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Coprinus comatus, Shaggy Mane. Researches on fungi. 1958.

“The Indian hemp plant, marijuana, supplies a dangerous, habit-forming alkaloid drug.” Life Science: Based on High School Biology. 1941.

Fig. 201. “Pleurotus ostreatus. [Tree oyster mushroom.] The under surface of a full-grown fruit-body removed  from a Poplar (Populus serotina), showing the gills and the interlamellar spaces.”

Umbilicaria mammulata

Navel lichen, smooth rock tripe

Um, excuse me sir, who gave you permission to be that big??? Say hello to the world’s largest lichen, U. mammulata! This foliose lichen can grow to have a diameter up to 60 cm across! Although typically it stays between 15-30 cm. These  sheets are attached by a single holdfast (which gives it a little depression at the center that looks like a belly-button, hence the name Umbilicaria), and are gray-brown to olive-brown on he upper surface, black on the lower surface. The edges are often folden over, and the texture is said to be brittle when dry, and  leathery when wet. It is typically found growing on large, shaded rock surfaces in moist habitats in temperate regions. Apparently you can harvest and eat U. mammulata, but the taste is nothing special. Still, in a survival situation, go for it, I guess. Just make sure you boil it first so it is sterile. To find the largest specimens of this gargantuan pal, head to the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Visit Dollywood on the way and you’ve made a vacation out of it! But I would be more excited to see this beautiful boy in person. 

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