Found these popping up in the gravel next to my shop.  They are real heavy. 6 or 7 seven of them in the group. 

I cut three of them. They range from a white punky center to a black punky, and a black wet gooey mess.  I will keep an eye on the rest and see what happens.  Sure are lot of different things once you start looking a bit.

More rain today

From me:

It now looks something like a Scleroderma geaster, or Dead Man's Hand, to me.  They should open up something like an Earth Star.

Herman, Rebecca found this red one today. She looked thru all the books and can not get an ID.  No gills what so ever.

Later
Bob & Rebecca

From me: 

This red one looks like what is called a "Lobster Mushroom", which is probably a Russula brevipes that has been parasitized by the red Hypomyces lactifluorum, which eventually removes all the gills.

The picture shown at http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/aug2001.html probably looks the most like yours.

If you knew for sure which mushroom was the host,  and that the host was edible, it is edible and could be considered choice.  I would say that this one is edible if the stalk breaks like chalk, but it could be latently bitter or hot, depending on which species of Lactarius or Russula was the host.  If it was near some R. brevipes you could try a small taste, but better safe than sorry!

Break the stalk and see if it seems like the way a brevipes breaks, or snaps. It may not though because of the hypomyces parasite. I have never seen a red hypomyces, but did once find a Lactarius rubrilacteus parasitized by a white hypomyces, and was stumped by the gill-less mushroom that bleed red milk.

See http://www.fungi-zette.com/mush5.htm for Tuesday, August 17.

Herman
 

Good morning.  Went out by the patio back of the house and found these critters popping up.  I think they are some sort of slippery jack, although they are not real slimy, sort of moist.  They do not have gills but do have a veil.  Do not blue when bruised, sort of turns brown, see photo. The larger ones are a couple of inches across. Rebecca is taking a spore print now.

Bob & Rebecca

I was unable to find any pictures of it on the net, but using the key in Mushrooms Demystified, that is what I came up with.

Were they growing near a pine or spruce of some kind? The S. pseudobrevipes are usually associated with pines or spruces, not Douglas Fir, but that is my closest guess.

Herman

More pictures for you . Interesting.

From me:

The conk is probably a Fomitopsis pinicola, the second small mushroom is probably a Stropharia ambigua, and the third, string-like one is probably what is called Fairy Fingers, or Clavaria vermicularis.

Herman

Bob

From me: The first one looks like a Grisette.

The second is probably the Fomitopsis pinicola again

The third is a fairy ring of some kind.

The fourth looks like two dirty Russula brevipes and a mature puffball of some kind, unless it is going to open and show some gills.

Any Matsutakes yet?