Any idea what these critters are ??

[Daidohead]

 

[usschicago1]

Ive heard of these...There birds nest muchrooms... http://greennature.com/gallery/mushroom-pictures/nest.html The come in all diffrent forms, your look completly diffrent from this one..but i think its because its just a diffrent sub species or whatever.
Marm

 

[Lavender2]

I agree .. definitely some type of fungi ... Cup fungi .. ?

Lots of different interesting types in CA ... ...Fungi

 

[vfem]

Wow... neat find!!!

 

[Lavender2]

Shrooms... fungi, are such a fascinating piece of nature to me!
My greatest find last year... Sheepshead ... over 12" across, at the base of a tree in my woods ...
Common around here, but it was the first time I ever found one!

 

[patandchickens]

They're "ear fungi", something along the lines of Auricularia http://mycology.suite101.com/article.cfm/auricularia_auricula_the_wood_ear_mushroom (I am not swearing to this particular genus and species, but, if not, then it's something similar)

They are theoretically edible -- closely related to some of the fungi that show up in dried form in oriental groceries and your bowl o' hot-and-sour soup -- but I have never tried eating any of the wild ones myself.

IME they crop up quite commonly when you have mulched with newspaper, cardboard, shavings or wood chips. They seem totally harmless to plants.

(e.t.a - birds nest fungi are different, very small [like the tip of your pinkie finger at largest] and sort of cardboardy not jelly-y, with a few egglike spore packets in the middle when fresh. )

Pat

 

[Daidohead]

Thank you all for the replies.

I spent 20 years in the mountains above the Napa Valley before moving here to the North end of the Sacramento Valley 9 months ago. It's a whole different world here, different soil, weather, lots of new plants and animals.

Thanks again for the help, Mark

 

[Forget-me-not-lover]

its mushroom
im pretty sure its called bird-nest mushroom
idk.
my grandmother loved mushrooms lol
so i know quite a bit