Yellow Fungus Fan

No idea what sort of fungus this is, but it was growing high up on a eucalyptus tree along the street. The owner of the house came out while I was taking the picture and mentioned it popped up every now and again over the years. She quite properly seemed to regard it as something to admire.

More Fungi

This one was on a tree near the road. I have no idea what it is, except sort of slimy and oozy and Halloween-y.

And this one was in Lake Park. I don't know what it is, either. Sadly, someone else had spotted the tree first and had broken a number of really interesting looking growths. Still, this one shows promise, if it's left alone. Just look at the way it fans out.

More Fungi

I love the pattern on this fungus, the way it almost but not quite blends into the tree trunk. It almost covers a fairly large area where, at some point, a branch was cut off low down the trunk.

Tentative identification via Gardenweb is that it is a Ganoderma applanatum, fascinatingly also called the "artist's mushroom," not, unfortunately for its beauty but for the enduring nature of any bruising to its surface (Apparently some people draw on them. Hang on. Let's see if I can find a more artistic example somewhere... Oh, here's a set, and here, and there are examples here, too. Who'd have thought? I do so love the net as a way of Finding Things Out).

Anyway, the Ganoderma applanatum can also apparently live for dozens of years, which is fascinating. I'll have to keep an eye on this one. Assuming, that is, it is a Ganoderma applanatum and not some other flat fungusy thing. In any case, It's fascinating and I'll keep an eye on it.