A very wet September has led to a lot of mushrooms in Virginia. Do NOT eat them unless you are absolutely certain they are of the edible variety. A Springfield, Virginia man nearly died after eating a poisonous mushroom.

Lynchburg’s ABC13 reports:

We spotted this stinkhorn mushroom covered with plenty of flat footed flies on the North Trail at the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia. The stinkhorn mushroom is kind of nasty looking, white with a brown/green slime.

Stinkhorn Mushroom and Flat Footed Flies

I believe these are earthball mushrooms we saw on our Strickler Knob hike.  I’m interested in getting a mushroom identification field guide.  Please let me know in the comments if you recommend a book.

On a recent hike up Strickler Knob, we spotted these orange mushrooms.

I took this picture on a hike last fall up to Compton Peak in Shenandoah National Park.  Is it chicken of the woods?

Note:  Make sure you know what you’re doing before eating any mushroom.  I am NOT a mycologist.