White-footed elf cup - Helvella leucomelaena (Pers.) Nannf. - Cyprus

Helvella leucomelaena, commonly known as the "white-footed elf cup", is a species of fungi in the Helvellaceae family, Pezizales order. As its common name implies, it is characterized by the white coloring of its stem.
The deeply cup-shaped cap of the fruiting body is up to 3 centimetres (1.2 in) broad. The outer surface of the cap is blackish-brown near the top, with the color turning to white as it near the stem; the inner surface of the cup is blackish. The stem can be up to 4 centimetres (1.6 in) long by 0.5 centimetres (0.2 in) thick
In North America, this fungus is rare, but it has been collected in California, Alaska, and the Rocky Mountains. It has also been found in South America and Europe. It typically grows in coniferous forests, and the white stipe may be hidden or obscured by leaves or may be partially buried in the soil.
Consumption of this fungus is not recommended as similar species in the Helvellaceae family contain the toxin gyromitrin.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Athalassa 9/3/2010 by George Konstantinou

Field mushroom - Agaricus campestris L. (1753) - Cyprus

Agaricus campestris is a widely eaten gilled mushroom closely related to the cultivated button mushroom Agaricus bisporus. It iscommonly known as the field mushroom or, in North America, meadow mushroom.
The cap is white, may have fine scales, and is 5 to 10 centimetres (2.0 to 3.9 in) in diameter; it is first hemispherical in shape before flattening out with maturity. The gills are initially pink, then red-brown and finally a dark brown, as is the spore print. The 3 to 10 centimetres (1.2 to 3.9 in) tall stipe is predominantly white and bears a single thin ring. The taste is mild. The white flesh bruises a dingy reddish brown, as opposed to yellow in the inedible (and somewhat toxic) Agaricus xanthodermus and similar species. The thick-walled, elliptical spores measure 5.5–8.0 µm by 4–5 µm. Cheilocystidia are absent

Agaricus campestris is common in fields and grassy areas after rain from late summer onwards worldwide. It is often found on lawns in suburban areas. Appearing in small groups, in fairy rings, or solitary. Owing to the demise of horse-drawn vehicles, and the subsequent decrease in the number of horses on pasture, the old "white outs" of years gone by are becoming rare events. This species is rarely found in woodland.

The mushroom has been reported from Asia, Europe, northern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and North America (including Mexico)

It is widely collected and eaten, even by those who would not normally eat wild mushrooms. This mushroom is not commercially cultivated on account of its fast maturing and short shelf-life.^[9] Culinary uses of the meadow mushroom include eating it sauteed or fried, in sauces, or even sliced raw and included in salads. In flavor and texture, this mushroom is almost identical to the white button mushroom available in grocery stores in the United States. Be sure to rinse well to dislodge any sand, and also watch out for small, white larvae which tunnel through the stems and caps. Among the similar species mentioned above, there have been cases (in fact the most common cause of fatal fungus poisoning in France) where the deadly toxic destroying angel (Amanita bisporigera) has been consumed by individuals who mistook it for this species. The edibility of specimens collected from lawns is uncertain because of possible contamination with pesticides or other chemicals.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Tseri 29/12/2009 by George Konstantinou

Picoa sp. - Cyprus

Photos Geri 12/2/2010 by George Konstantinou

Desert truffles - Tirmania nivea - Cyprus

The Tirmania, Terfeziaceae, or desert truffles, is a family of truffles endemic to arid and semi-arid areas of the Mediterranean Region, North Africa, and the Middle East, where they live in ectomycorrhizal association with Helianthemum species and other ectomycorrhizal plants (including Cistus, oaks, and pines). This group consists of three genera: Terfezia, Tirmania, and Mattirolomyces. They are a few centimetres across and weigh from 30 to 300 grams (1-10 oz). Desert truffles are often used as a culinary ingredient.

