If you have seen the movie Smurfs or Alice in the Wonderland, you might have wondered about mushrooms — if they were elves or fairies or any sci-fi creation? Hey kids, they are a part of the natural world and are found in almost all regions, having an array of colours, shapes and sizes. But yes, they do have an enchanting appearance and even qualities.

Due to its dome or umbrella shape, the mushroom is often regarded as something out of this world and that’s why many storybooks and movies portray this fungus as sometimes huge enough to house big creatures, while sometimes the cluster of mushrooms make up the homes of petite fairies.

Mushrooms fascinate me a lot too, not only in terms of their look but also the taste. There are thousands of varieties in mushrooms and fungi being identified worldwide, some poisonous, some having medicinal or curing abilities while some hallucinating; and there are those which are just for consumption with lots of minerals, antioxidants and vitamins.

So let’s look at some of unusual varieties of mushrooms and I am sure you didn’t know about them before.

enough to house big creatures, while sometimes the cluster of mushrooms make up the homes of petite fairies.

Mushrooms fascinate me a lot too, not only in terms of their look but also the taste. There are thousands of varieties in mushrooms and fungi being identified worldwide, some poisonous, some having medicinal or curing abilities while some even causing hallucination; and there are those which are just for consumption with lots of minerals, antioxidants and vitamins.

So let’s look at some of unusual varieties of mushrooms and I am sure you didn’t know about them before.

Stinkhorns

They smell nasty, like rotting meat! Most stinkhorns are inedible and quite notorious for popping up suddenly and unexpectedly in the backyard gardens and lawns in urban settings. They come in a variety of shaped and colours, such as red, orange, yellow, white and some even look like an octopus. But all stinkhorn varieties have one common trait — foul-smelling slime.

Veild lady/bridal veil (Phallus indusiatus)

This has a veil that covers and hangs down from the cap so that’s how it takes its name. These fungi grow in rich organic matter, like leaf litter typically found in the rainforests and similar conditions. They look pretty, but give off the odour of rotting flesh.

The bridal veil mushroom takes only a few hours to completely emerge from the soil and have a 12-hour lifespan, after that they decay back to the ground they grew from. Recently it has started to be cultivated for use in Chinese cuisine and medicine.

Latticed stinkhorn (Clathrus ruber)

It is also known as the basket stinkhorn, or the red cage because of its cage shape! Its interior surface is coated with foul smelling slime. It initially bursts out from the white ball or egg, and gradually the red cage expands.

Starfish stinkhorn (Aseroe rubra)

This stinkhorn tops the rank in the stinkhorn family for having the stinkiest odour and a look at its picture is enough to give one goose bumps! Commonly found in Australia, they have six to 10 arms divided into two tentacles. They are inedible. Well, even if they were edible I wouldn’t have wanted it on my plate.

Turkey tail (Trametes versicolour)

At first look, the fan-like shape and layers of colour resemble a turkey’s tail, but on closer look we come to know that it is not a turkey tail or turkey itself — it’s a fungus protruding from a decaying log, and yes, that’s why the name.

This common mushroom is found all over the world. Colours can range depending on the location and its age, and the cap can be shades of rust-brown, dark brown, grey and even black. Some older caps can appear green when they have a greenish algae growing on them. The turkey tail is considered a medicinal mushroom.

Blue mushroom (Entoloma hochstetteri)

These beautiful blue mushrooms are not a product of the imagination but real! They are found in New Zealand and in some parts of India.

The blue colouring of the fruit body is due to three azulene pigments. Interestingly, the mushroom appeared for a brief period on the stamp of New Zealand in 2002 and also on the reverse side of the country’s $50 note in 1990.

Blue mushrooms are found among moss, fern, or fallen leaves. It is not known if the mushroom is edible or not, however, other varieties in the species are poisonous so it is likely that this beautiful blue mushroom would not make it to your plate.

Bearded-tooth mushroom (Hericium erinaceus)

It is also called lion’s mane, hedgehog, bearded hedgehog, etc. The unusual mushroom looks beautiful as if noodles or a pom-pom is lying on wood.

It has no stem and cap, but a cluster of one centimetre long spines. It is safe to eat and typically grows in the wild during late summer and fall, on fallen logs or branches of hardwoods.

The glowing mushroom (Mycena chlorophos)

No, this picture isn’t from a sci-fi or a Harry Potter movie, it’s of the amazing bioluminescent mushroom found in subtropical Asia, Australia and Brazil. It typically emerges during the rainy season in Japanese and the Brazilian forests, scattering the floor with glowing spores.

