One should only be surprised by the rich imagination of nature, and the variety of mushrooms of the most unusual shapes and colors is further confirmation of this. Many legends and legends are associated with them, and from antiquity they were used by shamans in their rites and doctors. In our short review, the most beautiful mushrooms that grow in different parts of our amazing planet and amaze your eyes with their splendor.
1
Blue Milk / Lactarius indigo
Unusual in color mushroom from the family Russula. The lacticer's hat has a bright blue color, and its diameter varies from 7 to 15 cm, introducing it into a circle of rather large species.
Known since the time of the Indian tribes in the vastness of Central America.
Getting along with both coniferous and deciduous trees and since it is edible, for many merchants from the markets of America and Asia it is a source of constant income.
2
Hedgehog Bleeding / Hydnellum peckii
It is difficult to walk past such a handsome man in the forest and not pay attention to him. Mushroom received the Latin name Gidnellum Peka in honor of the American mycologist Charles Peck.
But the properties of the fungus to secrete red fluid added to the name the epithet “bleeding”. A fairly common inedible mushroom, which is still romantically called "Strawberry with Cream."
A young mushroom, similar to a bloody tooth, has a white hat with brown holes at the sites of red spots, and eventually blackens completely. We already wrote about it on the pages of most-beauty.ru in the article 20 mushrooms and plants, so similar to parts of the human body.
3
Raincoats / Puffballs
Has it ever happened that, stepping on a mushroom, you see how powder comes out of it like smoke? This usually happens when you meet a mushroom in the champignon family. These include raincoats that grow on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica. Raincoats by themselves are not particularly beautiful from an aesthetic point of view, but photographs with an eruption of spores are simply beautiful.
4
Podoserpula miranda
Podoserpula miranda is a species of basidiomycotic fungi of the Amylocorticiaceae family. Distributed in New Caledonia. It grows on the soil on which trees of the genus Arillastrum gummiferum are common. It is difficult to find information about this species today because it was first described only in 2009.
5
Mycena viscidocruenta
And these handsome Mitsenovy family can be seen in Australia! Agree, they look very juicy! In general, there are about 200 species of mycene mushrooms today, of which more than fifty can be found on the territory of the Russian Federation. Surprisingly, representatives of fungi of this genus were found in amber, 16 million years old.
6
Orange trembler / Tremella mesenterica
The body of this funny mushroom has a tortuous shape, and during the rainy seasons it gains moisture, which makes it completely shapeless.
Mostly chosen the trunks of fallen trees, growing on them in small colonies.
Those who have tried say that it is completely tasteless, so that the cooks of the whole world do not use the orange shaker to prepare their masterpieces.
7
Rhodotus / Rhodotus palmatus
The most beautiful mushroom is found throughout the northern hemisphere, and it selects stumps or decaying wood as the place of growth.
If you look at the Rodotus hat from above, it has a spherical shape and a kind of "vein-like" surface. The hat of the original mushroom grows up to 15 cm in diameter, and the color depends on the lighting.
In Europe, this handsome man with a pink hat is listed in the Red Book, as it is included in the category of endangered species.
8
Clavaria pale brown / Clavaria zollingeri
This beautiful mushroom is called of unusual shape and a color rare for mushrooms in honor of the Swiss biologist, who has devoted many years to the study of mushrooms, Heinrich Zollinger.
Clavaria grows both in groups and lonely and mainly in evergreen coniferous forests, but you can meet him in oak groves. Distributed on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica. The most valuable mushroom in terms of biological research and the study of the history of such species.
In Denmark, it is considered an endangered species, and in the Chelyabinsk region of Russia it is listed in the Red Book.
9
Caesar Mushroom / Amanita caesarea
The European name dates back to the times of Ancient Rome, and many connect the origin of the name with the emperor Guy Julius Caesar.
In Russia it was called the royal mushroom, and was widely used in food. It grows quite large, and belongs to the class of fairly large species.
The color of the cap is the same as that of the mushroom, but the shape of the stalk and mycelium is different, so experienced mushroom pickers never confuse them.
10
Star-shaped bag-shaped / Geastrum saccatum
Due to its unusual shape, it is of particular interest to mushroom pickers and mycologists, and Starfish can be found on rotting wood in the forests of North America, less often in Europe.
It has a very bitter taste, therefore, although it is considered edible, rarely gets into the basket of mushrooms. But the appearance or photos in the determinant of mushrooms can be admired for hours.
In Brazil, due to the unusual shape and ability to attract calcium crystals, he was given the romantic name “Earth Star”.