Desert truffles, as the name suggests, predominantly grow in the desert. They have been found in arid and semi-arid zones of the Kalahari desert, the Mediterranean basin, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the Sahara, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Libya, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Hungary, Croatia, and China. It is commonly said that they are formed where lightning strikes the desert sands, since they are not the most common of fungi (thus justifying their cost).From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Geri 19/2/2010 by George Konstantinou

Terfezia cf claveryi - Cyprus

Terfezia is a genus of truffle-like fungi within the Pezizaceae family. Terfezia species are commonly known as desert truffles. Some authorities consider this the type genus of the family Terfeziaceae, although phylogenetic analysis suggests that it nests within the Pezizaceae. The Dictionary of the Fungi (10th edition, 2008) suggests that the genus contains 12 species. A recent (2011) publication used molecular analysis to show that the American Terfezia species had been incorrectly classified, and moved Terfezia spinosa and Terfezia longii to Mattirolomyces and Stouffera, respectively; as a result, no Terfezia species are known to exist in North America. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Potamia 6/3/2010 by George Konstantinou

Greyling bracket - Oligoporus tephroleucus (Fr.) Gilb. & Ryvarden - Cyprus

Postia tephroleuca or Oligoporus  tephroleucus also known as greyling bracket, is a species of fungus in the family Fomitopsidaceae infecting broad-leaved trees, typically beech and plane.

Photos Agios Sozomenos 9/3/2010 by George Konstantinou

Parasola sp. - Cyprus

Parasola is a genus of mushrooms in the family Psathyrellaceae.

Photos Athalassa 18/10/2006 by George Konstantinou

Psathyrella sp. - Cyprus

Psathyrella is a large genus of about 400 fungi, and is similar to the genera Coprinellus, Coprinopsis, Coprinus and Panaeolus, usually with a thin cap and white or yellowish white hollow stem. The caps do not self digest as do those of Coprinellus and Coprinopsis. Some also have brown spores rather than black. These fungi are often drab-colored, difficult to identify, and inedible, and so they are sometimes considered uninteresting. However they are quite common and can occur at times when there are few other mushrooms to be seen. The first report of a gilled mushroom fruiting underwater is Psathyrella aquatica.

The genus name Psathyrella is a diminutive form of Psathyra, derived from the Greek word meaning "friable", psathuros (ψαθυρος). From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Latsia 13/6/2006 by George Konstantinou

Coprinus sp. - Cyprus

Coprinus is a small genus of mushroom-forming fungi consisting of Coprinus comatus (the shaggy mane) and several of its close relatives. Until 2001, Coprinus was a large genus consisting of all agaric species in which the lamellae autodigested to release theirspores. (The black ink-like liquid this would create gave these species their common name "inky cap".) Molecular phylogenetic investigation found that Coprinus comatus was only a distant relative of the other members of Coprinus, and was closer to genera in the Agaricaceae. Since Coprinus comatus is the type species of Coprinus, only that species and its close relatives C. sterquilinus and C. spadiceisporus retained the name of the genus.

The majority of species of Coprinus were therefore reclassified into three genera placed in Psathyrellaceae: Coprinellus, Coprinopsis, and Parasola. Coprinus and these segregate genera are now referred to collectively as coprinoid fungi.

Coprinus means "living on dung".  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos  by George Konstantinou

Psathyrella sp. - Cyprus

Psathyrella is a large genus of about 400 fungi, and is similar to the genera Coprinellus, Coprinopsis, Coprinus and Panaeolus, usually with a thin cap and white or yellowish white hollow stem. The caps do not self digest as do those of Coprinellus and Coprinopsis. Some also have brown spores rather than black. These fungi are often drab-colored, difficult to identify, and inedible, and so they are sometimes considered uninteresting. However they are quite common and can occur at times when there are few other mushrooms to be seen. The first report of a gilled mushroom fruiting underwater is Psathyrella aquatica.

