Down egg that lives its life on trees (6 photos + 1 video)
When looking at this creature at an early stage of maturity, it may seem that a child forgot some kind of plush toy on a tree. But Volvariella silky is not a toy, but a mushroom. 
The distribution area of the representative of the Pluteaceae family is quite wide. The mushroom is found in Europe, Asia, North America, the Caribbean, and Australia. 
By type and feeding method, Volvariella is a parasite of deciduous trees, but it can also grow on dead wood. Starting around the end of summer - beginning of autumn (earlier in the southern regions), a small, inconspicuous egg appears on the surface, inside of which the rudiment of the fruiting body is hidden for the time being. This is the volva, a cup-shaped structure at the base of the mushroom that is a remnant of the universal blanket. 
Gradually, from the size of a quail, it grows to a large chicken. The shell opens, revealing to the world something amazing - fluffy and silky - a crystal white hat. Tactilely, the young fungus also feels wonderful, it feels like the fur of a small rabbit or kitten.
The plates of the cap are snow-white, then acquire a pinkish tint. The stem is dense and, due to the specific nature of its growth, is often curved. 
As you age, the hairs on the hat disappear, and the hat itself wrinkles and sags, like the moth-eaten boa of an elderly fashionista. The mushroom hangs sadly, miraculously managing to stay on its stem at unimaginable angles. 
Volvariella silky is almost impossible to confuse with other mushrooms. And all thanks to the texture, color and specific bag. After cutting, the mushroom quickly withers, losing its shape and elasticity. It is considered conditionally edible, but experienced mushroom pickers differ in their taste characteristics.
Some consider tree eggs almost the food of the gods; they are stewed, fried, salted, pickled, boiled, and baked into pies. The latter (there are a few more of them) claim that they will never try volvariella again: both the taste and the smell are so disgusting that they only cause vomiting. 
Of course, this is purely a matter of taste. And while some mushroom pickers carefully examine the trunks in search of fluffy guerrillas, others can at most take photos for the collection and don’t even bother cutting off the caps.
Volvariella doesn't care about their throwing. She can live out her short life in peace and crumble into dust without regrets. While new generations of fluffy and silky eggs are already preparing to hatch somewhere at altitude, to spend their lives condescendingly looking down at the bustle or tranquility or to end up in a basket and a mushroom dish.
Have you ever come across such mushrooms?
post-Pooh egg