The caps and stems glow green light in the dark due to bioluminescence, a weird but wonderful reaction that occurs naturally in many plants and animals. And, interestingly, they glow brighter when they are one day old, while the temperature surrounding them is 21 C degree or higher. And as the days pass, the glow dulls until it is unnoticeable.

Toadstool (Amanita muscaria)

This iconic mushroom is called toadstool. You may have seen it in illustrations of many children’s books, films, garden ornaments, greeting cards and computer games. It featured in Alice in Wonderland and Super Mario Bros.

Toadstool is renowned for its toxicity and hallucinogenic properties, yet there are no reported deaths from its consumption. However, people have come up with various ways to consume it!

Since ancient days, the mushroom has been used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia and it has a religious significance in these cultures. There are several subspecies and each of them has different cap colours which include yellow, pink and brown.

Amethyst deceiver

Found in both Eurasia and North America, this brightly lilac coloured mushroom is edible but if it absorbs arsenic from the soil, it can become dangerous.

So why is it called a ‘deceiver’? Well, when its amethyst coloration fades with age, it goes pale purple to white and then becomes too difficult to identify, hence given the common name ‘deceiver’!

Brain mushroom (Gyromitra esculenta)

It has quite an odd appearance which almost resembles the shape of the brain. This mushroom is potentially fatal if eaten raw, but if prepared correctly it is considered a delicacy in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and in the US. It is found sold fresh in some markets, thus it is required to come with warning labels.

A Polish study from 1971 showed that this species accounted for up to 23 per cent of mushroom fatalities each year.

The devil’s cigar (Chorioactis geaster)

This inedible, star-shaped fungus is considered to be one of the worlds rarest. It’s also known as the Texas star. These fungi had been detected only in central Texas, two remote locations in Japan.

The devil’s cigar is a dark brown cigar-shaped capsule that transforms into a tan-coloured star when it splits open to release its spores. It is also one of the few known fungi that produce a distinct whistle sound when releasing its spores.

The bleeding tooth fungus (Hydnellum pecki)

Its horrific appearance indicates it is inedible but is a non-toxic fungus. It is famous for ‘bleeding’ a red liquid. This liquid contains a pigment called atromentin, which has anticoagulant properties similar to heparin. Bleeding tooth is found in North America, Europe and has recently been spotted in Iran and Korea.

The underside of the cap has tooth-like spines. As it matures, the mushroom’s pale pink centre becomes dark, almost black, in colour.

Jelly cup/jelly cone (Guepiniopsis alpine)

These usually grow on decaying logs in spring. The small, gelatinous fruit bodies are bright yellow to orange and cone- or cup-shaped, with a smooth and sticky surface and gelatinous texture. Found in western North America and Iran, its edibility is unknown, but it is too small to be considered for the table.

Marasmius haematocephalus

This specie of mushroom is so tiny that it is often overlooked. In dry weather they shrivel up and wait for the next rain season. Incredibly, this tiny specie has reviving ability so if you take the dried mushroom home and put it in the water, this petite fellow will thrive and take its normal shape.

Eyelash cup (Scutellinia scutellata)

Why does it have the name eyelash cup? Hmm..., look closer at the picture and you will notice dark brown to black hairs growing around the edge of the fungus. It is inedible and the colour is often bright orange or scarlet, red with a smooth surface. They grow in clusters and have no stem.

Tiny earthstar (Geastrum minimum)

This tiny earthstar grows in moss rich areas or along the sand-paths in dunes. It is inedible and is widespread in Europe. The tiny earthstar is a small but beautiful mushroom that features a round spore case sitting atop a star with four to nine arms or rays. When opened, the diameter of the body is within two to three centimetres.

Puffball

Quite famous around the world, puffballs widely range in size and appearance. They grow sometimes on wood in clusters, but mostly on the ground in the meadows, and sometimes reaching the diameter of 50cm!

It usually takes them a week to completely mature. Puffballs are edible. And picking them up at the right age is very crucial, for instance, the flesh of the mushroom should be white and not yellow or any other colour. If it has turned pale, it means it has passed its prime age.

Fluted bird nest (Cyathus striatus)

It resembles a miniature bird nest with tiny eggs inside it, thus the name. But these eggs are actually lens-shaped bodies that contain spores. They frequently grow on dead wood.

It is common and widespread throughout Britain and Ireland and many parts of Europe and Asia. They are reported to be inedible.

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 7th, 2017