I took a photo.
Before I left I mentioned this to Kim, and she said:"Did you see the big one?" I pointed to the one I had photographed, and she said: "Oh no, that's not the big one". She was right. 
This was huge. I took another photo with the same lens cap for scale, as with the first shot. This is Phlebopus marginatus, (follow link to Gaye's photo), said to be the largest fungus in Australia. Some specimens have been recorded up to a metre in diameter. Mine would be approximately 500 mm across the widest part (it was not perfectly round). The lens cap is 68 mm external diameter.Then, we took a shot with Kim's Gum Boots for a human scale. You can see that this is a pretty huge Fungus.
And then I thought I would try one with Lena - for a variety of scale images.
Lena could not see the point of this photo - but I can. Small dog - Huge fungus.Kim had recently harvested over 150 Pumpkins from her vegie patch. These are some which she has not yet given away.
I was given a very nice Butternut Pumpkin (my favourite), which I look forward to eating. The big greenish-blue ones are Queensland Blues, and there are many JAP Pumpkins, along with two different varieties of Water Melons.
6 comments:
Those are HUGE fungi and the scale photos are great - especially the one with Lena.
Now - what can you do with pumpkin - apart from a veg? Pumpkin scones? Pumpkin pie? Pumpkin cake? ALL DELICIOUS!
Hi Denis, I have a little trivia for you. Those amazing fungus photos brought back a childhood memory of finding a very similar fungus on the lawn at Merricks in Victoria. I know one often remembers things being bigger when one is young but I took a photo (using a Box Brownie) with my huge old teddybear sitting on the fungus for scale so I remember it quite well.
The link to the fungus site is very interesting, thank you for including it.
Cheers Barbara
Hi Mick and Barbara
It is tempting to invent a Pumpkin and Wild Mushroom dish, but I think this fellow would be a bit tough. I have a friend who cooked one up according to a French recipe, and survived the experience. Generally the books say to remove the "foam" (pores) and to skin them, as the skin is bitter apparently. I am too cautious. By the way, the French recipe apparently involved lots of butter and garlic (of course).
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These things do lend themselves to various photo opportunities, for when you find them (as there were a number at Kim and Peter's place), they just seem so preposterous, that they call out for something to be "staged", such as Barbara's Teddy Bear shot.
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There are many thousands of website of differing levels of credibility and legality, to do with fungi. That one I linked to last night looked quite interesting, I thought. Glad you liked it, Barbara.
That fungus is unbelievable! I've never seen the Queensland blues pumpkin in this area (Chicago), but I'll have to keep an eye out for it. Is the flavor similar to butternut? Happy blogging!
Hi Avis,
Welcome to my blog.
Yes I was impressed with the fungus and that's why I got Lena to pose there to give it's size something (as a medium-small dog) familiar, as a scale.
The Queensland Blue Pumpkins are the large grey-green Pumpkins, at the middle rear. They are not HUGE as some of your American orange ones are. But they are at least 18 inches in diameter. The Butternuts are the narrow yellow ones in front left. The Queensland Blues are very diofferent from Butternuits. They are hard (like rocks) and one needs a really heavy sharp knife to cut them into wedges, and then to peel the skin before boiling the bright orange pulp for about 15 minutes, then mash them with butter and pepper. Serve as a vegetable. Colour of the flesh is fantastic on the plate.
Cheers
Denis
OMG! This is absolutely an incredibly huge mushroom! Cool! In summer, many mushrooms are sold by local farmers in my hometown and I like Boletus most. They are delicious!
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