Shapeshifter

Habitat matters. On the ground, surrounded by dead leaves and stalked puffball mushrooms, an old log, burned black and half rotted, half buried in mud, is home to a batch of any-shape-will-do mushrooms.

Layered stubby hand shape. With a fat springtail.

This was the largest, the neatest, the closest to a shelf fungus shape. About 3 inches side to side.

Some of the mushrooms were blobs. Some looked like glue squeezed out of a piece of joined wood under pressure. Some were more like droopy fingers. None seemed to have stalks.

The underside of the one above. To get this, I had to hold the camera down on the mud, facing up, click and hope. At least I could see this way that they are gilled mushrooms.

Unidentified, of course. I looked through hundreds of photos, and gave up.