I wish I knew if these were edible.
I have been trying to improve the microclimates for my various woodland-origin plants by plunking old logs around their bases, or even burying a chunk of wood and planting right over it. The idea is to replicate the kind of leaf mold/fallen tree/dappled shade neighborhood for which these plants have evolved. This log is next to one of my blueberry bushes, on top of the remains of last year's Christmas tree. Yes, you can grow blueberries in So. California, but only a few "low chill" varieties.
These lovely little mushrooms showed up this week, probably due to the rain and increasingly warm weather. I am not quite curious enough about their edibility to just taste one and find out. Anybody know how to test it without risking one's liver?
The only sure-fire way is to consult a mycologist. There is a mycology society in LA. You can try to identify through spore printing, but I am not sure how to go about making a spore print with those ruffly-type fungi.
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http://www.mykoweb.com/ has a focus on CA fungi.
Hmmm, after some searching I *think* it's in the genus oligoporus, but beyond that I have no idea.
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