Yesterday, I was lucky enough to spot two fungi I would never have noticed if I hadn’t specifically been looking for mushrooms. Which would have been a shame, because they’re both pretty cool.
The first, above, is Ramaria formosa (most likely), distinctive for its pink branches with yellow tips. Unlike one of the other coral fungi I’ve seen this year, Artomyces pyxidatus (the “crown-tipped coral fungus”), R. formosa is mycorrhizal which means it grows from the ground and has symbiotic connections with the root systems of trees. The crown-tipped coral fungus, by contrast is “saprotrophic,” meaning it grows on decaying wood.
Earthstars are a whacky group of fungi which look like Puffballs, but are apparently more closely related to chanterelles!?
I don’t understand fungal taxonomy all that well so I suggest you investigate the matter for yourself: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geastrales
The earthstar I found was Geastrum triplex. Note the combination of “geo” and “aster”, earth and star, in the latin name. G. triplex is the largest earthstar, and one found all over the globe. An interesting thing about this fungus is that it doesn’t appear to be attached to the ground. In fact, in dry weather earthstars can curl up and roll around, like tumbleweeds.
If you pick one up and look at the back, you see that in wet weather the petals curl backwards forming a sort of raised platter for the central sac.
recycled paper clips 
Thank you for a great post. I’ve seen coral fungi in the forest before but didn’t know it was called that until I read your post.
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