╔══ Identifications · 13 September 202612 sightings
speciesAmanita muscaria
locationSchlattan
habitatBirch and coniferous forest
edibilityPsychoactive
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Bright red (occ. orange/yellow) cap with white spots
- │ ▸ White gills and stem
- │ ▸ Ring on stem
- │ ▸ Bulbous base
└─ All stages of lifecycle of the fruiting body are shown here.
speciesAmanita pantherina
locationSchlattan
habitatDeciduous and coniferous forests, especially under beech and spruce
edibilityHighly toxic — contains ibotenic acid and muscimol
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Brown cap densely covered with white warts
- │ ▸ White gills and a white stem
- │ ▸ Thin white ring placed high on the stem, grooved on top
- │ ▸ Rounded bulbous base with a collar-like volva, no separate sac
└─ Easily confused with the blusher (Amanita rubescens), but its flesh never stains pink.
speciesArmillaria mellea
locationSchweinbach
habitatAt the base of living and dead trees, stumps and roots of broadleaves and conifers
edibilityEdible only after thorough cooking; some people are intolerant to it
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Honey-coloured to olive-brown caps growing in dense clusters at the base of trees
- │ ▸ White to cream decurrent gills
- │ ▸ Zigzag ring or ring zone on the upper stem
- │ ▸ Dark, dense scales in the middle of the cap
└─ A weakly parasitic fungus whose black, bootlace-like rhizomorphs spread through the soil and can kill trees — the mycelium of a single colony can rank among the largest living organisms on Earth.
speciesButyriboletus appendiculatus
locationSchlattan
habitatThermophilic oak and beech woodland, often on calcareous soil
edibilityGood edible, but protected in Germany
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Brown, convex cap, finely velvety when young
- │ ▸ Yellow pores that turn slightly blue-green when bruised, then fade again
- │ ▸ Yellow stem with a fine red-brown network
- │ ▸ Pale yellow flesh, faintly blue in the cap, reddish at the stem base
└─ A rare, warmth-loving species; in Germany it is protected and must not be collected.
speciesClathrus archeri
locationSchöne Aussicht (Auf der Lache)
habitatGardens, wood-chip mulch and disturbed ground, also broadleaf woodland
edibilityInedible — foul smell
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Starts as a whitish, leathery 'egg' at the base
- │ ▸ Opens into 4–6 (rarely 8) bright red, tentacle-like arms
- │ ▸ Inner surfaces covered with a dark, olive-brown spore mass (gleba)
- │ ▸ Strong smell of rotting flesh
└─ Originally from Australasia, now a widespread invasive species across Europe; the odour attracts flies that disperse the spores.
speciesCudoniella acicularis
locationSchweinbach
habitatDamp dead hardwood, especially beech and oak twigs and trunks
edibilityInedible — too small and insignificant
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Small, slender, whitish to pale beige pin- and cup-shaped fruit bodies only a few mm tall
- │ ▸ Spore-bearing disc at the tip
- │ ▸ Grows in clusters on bare, dead wood, often beech and oak
- │ ▸ Inconspicuous and easy to overlook
└─ A tiny ascomycete that only catches the eye when you deliberately search damp, lying hardwood.
speciesDacrymyces chrysospermus
locationSchweinbach
habitatDead conifer wood, especially spruce
edibilityInedible — no culinary value
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Bright orange-yellow, gelatinous fruit bodies, cushion- to disc-shaped
- │ ▸ Several centimetres wide, limp and slimy
- │ ▸ Grows on dead conifer wood, often in large clusters
- │ ▸ Dries out to a reddish-brown, horny film
└─ In Europe the Dacrymyces jelly fungi grow mainly on conifer wood and can be confused with the yellow witch's butter (Tremella mesenterica) found on hardwoods.
└─ Other option: Yellow brain (Tremella mesenterica) which grows on deciduous wood. We thought this stump was coniferous.
speciesGuepinia helvelloides
locationSchlattan
habitatOn soil in damp places: paths, ditches, stream banks, shady slopes
edibilityEdible, very little flavour
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Salmon- to flesh-pink, funnel- or trumpet-shaped gelatinous fruit body
- │ ▸ Lobed, wavy, often rolled-back margin
- │ ▸ Inner surface with fine veins or grooves
- │ ▸ With age, a whitish spore powder coats the outside
└─ Also known as salmon salad; the glistening salmon-pink funnels are unmistakable in damp woodland.
speciesHydnellum peckii
locationSchlattan
habitatConiferous forest
edibilityInedible
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ White to pinkish-brown velvety cap exuding red droplets when young
- │ ▸ Teeth/spines underneath instead of pores or gills
- │ ▸ Irregular, tough, fan-shaped fruit body
- │ ▸ Found growing on ground among moss in coniferous forest
└─ Exudes bright red droplets when young, giving it a "bleeding" appearance; turns brown and tough with age
└─ Old specimen where red jelly has gone.
speciesSarcodon imbricatus
locationSchlattan
habitatConiferous forest, mycorrhizal with spruce and pine
edibilityEdible when young, but often bitter
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Large brown cap covered with coarse, dark brown, roof-shingle-like scales
- │ ▸ Grey-brown, brittle teeth instead of gills under the cap
- │ ▸ Becomes broadly funnel-shaped with age, sometimes with greenish zones
- │ ▸ Stout, grey-brown stem
└─ Often deeply bitter; cooking does not remove the bitter taste, making most finds unusable.
speciesSarcodon imbricatus
locationSchlattan
habitatConiferous forest, mycorrhizal with spruce and pine
edibilityEdible when young, but often bitter
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Large brown cap covered with coarse, dark brown, roof-shingle-like scales
- │ ▸ Grey-brown, brittle teeth instead of gills under the cap
- │ ▸ Becomes broadly funnel-shaped with age, sometimes with greenish zones
- │ ▸ Stout, grey-brown stem
└─ Often deeply bitter; cooking does not remove the bitter taste, making most finds unusable.
speciesDiatrype disciformis
locationKankerbach
habitatDead branches and trunks of beech, rarely other hardwoods
edibilityInedible — hard, woody crust
├─ Key Features
- │ ▸ Small, cushion-shaped to flattened, black crust fruit bodies in bark cracks
- │ ▸ Angular outline, bursting through the bark
- │ ▸ Often arranged in rows following the bark fissures
- │ ▸ Tiny spore chambers (perithecia) opening through minute raised pores
└─ A very common bark fungus of beech that looks like small black cushions and is easy to overlook.
└─ Other option: diatrype bullata - if on dead willow. (we assumed beech)