There is a fungus among us.

[Richard Hed]

Generally dig about the mushrooms base and see if it swells below the ground like a bulb AND has a skirt, if yes to both it's probably deadly. The lack of a bulb doesn't mean it's safe but finding it and a skirt generally mean it is in the destroying angel family. Rumored to be very tasty yet 100% fatal.

Orange peel fungus and lions mane are the safest in my opinion, because they lack any toxic look a likes.

There are many good kinds, but one must, as you imply, be very careful. Mushroom hunters have learned to distinguish the various kinds. Most have easily found distinguishing characteristics.

 

[ddmckee54]

There is MORE fungus among us. I noticed another big one in my neighbor's yard on my way to work this morning. It was starting to rain so no pictures yet, maybe tonight or tomorrow.

 

[Steamchick]

Set a camera for monitoring in case of gnomes.... They sit on these toadstools laughing at us! Rain or sun. Especially after they find something we need and hide it where we don't think to look... They don't care... Mischievous little folk... But good luck if you meet one.
K2

 

[lathe nut]

I live in South West Louisiana, USA, we have gotten 16 inches of rain in about a week and a half, then they pop up large and several, mowing deals with them but soon as it starts to dry and the sun come out they will be gone, back in the 70's when I was on the Fram, we had a lot of cattle and the mushrooms that formed on the cow manure would be picked by the drug dealers, when I would saddle up and ride the heard I would see the drug dealers that lived close by and they would ask it the could have them, they would pick them put them in a big pot boil them in water, strain it through a rag, mix it 50/50 with lemon juice and drink it, when I finish riding checking on the 700 head of cows would go where the fellows were, thought they were all dead, when they were coming to they were talking out of there head and seeing things that was not there, I wonder someday it going to kill you all when you high and go pick more, the wrong one will kill you and it did happen

 

[Steamchick]

"when they were coming to they were talking out of there head and seeing things that was not there, I wonder someday it going to kill you all when you high and go pick more, the wrong one will kill you and it did happen" - The Gnomes got them!
K2

 

[Daryl_bee]

Set a camera for monitoring in case of gnomes.... They sit on these toadstools laughing at us! Rain or sun. Especially after they find something we need and hide it where we don't think to look... They don't care... Mischievous little folk... But good luck if you meet one.
K2

If you like mushrooms and you like photography you'll love this masterpiece. Over the years I've re-watched it a few times. "Stephen Axford: How fungi changed my view of the world".

 

[Lloyd-ss]

I have a few friends who are mushroom hunters and they have put the fear in me about the dangers. During one rainy spring, on a warm day I went on a woods walk with one of the mushroom men. I obviously did not know what to look for because he spotted probably 10x what I did. Very educational. He went home with a huge chicken or hen mushroom. I went home with nothing and lived to tell about it. LOL

 

[Steamchick]

Just looked a bit closer at one of the pictures...

Must've missed it earlier... but these mushrooms do pop up when you are not watching!
I think he is "doing the dirty"... - Don't tread on mushrooms!
K2

 

[ddmckee54]

He's obviously NOT a Marine gnome. My Marine gnomes guard my property against the fungus. My Marine gnomes look something like this, only my gnomes took better care of their uniforms.

My neighbor's property, the property that they used to guard against the fungus, now has this:

The large fungi didn't start showing up in Bill's lawn until AFTER I got the Marine gnomes back. Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is enemy action... This is the fourth large fungus to appear in Bill's lawn after the gnomes left his property and came to mine... It MUST be a FUNGAL invasion.

Don

 

[Lloyd-ss]

WARNING - ***************
An invasion or a conspiracy, but by whom, and why?
Don, after seeing your original post and then seeing Ken's evidence of gnomes in your locality, I set up my trail cam near a patch of healthy mushrooms [toadstools]. Gnomes are not a common sight in the US, and my camera caught this heart-breaking scene. Is that a troll? I am fairly ignorant on the subject. Still, very tragic.
Lloyd

Trail Cam Photo