11
Devil's Cigar / Chorioactis geaster
The Devil's Cigar Mushroom is the rarest on the planet, perhaps because of this, but rather because of its beauty, the people of Texas gave it the name "Star of Texas."
It is interesting that he has one of the most torn areas of growth, so you can meet them in some regions of the United States and in Japan. Probably, along with the ships, the spores of an extraordinary mushroom crossed over the ocean.
By the way, there is an interesting article on the most beautiful ships in the world on our site most-beauty.ru!
It was first discovered in 1893, and since the beginning of the 20th century, like black mushroom in the East, it has been widely used in the treatment of various diseases.
12
Polyporus squamosus
A beautiful tinder fungus is not considered edible, but it is actively used in pharmacology for the manufacture of certain drugs.
A fairly common species that can easily be found on tree trunks anywhere in the world. Very popular are its popular names, which have become a kind of anthology of humor about mushrooms, as it is called a hare, motley or pestle.
But in Europe it is called the saddle of dryads, since it was believed that in ancient times mythological dryads moved on them.
13
Raincoat brown / Lycoperdon umbrinum
This beautiful, rounded, slightly pear-shaped mushroom belongs to champignon mushrooms, and mushrooms have long been considered royal mushrooms.
Raincoats do not have a distinct hat, and spores form inside the spherical body. They prefer to settle in mixed or coniferous forests, but gradually develop forests with broad-leaved trees.
Pictures showing a basket of mushrooms of this beautiful species are often adorned with advertisements for forest tourist camps.
14
Coral Mushroom / Clavulininsis corallinorosacea
The name is due to the similarity of these mushrooms with sea corals, and the coloring distinguishes them in a large family of forest inhabitants.
Looking at them, you might think that these are algae of bright red, orange or yellow colors. In the world they are not very widespread, so finding them in the forest is a great success for the mushroom picker.
Mainly grow in old impassable forests. Often grow on animal remains, on excrement, but sometimes parasitize on trees and shrubs.
15
Grille red / Clathrus ruber
A beautiful but inedible mushroom, so not everything that is beautiful and attractive from the world of mushrooms falls on the table. This is easy to guess from the red color of the grille, which signals us about the danger.
The body of the mushroom resembles a fantastic sphere, and consists of a red lattice, which is why it got such an unusual geometric name.
The growth period is quite long, from the end of spring to late autumn, as if nature had specially extended the life spans of its beautiful creation.
16
Xanthoria elegant / Xanthoria elegans
In fact, it is a lichen that grows on stones, but belongs to the kingdom of mushrooms.
Elite leafy lichen is widely represented in mountain and Arctic regions, and geologists with its help easily date the time of formation of rocks and caves.
Xanthoria elegant is rightfully included in the category of fairy mushrooms because of its beauty, because it is not for nothing that mycologists added the word “elegant” to its name.
17 Morel conic / Morchella conica
Nature also showed imagination when creating an edible conical morel, belonging to the large genus of morel mushrooms.
The upper part resembles a conical honeycomb, and the mycelium has a thickening in the lower part of the snow-white legs. Morel is one of the first to emerge from the ground after snow has melted.
Its taste is especially appreciated among French culinary experts, so in the menu of French restaurants you can find dishes that include this mushroom.
18
Amethyst varnish / Amethyst deceiver
Appearance and bright lilac color will not leave indifferent any mushroom picker, but a handsome man grows in dense forests, preferring moist soil.
A round hat is located on a high thin leg, which first has a dome-shaped shape, and with age becomes flat to 7 cm in diameter.
It is part of the Ryadovkov family, which today is considered the most numerous among all species known to mycologists.
19
Leratiomyces / Leratiomyces
The most beautiful mushroom in nature, resembling a cake in appearance, which the scientists of mycologists attributed to the Strofariev family.
It can grow both on soil and on trunks of tall trees. Of course, such forms in natural primordial nature is a real work of art.
The view was opened long ago, but the full description and placement in the directories took place in 2008.
20
Ink mushroom / Coprinopsis atramentaria
Faced with such a mushroom, you will undoubtedly feel like in a fairy tale, because by its shape it resembles a little old forest man in an unusual headdress with wide fields.
The name speaks for itself, and from this mushroom, ink really gets. Unusual inkwell, despite the unpretentious second name dung beetle, has long been used in cooking.
But it is worth remembering that when you use it, you should not drink alcohol, since a combination with alcohol can cause severe poisoning.
21
Amanita muscaria / Amanita muscaria
Everyone from childhood knows that the fly agaric is poisonous, but in the vastness of Russia it is perhaps the most beautiful mushroom that attracts attention with its amazing appearance.
