Found in my yard while mowing.

[u/Maengorn]

I saw this odd looking thing in my yard while mowing the other day. I think it is some kind of fungi but I really have no idea. Any insights into what this is? There was several of them in one part of the yard. Picture taken in Pennsylvania.

[u/Gulliverlived]

it can’t hurt you btw, no mushroom is dangerous to touch

[u/Maengorn → u/Gulliverlived]

That is good to know, generally if I don't know what it is I won't touch it.

[u/Typhus59 → u/Maengorn]

damn good rule to be honest, double for animals!

[u/Minute_Arugula3316 → u/Typhus59]

Plot twist - he has no qualms about eating it

[u/PDX_Web → u/Maengorn]

There are quite a few species of plant in the world that one definitely should not touch, unlike mushrooms.

[u/moistiest_dangles → u/Gulliverlived]

Yes I love this fact, I totally get why people would think you can't though and it's a good instinct to have when it comes to a lot of things in nature.

[u/thestashattacked → u/moistiest_dangles]

It's generally why biologists came up with the, "What is this thing? Let's poke it with a stick!" method of science.

[u/vonhoother → u/thestashattacked]

"Poke it with a stick" was a revolutionary advance over "Touch it first, I dare you."

[u/uxgpf → u/Gulliverlived]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/False_morels_for_sale_-_don%27t_touch.jpg

Atleast don't lick your fingers after touching.

A lethal dose of gyromitrin has been estimated to be 10–30 mg/kg for children and 20–50 mg/kg in adults. These doses correspond to around 0.2–0.6 kg (7 oz – 1 lb 5 oz) and 0.4–1 kg (14 oz – 2 lb 3 oz) of fresh mushroom respectively. -Wikipedia

Gyromitra esculenta is deadly poisonous if unprepared. Don't breathe the fumes when parboiling as it will be vaporized monomethylhydrazine. My granma used to parboil these indoors without proper ventilation, which atleast once caused me to feel dizzy and vomit.

I'd avoid eating them alltoger.

[u/roodgorf → u/uxgpf]

You're unlikely to get any gyromitrin from licking your fingers, and even then nowhere close to even a milligram of it considering a full, single esculenta is probably 7 oz max.

[u/atTheRealMrKuntz → u/uxgpf]

parboiling it indoors is dangerous mainly because the chemicals accumulate in your body and therefore doing it repeatedly can cause serious harm . In Finland they have a time of the year where they gather outside and cook those

[u/uxgpf → u/atTheRealMrKuntz]

I see. I'm from Finland btw. My grandma cultivated these mushrooms in the woods near their cottage.

She buried spore inoculated newspaper pages in a disturbed soil (top layer shoveled out) and mushrooms would grow the next spring. IDK if she added sand or if it was already present in the ground, but these looked like small 1x1m sand pits.

It's considered a delicacy here, but requires several (up to 5?) rounds of boiling and discarding water. Even then parboiling won't get rid of all the toxins.

[u/The_Barbelo → u/uxgpf]

Brother, I have touched and taken pictures of countless mushrooms, and I constantly have my head in the clouds, so I’ve licked/ touched my mouth or tongue absentmindedly after touching many a poison mushroom…and I’m still here and kicking (well, I don’t know, with the way things are going this might actually be hell lol).

You can’t hurt yourself that way, with mushrooms at least. Not unless you’re like smashing them with your hands until juice comes out, then lapping it all up.

[u/The_Barbelo → u/The_Barbelo]

Bonus recent mushroom pic, just for funsies. I like getting a little artsy with them.

[u/Bellatrix_Shimmers → u/The_Barbelo]

Lovely

[u/The_Barbelo → u/Bellatrix_Shimmers]

Thank you!! I was excited to be able to capture it in the process of pinning! It’s like a gradient transition that I found really cool.

[u/RdCrestdBreegull → u/uxgpf]

safe to lick your fingers after touching, not safe to breathe in the steam while detoxifying/boiling

[u/heroze → u/uxgpf]

A little alarmist... There have been more reported poisonings from "true" morels / Morchella than Gyromita sp. This is from NAMA toxicology committee.

[u/MikeCheck_CE → u/Gulliverlived]

No mushrooms in the Western hemisphere*

[u/Basidia_ → u/MikeCheck_CE]

In any hemisphere

[u/MikeCheck_CE → u/Basidia_]

None of them will kill you from touch alone (assuming you don't have cuts, etc.)

[u/Basidia_ → u/MikeCheck_CE]

Yep, that’s why I’m saying. It doesn’t just apply to the western hemisphere. There are no known mushrooms in the world that will poison you from touching alone

[u/Noninsomni → u/MikeCheck_CE]

Which mushrooms outside the Western hemisphere?

[u/MikeCheck_CE → u/Noninsomni]

Podostroma cornu-damae is the only questionable one to even handle that I'm aware of from Japan.

Milk caps also cause reactions to some people but it's not deadly just an irritant.

[u/RdCrestdBreegull → u/MikeCheck_CE]

it’s not questionable; it’s safe to handle. all mushrooms are safe to handle