I first spotted these shelf mushrooms a few weeks ago, on the side of the road. It takes some skill to spot interesting photographic subjects when you zoom by at 60 mph, but I’ve gotten pretty good at it. There’s no substitute for being on foot on a nice hike, but you cover a lot more ground in a car.

These are growing on a tree stump and their distinctive arrangement is what caught my eye. I made a mental note to come back when the light was more favorable and see what I could capture.

The stump is about 2 feet in diameter and about that high. Each mushroom is a few inches across and only about 1/2 inch thick. They look like tiny shelves hanging on the side of the stump.

Shelf Mushrooms

It was early in the morning, just after sunrise, so the stump is somewhat backlit. The grazing backlight shows the mushroom’s surface texture well. They look fuzzy, but I didn’t touch them to confirm.

You can also see a small lichen clinging to the bark.

Shelf Mushrooms

I didn’t see any obvious pattern to their location. Some of them are quite close to their neighbors and others are widely separated. You can see a white edge on them, although it’s not so distinct on some.

Shelf mushrooms are also known as bracket fungi. There are many genus and species and some are edible. Please remember the rule: don’t eat any wild mushrooms. While some mushrooms are edible, most are not, and it’s not worth taking a chance.