It is very easy to distinguish it from other types of mushrooms. A red cap with white spots rises high above the earth's surface on the same snow-white leg. The use of fly agaric has an intoxicating effect, and in ancient times it was used by the shamans of Siberia to cause hallucinations, or, as in the jargon of drug addicts, hallucinations. But still, this species is considered inedible.
The etymology of the name from the word “fly” is also interesting, since in Europe it was widely used to protect homes from these harmful insects.
22
Eternal Light Mushroom / Mycena luxaeterna
We conclude our acquaintance with unusual mushrooms growing in a narrow strip of moist Atlantic forests near Sao Paulo. It was first discovered here, and one of the features is that it is mushrooms glowing in the dark.
It is quite difficult to notice it in daylight, because the hat is only 8 mm, and the leg on which it is located does not grow more than 1 cm.
It grows mainly in groups of up to 30 pieces each. Discovered and described by Dennis Desjardin.
23
Beech Orange / Cyttaria gunnii
Cyttaria gunnii, commonly known as myrtle orange or beech orange, is an edible orange-white fungus. It parasitizes on trees of the species Notofagus Cunningham, native to Australia and Oceania.
They say that they resemble clusters of grapes, fruiting bodies appear in clusters in late spring and summer (from November to January). Spherical or pear-shaped, they can reach 2.5 cm in diameter. They are covered with a membrane that breaks, revealing a network of concavities. Aborigines used fruiting bodies as food. The fruits have a jelly-like consistency and are reported to taste good.
24
Bamboo Mushroom / Dictyophora Indusiata
Mushrooms of such an unusual shape can be found in almost all tropical forests of the world rich in wood humus. They belong to the family and the Veselkov family. An unusual mesh is covered with spore mucus, which attracts flies and other insects to disperse the spores. in many Asian cuisines it is considered very useful.
25
Anthracophyllum archeri
These mushrooms are considered very rare and live only in the rainforests of Tasmania, Australia and Oceania.
26
Gnezdovkovye / Nidulariaceae
This family of mushrooms is part of the detachment of Agaricomycetes, but probably this does not mean anything to you. The only important thing is that in appearance they very much resemble a nest with eggs. And it all looks very cute and beautiful - as we love!
27
Anemone funnel / Aseroe Rubra
The anemone funnel has an unpleasant smell of carrion and an unusual shape in the form of a sea anemone. Distributed in the forests of Australia and Tasmania. Less common in New Zealand. In addition, this species has been seen in Africa and North America. He probably got there with various products imported from Australia. It resembles a red star-shaped structure, standing on a snow-white trunk, covered with brown mucus. It attracts flies that spread its spores throughout the county.
28
Pezizaceae / Pezizaceae
This is a family of Ascomycota mushrooms that differ in their unusual appearance; they grow in the shape of a cup. Spores form on the inner surface of the fetal body. The shape of the cup is usually used to collect raindrops, followed by splashing out water saturated with spores.
29
Stemonitis axifera
One of the types of stimonitis that are common around the world, with the exception of Antarctica. It grows on decaying trees, growing up to 2 centimeters in height.
30
Thyroid scutellinia / Scutellinia scutellata
Thyroid scutellinia, commonly known as a cup with eyelashes, Molly mollusks, elf hat, mushroom with eyelashes, is a small saprophytic fungus of the genus Scutellinia. The fruiting bodies are small red cups with distinct long, dark hairs or “eyelashes”. These eyelashes are the main distinguishing feature of the look and are easily visible with a magnifying glass. This species is common in North America and Europe and is registered on all continents.
Finally
Wikipedia reports that the mushroom world numbers from 100 to 250 thousand species of mushrooms, and the most daring scientists say about 1.5 million. Mushrooms are frequent characters in fairy tales and are actively used by animation masters in animation, and decorative mushrooms have long been an adornment of personal plots.
It is also striking that the fungi isolated in a separate kingdom have signs of both plants and animal organisms. Maybe that's why picking mushrooms is called "silent hunting."
Beautiful photos of mushrooms
Honestly, we found a great many photographs of these unusual and beautiful organisms. The list goes on and on!
It is simply impossible to stop! I want to share all the most beautiful photos! We continue ...
As you can see, the skill and professionalism of photographers greatly affect our perception. Probably each of us passed these amazing mushrooms, failing to consider the beauty in them.
Be sure to watch this video!
On, and a few more photos, so as not to overload the RAM of your devices!
Co-author: Alexey Shcherbakov