FungiFriday: When We Found the "Minefield"

There was a joke when we entered a rambutan garden in the Sidomulyo area yesterday afternoon. Yes, it was a mushroom walk we did together after making an appointment the day before.

Just a few meters away, we stepped into the garden located on the left side of the road, I shouted, "Hey, be careful!" There are many mines here!"

Some of us thought it was a joke; they thought the mines I meant were some kind of scattered human dung or that of a wild boar.

But someone commented that maybe these were real mines left over from the time of the conflict in Aceh that occurred between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government.

Seeing them exchange glances, I hasten to calm them down. "Relax! Those are mushrooms, not real mines!"

Everyone chuckled when they saw rubber cups sticking out of the ground. Everyone who saw the rubber cups agreed and murmured that they did look like anti-tank mines.

Galiella rufa is the scientific name for this fungus. The mushroom texture is very soft and chewy.

The fruiting body of the mushroom is velvety-hairy, and there is a kind of crater on the surface.

If split, the mushroom secretes a solid, jelly-like mucus. Mushrooms grow in damp soil and some in rotting wood.

..and the good news is that the rubber cup is a type of mushroom that is edible.

Are you interested in trying it?😉