Honey fungi Boom Bridge

The drought persists, but today, we got a bit of a reprieve. Dawn arrived with thunder and sprinkles, and throughout the daylight hours, the dark skies occasionally blessed us with heavier showers, even—once—a genuine downpour. Late in the afternoon, I chanced a walk, and along one road, in a favored place, I spotted this year's edition of Honey Mushrooms. When the rains come at the right time, I can always depend on this area to produce a fine crop of Armillaria mellea, a true parasite responsible for a wood rot that can kill hardwood trees. You can often smell these mushrooms before you spot them, but the appetizing aroma is something of a tease, since experts are divided over just how much "honey" the fungi offers the gourmand. In one of my early guides, A. mellea was considered a choice edible, but, with a taste that ranges from "mild to bitter" and the suspicion that some people have a toxic reaction to the mushroom, most mycologists now suggest avoiding ingestion. At least the species photographs well.