Mysterious Mushrooms

We solved the caper! The suspected "stinkhorn egg" I posted about previously is, in fact, Lysurus mokusin aka "Lantern Stinkhorn". A real oddity in the garden; it is of tropical origin and said to be common in warmer climates, such as Southern California, and rarely the north Bay Area like Napa. The fruiting body, shown here, has an odor of rotting flesh so as to attract the flies which spread its spores.

On a recent trip to Pt. Reyes I pulled over when I spotted this whopper of a toadstool by the roadside. I believe it is Amanita calyptroderma aka "Coccora". It must have been at least about 7" in diameter, bigger than the length of my hand! It is said to be edible, however, I would never risk it, as the Amanita family contains most of the few deadly species of mushrooms and only a trained mycologist should be trusted with such identification. I mostly just like to photograph.