Happy Mystery Monday! Can you guess what is pictured below?
The answer to last week’s mystery is cauliflower fungi, Sparassis spathulata, pictured below.
Cauliflower fungi is a widespread species that appears all across North America, but it is rather uncommon, growing few and far between. Found mainly at the bases of oak, beech, and pine trees, cauliflower fungi looks like a mass of ruffles or a pile of cooked lasagna noodles.
Measuring 4-10″ across, cauliflower fungi is flexible (and edible!) when young, becoming tough with age. It can be found growing singly, between July and October.
Cauliflower fungi are parasitic and saprobic, meaning they attack, decay, and feed off dead and dying organic material.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.