Went out for a walk yesterday to check my laccaria spot and I was suprised to notice that there are still several species of mushrooms present out there this late in the year. My last hunt turned up only one species (mid november) yet here it is Dec and I am finding several.
There seems to be two species of laccarias that grow in one specific area. This species does not appear to be Amethystea. However [EDIT]:laccata is also edible and probably tastes the same as amethystea. Either way these specimens are in pretty bad shape, some look aged/dried.

My hunt got cut really short as the sun began to set, but today we are getting lots of rain and I have hopes of geading back out and finding some more hopefully fresher specimens.

Sorry about the poor indoors pic quality guys, I was forced to take the pics inside because it was dark out.
Thumbnails linked to larger images..



Here are some misc finds from yesterday:


EDIT: Fixed link.
I am unsure what type of fungus this is. It is jelly like and grows from what appears to be birch sticks and twigs:


Another shot of these, didnt get a chance to make a thumbnail:

The Yellow jelly fungus looks very much like Tremella Mesenterica- the yellow brain fungus. As for the Laccaria, I'm still working on it!

Mark

Interesting, I usually dont pay attention to those little orange guys but I figured since nothing much else was going on out there that I would bring it back for the learning benefit.

Well obviously I can't be 100% sure on what the yellow stuff is, but thats what I would say it is for an educated guess. I haven't been out for the last couple of weeks, however my groups' last foray is this Saturday so hopefully I'll be out for that.

I will report back with any finds- there probably wont be many because the temperatures have been hovering around freezing recently.

Mark

A guess works for me, I couldnt really find it in any of my books(only searched for a brief period). I'm kind of lazy to go on an in-depth search for info on the genus or species.
Good luck on your foray Mark.

Looks like T.Mesenterica to me. Have you been having a bit of a dry spell wherever you picked it? They either expand or contract depending on the ambient moisture level. If that is what it is, and you enjoy adventures in eating, cook them in with some Won Ton soup. Not much flavor,veery delicate, but the texture is great!

Whistle