Fungi Friday filled with Mushrooms; Rainforest Fungi and more . . .

What a beautiful day to wake up with the spring sun beaming.

I went to the woods. The ground was covered with flowers, making it beautiful. If any mushrooms were growing underneath, I could not see them. I would not want to step on them while looking for one, so I let them be and tried to look where I could see. I wandered around and enjoyed the peacefulness, even if I didn't find anything new.

On my way back, this mushroom showed up.

It is one of the peziza species, possibly Peziza varia, Palomino Cup

Peziza means a sort of mushroom without a root or stalk.

They have no known medicinal use or edibility.

These are the ones that can be confused with wood ears.

Pezizas have cups up and wood ears are down, pezizas can also grow on wood.

Peziza mushrooms typically have a cup-shaped or saucer-shaped fruiting body, while wood ear mushrooms have a distinctively ear-like or wavy appearance, resembling an ear.

Wood ear mushrooms also have a gelatinous texture, especially when rehydrated, whereas Peziza mushrooms tend to have a more delicate and sometimes fragile texture.

I hope that will ease some confusion for those who want to forage wood ears for culinary use.

Then my brother, a priest, kindly sent me his mushroom discoveries from his hike in the mountains of Mount Isarog, Philippines, this week.

He did his holy mass up in the mountain and did not forget to take mushroom photos for me. As it is mostly his find, I will give him the reward from this post. It is just fair.

Here they are:

This looks like the (Trametes Gibosa) Lumpy Bracket

If so, it has been reported that this mushroom contains potent compounds promising anticancer and immune-stimulating properties and has anti-viral and cell protective ability.

This looks like one of the turkey tail species. It took me a while to identify, as normally turkey tails have a vibrant deep color. This is possibly the Tremetes Pubecens. It has subtle colors and markings. If so, this has been used in Asian countries to treat ailments such as cancer and gastrointestinal diseases, and its high level of antioxidants can help protect against oxidative stress, inflammation, and cell damage.