Need help with Mushroom ID
 

Well, I'm trying Craig's straw bale methods this time out and found something his book didn't seem to cover. While seasoning the bales, I had a surprise one morning when these mushrooms showed up, and they were in substantial numbers.

My question is this. What kind of mushroom is this? Is it edible or not? All of my bales were purchased at the same time from the same place. Is this typical? Or did I run into the exception?

Thanks in advance for any help IDing.

It's typical all of my bales sprouted these. As for edibility - no idea, but I subscribe to the better safe than sorry school of thought


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Even the mycologists with PhDs call these "lbm's" for little brown mushroom. Many hundreds of species distinguishable only with a spore cast and a really good microscope.

berryman is right - it may be difficult to identify even to genus level without a microscope.
One thing you do need is a group of specimens that aren't all old, dried and tattered. But it may not be worth your bother.
Just on the photo I would guess something in [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coprinopsis_atramentaria"]Coprinopsis[/URL] (if they dissolve into a puddle of ink as they quickly decay) or [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psathyrella"]Psathyrella[/URL]. (if they don't). The sort of translucent, ribbed look of the caps reminds me of [I]Psathyrella gracilis [/I]or similar on a SWAG.

All of these hard to distinguish mushrooms are saprotrophic, ie they are breaking down the old straw and turning it into soil, no harm to your plants just doing a humble job.

Do not eat them, leave them be.

I have always called them brown slimy mushrooms. :lol:

Worth

After watering the straw bales twice daily, and with Blood Meal in place to set up the composting effect as described in Craig's book, I also added some 13-0-0 kelp based liquid fert to further increase the Nitrogen. Five days after introducing the kelp based product, I came out one morning and all my bales were covered with these mushrooms. They were dark gray to black on the caps and almost translucent white in the stems. I was quite annoyed, to say the least.

As soon as the sunshine got to them, they wilted to the point of disappearing. There was no "ink" or anything. They seemed to "dissolve" away. They have shown up every day since. The ones pictured are the latest and are much more brown in the caps and off-white in the stems, but they, too, seem to disappear quickly. If I check them in the afternoon or early evening (just before dark), there is no sign of them and no evidence that they have ever been there. They just don't leave a carcass.

I do have several types that show up in the yard, but never have seen these except on the straw bales. Last year, I got straw bales from the same source and used them for mulch around the beans. I saw no mushrooms of any kind in the area where the beans were growing.

I'm always curious about the things that just "pop up" in my yard.

There's strange things going on down there...
Check out this slime mold I found on a two year old pile of fruitwood chips-I thought for sure it was dog barf but upon close examination it had mycellial origins for sure.

[QUOTE=berryman;568132]Even the mycologists with PhDs call these "lbm's" for little brown mushroom. Many hundreds of species distinguishable only with a spore cast and a really good microscope.[/QUOTE]

I'm not a mycologist, but inky caps are very common, and are quite tasty rolled in flour and fried in bacon grease when first emerged. Just don't consume them with a cold brew.

[QUOTE=Hellmanns;568223]I'm not a mycologist, but inky caps are very common, and are quite tasty rolled in flour and fried in bacon grease when first emerged. Just don't consume them with a cold brew.[/QUOTE]

Whats the beer do?

Worth

You have to ask?

[QUOTE=PhilaGardener;568237]You have to ask?[/QUOTE]
I guess I am just stupid.
I dont get card tricks either.

Worth

OK - [I]me too[/I]. I went off and researched this and it turns out that inky caps contain a chemical that interferes with alcohol metabolism, so that is the reason he said not to drink beer with them. :twisted:
[url]https://wildfoodism.com/2014/11/06/tipplers-bane-and-other-mushrooms-that-dont-go-down-so-well-with-alcohol/[/url]

[url]https://naturespoisons.com/2014/04/10/coprine-alcohol-poisoning-from-mushrooms/[/url]

My new fact for the day! :lol:

I usually poo poo cautions like that but I can testify. I ate a big plate of inky caps one time and waited four days before alcohol...had one home-brew and I seriously thought I was gonna die! Alcohol poisoning.
Shaggy manes will do it too.

[I][QUOTE]Shaggy manes will do it too. [/QUOTE][/I]But it's cool for short-hairs and baldies?

Mushrooms are fun and exciting/scary. After three books/guides, I summoned the courage to enjoy backyard field mushrooms ([I]Agaricus campestris[/I], I believe).

Homemade, ambient-yeast pizza with homegrown tomatoes and feral mushrooms is a trip.
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The fact that they melt away so quickly makes them sound like some type of inky cap. I have no personal experience with them only know by reputation. A friend had some in his yard and invited me to come and collect them but they are so "in the moment" that I never managed to do that. :lol:
Things that are poisonous with alcohol are a bit wierd to me. :?!?:
I only eat the ones I trust completely. :love::roll: