Design

Isn't this just the greatest mushroom ever?  Milk chocolate, thick and solid as if carved from a walnut block by a gifted artist.

Be sure to notice the sturdy stout stem of this fungus.
The underside feels like the skin of a human's foot or the palm of my hand.

Only a few chips are missing from the top.  I believe these were made by falling bits of sycamore bark. such as the pieces lying to the left of the mushroom which strongly resemble the bark.  The creamy pink hue of the bark's interior is a perfect match for the surface of the nearby mushroom.

Even the curled edges mimic the curling bark. In the photo below you may see the two mushrooms hidden by surrounding sycamore bark curls. I can't help but believe that this is no coincidence.  Could it be that the fungi rely the sycamore roots and use it's bark as camouflage?

The surface of the mushroom makes a bowel that would hold much water were it not for a drain built into           its edge.

What great design.