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CommunityJune 8, 2024

Discovered under sweet gum trees, jelly babies are tiny, gummy-textured mushrooms that appear briefly after rain. Growing quickly and vanishing within hours, these fungi leave no trace behind.

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I found these tiny mushrooms in late May under a canopy of tall sweet gum trees. They were in a place that had been under water from heavy rain two days previous. The ground was very wet. I held one of them between two fingers without pulling it from the ground. It was similar in consistency to a candy gummy worm.

These little mushrooms have a cute name. They are called jelly babies. They are very simple in structure with nothing more than a stalk and a head. They grow quickly and live only a matter of hours before wilting and melting away. I went back to the same spot two mornings later and found nothing to indicate they had ever existed.

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I did not notice any discernible odor coming from these mushrooms, and I certainly did not harvest any to eat. Never consume any mushrooms that you don’t know are 100% safe to eat.

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