dgdft

This is perfectly normal for chaga, save for the exceptionally phallic shape.

Inonotus obliquus is usually found on standing trees, looking like a large lump of blackened, crusty material, reminiscent of charcoal, thrusting itself through the tree’s bark.

www.mushroomexpert.com/inonotus_obliquus.html

^also includes reference photos

This is pretty conclusive as H. Americanum, but you’re 100% free to call it Lion’s Mane outside of academic discussion with a mycologist.

All the similar Hericium species in this cluster are edible and cook similarly, so any further distinction is a matter of taxonomic interest rather than culinary — kinda like how P. Ostreatus is “the” oyster mushroom, but there are additional species (e.g. golden oysters) that fall under the general common-name umbrella of “oyster mushrooms”.

I spotted these while hiking and didn’t harvest, but I’ve had spathulata in the past and it’s quite nice!

I found the texture just a touch unpleasant when dry-sauteed (though I don’t know if that’s particular to the species, my cooking, or the specimen I was working with) — but I’ve heard people use it as a noodle-like texture in soups, and I think it would be perfect for that.

Serious answer, content-farm listicle authors deliberately make provocative choices to get more attention, and also usually don’t personally care about whatever they’re writing on.

Quoting from the wikipedia page of Screen Rant’s parent company:

According to TheWrap, previous and current Valnet employees claim the company prioritizes “mass quantity over quality to churn out mind-numbing SEO bait.” Once websites are acquired by Valnet, the permanent staff are usually replaced by contractors, who are paid significantly less (reportedly around $19 for 1000 words at GameRant) than the former tenured staff. One former contributor described Valnet website Collider to TheWrap as “a content mill, borderline like almost sweatshop-level”, while another writer suggested that Valnet forced contractors to create “junky clickbait” content.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valnet

Shoutout to Charles Mann’s 1493, which contains a remarkably insightful survey of potato biology and indigenous Andean cultivation. Highly recommend for anyone interested in the topic.

en.wikipedia.org/…/1493:_Uncovering_the_New_World…

Is there a buried lede here? What’s noteworthy about an RC of a minor version release?