecting, but only in a sandy soil oak forest in central Michigan. When I see similar, but not in an oak forest, I don't pick, because context is not right. It might not be the same species.
 
The only 'shrooms' I collect are the few identified for, or with me, when hunting shrooms with an experienced mushroom hunter.

A few like lion's mane, and morels are easy, not likely to make a mistake. The filled mushrooms have too many deadly look alikes that extra caution is needed. Context is important. There's a parasol mushroom I'm confident in collecting, but only in a sandy soil oak forest in central Michigan. When I see similar, but not in an oak forest, I don't pick, because context is not right. It might not be the same species.
That’s smart. Parasol have a a good bit of close look alikes. I see them. I don’t really like collecting unless there is a lot that is worth the time and enough for a meal. Or to dry for tea or future soup. There is a very interesting mycologist called trad cotter. He was on the forefront of studying the difference between wild and non wild fungi. He discusses it on a ted talk. It is extremely fascinating. I recommend watching. It blew my mind!
 
I thought Pando to be the largest living organism in the world at 108 acres, estimated 14,000 yrs old.

Largest anything is only true until "the next one" is discovered. Pando is the largest single clone vascular land plant. Though there is some debate whether or not by a similar spreading from the root phenomena that there might be a creosol bush that is larger and or older. The work required to document these things is significant, and who knows if the list will be different, updated, in the future.

The honey mushroom in Oregon is not a vascular plant, so it is really comparing unrelated organisms.
 
Largest anything is only true until "the next one" is discovered. Pando is the largest single clone vascular land plant. Though there is some debate whether or not by a similar spreading from the root phenomena that there might be a creosol bush that is larger and or older. The work required to document these things is significant, and who knows if the list will be different, updated, in the future.

The honey mushroom in Oregon is not a vascular plant, so it is really comparing unrelated organisms.
Yes, indeed. Michigan's Upper Peninsula has a Humungous Fungus, too. Then there's the Great Banyan Tree in India.
 
I thought Pando to be the largest living organism in the world at 108 acres, estimated 14,000 yrs old.
Should of said one of the largest lol. @Leo in N E Illinois is right. Hard to compare different kingdoms to each other. I’ve heard the mycelium mat being the largest so much because I read a lot of mushroom related material. People always want their field to sound as significant as it can I guess. Lol I think it’s all fascinating though. Interesting to read about and hear the arguments of what constitutes the largest.
 
Should of said one of the largest lol. @Leo in N E Illinois is right. Hard to compare different kingdoms to each other. I’ve heard the mycelium mat being the largest so much because I read a lot of mushroom related material. People always want their field to sound as significant as it can I guess. Lol I think it’s all fascinating though. Interesting to read about and hear the arguments of what constitutes the largest.
Yeh within kingdoms would be different for sure.
I was understanding it as all inclusive since Pando was compared to the Great Barrier Reef
when I learned about it. I've looked all over for pics of my Mt maple with yellow mushrooms
sprouted in the soil to see if you thought they were honeys. Must be on another micro card.
 
Yeh within kingdoms would be different for sure.
I was understanding it as all inclusive since Pando was compared to the Great Barrier Reef
when I learned about it. I've looked all over for pics of my Mt maple with yellow mushrooms
sprouted in the soil to see if you thought they were honeys. Must be on another micro card.
Honey mushrooms almost 100% of the time will be in clusters sharing a base. If you don’t see that then most likely it’s not a honey. If you look at photo’s of them online. They all are in clusters. I have several different yellow mushrooms that appear in my containers every year. But they don’t show the characteristics of honeys as they are singles sprouting from different areas in the pot. And the trees are healthy so I figure it’s symbiotic. I researched them years ago forgot the name but found out they weren’t bad. Some fungi form better relationships with different plants. Really interesting.
 
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