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Yep, you read that right. This means the woods provide us with not only 'Chicken' 'Hen' and 'Pork' BUT ALSO 'Shrimp' mushrooms!!!
Entoloma Abortivum Iowa October 2020
TLDR:
←Watch our Video about these mushrooms here!
The first time I spotted these mushrooms was in October of 2020 on disc golf course in Iowa. After photographing what I saw I turned to my field guides to learn more and WOW... a lot to unpack here! Basically (with plenty of disagreements between mycologists overtime) as of a study published in 2001, these fungi are currently understood to be Entoloma mushrooms that parasitize Honey mushrooms. But, according to Mushroom-Collecting.com, if you take a closer look at the differences in certain parasitized fruitings, there is clearly more research to be done...
"I have found fruit bodies with two very different looks to them [...] I often wonder if this is something that could go either way depending on which mycelium is "stronger".
A great point to make, plus another example of just how young the field of mycology truly is, with loads of more studies necessary to properly understand mushrooms. The photos to the left are examples of the varying aborted fruting bodies from Mushroom Expert's article. Personally, I've only found examples of what seems clear to me to be parasitized Honey mushrooms (top photo). Watch our video here where we point out how we can tell we've found Honey mushrooms parasitized by Entolomas instead of the reverse!
Also lets please address that this means mushrooms can in fact be cannibalistic 💀 !
Below is a gallery of Aborted Entolomas I've found, showing the entoloma and the parasitized honey mushrooms. If you look closely in the 4th photo you can spot a baby honey mushroom that had somehow survived unscathed! I found that the honey mushrooms here that were parasitized where the "Ringless Honey Mushrooms" Desarmillaria caespitosa. Watch our video all about these edible mushrooms here!
Sources:
Kuo, M. (2014, January). Entoloma abortivum. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/entoloma_abortivum.html