Scaly Hedgehog (Shingled Hedgehog) fungus / Sarcodon imbricatus

Tomorrow, 31 August 2018, I plan to join friends out west of the city. Thought I would post tomorrow's photos tonight, so that I am not in such a rush early in the morning. Today, I spent time watching the first memorial service, in Arizona, for Senator John McCain. Some very moving words given by various people.

On 5 August 2018, it was a long weekend here, thanks to a Civic Holiday today (Monday), I was pretty sure that there would be plenty of people at a park SW of the city, so I felt somewhat more confident about going a bit further into the forest. Also, there was a cycle race (?) going on, along the road that runs alongside the park, and there were a few more people in the area - just in case I came across a bear or a cougar!

Mushrooms were what I was looking for, and I found several quite nice ones. Always a treat to come across a polypore that is covered in guttation droplets, and also a Scaly Hedgehog fungus. The latter does not have gills or pores on the underside, but instead is toothed. I have added a previously posted photo of one that I photographed in August 2011, at Rod Handfield's property. The leader picked it in order to show us the underside.

"Sarcodon imbricatus, commonly known as the shingled hedgehog or scaly hedgehog, is a species of tooth fungus in the order Thelephorales. The mushroom is edible. Many sources report it has a bitter taste, but others have found it delicious and suspect that the bitter specimens may be similar related species.[1] The mushroom has a large, brownish cap with large brown scales and may reach 30 cm (12 in) in diameter. On the underside it sports greyish, brittle teeth instead of gills, and has white flesh. Its spore print is brown. It is associated with spruce (Picea), appearing in autumn. It ranges throughout North America and Europe." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcodon_imbricatus

On the way home from the park, I stopped to see if any Mountain Bluebirds were still around. The male of one pair looked so dishevelled - I don't remember it being windy. So much work goes into feeding a young family.