Colorful Mystical And Sometimes Fatal 31 Photos Of The World S Coolest Mushrooms

Giant mushrooms were peppered throughout the planet before trees. These ‘shrooms have since shrunk, but we still think they’re pretty cool.

Favolaschia calocera

While few of us are actually mycologists–or the super niche-y group of people that study fungi–mushrooms have long captivated the attention of humans, be it through their use in religious ceremonies (some ancient rock art shows what appears to be hallucinogenic mushroom use in the Sahara desert around 9,000 years ago!), childhood books–or just as a catalyst to write some truly bizarre music.

While comparatively diminutive today, there was even a time in which it was mushrooms–and we’re talking massive, 24-feet-tall and three-feet-wide mushrooms–that covered the Earth, not trees. Fast forward 350 to 420 million years, and though these ‘shrooms have shrunk substantially, they still maintain their coolness. We provide you with some of our favorites below:

Cyathus striatus

Hydnellum peckii

Amethyst Deceiver

Leratiomyces mushroom

Panus fasciatus

Amanita muscaria

Mycena chlorophos

Rhodotus palmatus

Crepidotus

Lepiota mushroom

Porcelain Fungus

Puffball Mushroom

An exploding puffball mushroom

Phallus indusiatus

Marasmius haematocephalus

Scutellinia scutellata

Chorioactis

Geastrum minimum

Clathrus archeri

Morchella esculenta

Clathrus ruber

Hairy mycena

A snail perches atop a mushroom.

Aseroe Rubra

Schizophyllum commune

Tiny golden mushrooms

A “toothed” mushroom

Coprinus comatus

A frog in a cup mushroom

Cup mushroom