If a fungus could roar

By Aaron Horrell

A few years ago, a large American beech tree died. Eventually, the large trunk weakened, and it probably was a wind storm that brought it down.

As a broken log laying on the ground, the rotting beech became the perfect host for spores of a fungus known as lion's mane.

You can imagine my surprise and delight to come across the sight you see here.

Shining in the sun, the patches of white fungi were as conspicuous as piles of snow in an autumn forest.

I laid my cap on the end of a broken piece of the log as photo reference for size.

Lion's mane fungi is a late summer/autumn kind of mushroom considered common in Southeast Missouri.

My recommendation is never to assume any mushroom or fungi is edible. Many of them are poisonous if eaten.

Check with a mushroom expert before risking a trip to the doctor.