The genus name Psathyrella is a diminutive form of Psathyra, derived from the Greek word meaning "friable", psathuros (ψαθυρος). From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos  by George Konstantinou

Puffball mushroom sp. - Cyprus

A puffball is a member of any of several groups of fungi in the division Basidiomycota. The puffballs were previously treated as a taxonomic group called the Gasteromycetes or Gasteromycetidae, but they are now known to be a polyphyletic assemblage. The distinguishing feature of all puffballs is that they do not have an open cap with spore-bearing gills. Instead, spores are produced internally, in a spheroidal fruitbody called a gasterothecium (gasteroid ('stomach-like') basidiocarp). As the spores mature, they form a mass called a gleba in the centre of the fruitbody that is often of a distinctive color and texture. The basidiocarp remains closed until after the spores have been released from the basidia. Eventually, it develops an aperture, or dries, becomes brittle, and splits, and the spores escape. The spores of puffballs arestatismospores rather than ballistospores, meaning they are not actively shot off the basidium. The fungi are called puffballs because clouds of brown dust-like spores are emitted when the mature fruitbody bursts, or in response to impacts such as those of falling raindrops. Puffballs and similar forms are thought to have evolved convergently (that is, in numerous independent events) from Hymenomycetes bygasteromycetation, through secotioid stages. Thus, 'Gasteromycetes' and 'Gasteromycetidae' are now considered to be descriptive, morphological terms (more properly gasteroid or gasteromycetes, to avoid taxonomic implications) but not valid cladistic terms.

Puffballs encompass several genera, including Calvatia, Calbovista and Lycoperdon. True puffballs do not have a visible stalk (stem).

Stalked puffballs do have a stalk that supports the gleba. None of the stalked puffballs are edible as they are tough and woody mushrooms.The Hymenogastrales and Enteridium lycoperdon, a slime mold, are the false puffballs. A gleba which is powdery on maturity is a feature of true puffballs, stalked puffballs and earthstars. False puffballs are hard like rock or brittle. All false puffballs are inedible, as they are tough and bitter to taste. The genus Scleroderma, which has a young purple gleba, should also be avoided.

Puffballs were traditionally used in Tibet for making ink by burning them, grinding the ash, then putting them in water and adding glue liquid and "a nye shing ma decoction", which, when pressed for a long time, made a black dark substance that was used as ink. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Prodromos  by George Konstantinou

Phellinus sp. - Cyprus

Phellinus is a genus of fungi in the family Hymenochaetaceae. Many species cause white rot. Fruit bodies, which are found growing on wood, are resupinate, sessile, and perennial. The flesh is tough and woody or cork-like, and brown in color. Clamp connections are absent, and the skeletal hyphae are yellowish-brown.

The name Phellinus means cork.

The species Phellinus ellipsoideus (previously Fomitiporia ellipsoidea) produced the largest ever fungal fruit body.

Phellinus produces the natural phenol hispidin. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Athalassa 9/3/2010  by George Konstantinou

Phellinus sp. - Cyprus

Phellinus is a genus of fungi in the family Hymenochaetaceae. Many species cause white rot. Fruit bodies, which are found growing on wood, are resupinate, sessile, and perennial. The flesh is tough and woody or cork-like, and brown in color. Clamp connections are absent, and the skeletal hyphae are yellowish-brown.

The name Phellinus means cork.

The species Phellinus ellipsoideus (previously Fomitiporia ellipsoidea) produced the largest ever fungal fruit body.

Phellinus produces the natural phenol hispidin. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos  by George Konstantinou

Peziza sp. - Cyprus

Peziza is a large genus of saprophytic cup fungi that grow on the ground, rotting wood, or dung. Most members of this genus are of unknown edibility and are difficult to identify as separate species without use of microscopy. The polyphyletic genus has been estimated to contain over 100 species.

Peziza may come from the term for foot in Romance languages, perhaps in reference to their general lack of a stalk.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Agios Sozomenos 8/3/2010 by George Konstantinou