31 Photos Of The World’s Coolest Mushrooms

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