Rowan picked the black wood ear fungus that Owen said was edible. It felt soft and chewy in his hand. He sniffed it; it had a strong smell of wild fungus, slightly pungent like rotting wood, not very pleasant.
"Then let's pick some more of this to take back. Drying it will probably reduce the smell."
He noticed some light brown mushrooms next to the wood ear fungus. They looked very ordinary, not colorful, and he reached out to pick them.
Owen reacted extremely fast, grabbing his hand and squeezing tight: "Don't touch it. This is a mature 'Galerina autumnalis'. The one we saw earlier was a seedling. After maturing, it changes color, disguising itself as non-poisonous to lure animals into eating it."
"Mm, then I'll only pick the black wood ear fungus. I won't touch the others. This forest is truly dangerous."
Rowan felt for the first time that the plants here were both magical and terrifying; those that knew how to camouflage were very rare.
