Honey Mushroom

 
Today we have a mushroom that I am pretty certain of the ID. It's honey mushroom, Armillaria mellea. It's all over the place here, this year. It grows in clusters around the bases of live or dead trees, or stumps. Here are three different clusters. The color varies from white to pinkish to yellowish to deep honey color. Size of caps: 1-4 inches across







Here's a cluster pulled away from the tree so you can see the gills. Also, note the rings.



Are you wondering how the rings form? Look at these young ones, with just a button for a cap. See how the one in the middle looks like it doesn't have any gills, and the skin just flows smoothly down into the stalk? As the cap grows and opens that skin tears away, and the remains look like a ring that is attached to the stalk.



There are some lookalikes. Usually, a rule of thumb is that if it has a ring you shouldn't eat it. However... this one is edible (see next paragraph) and one of the similar ones isn't and doesn't have a ring. Supposedly, if it has white spores, it's honey mushroom, not one of the others.

That said, I have four mushroom guides. One says, "not recommended." One says, "choice." The other two say "choice with caution," because some people can't tolerate it. One says the small caps are the best. I think if I were going to try it, I'd just have a small bit at first.

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