I found these tiny mushrooms in late May under a canopy of tall sweetgum trees. They were in a place that had been under water from two days of heavy rain. The ground was very wet. I held one of them between two fingers without pulling it from the ground. It was similar in consistency to a candy gummy worm.

These little mushrooms have a cute name. They are called jelly babies. They are very simple in structure with nothing more than a stalk and a head. They grow quickly and live only a matter of hours before wilting and melting away. I went back to the same spot two mornings later and found nothing to indicate they had ever existed.

I did not notice any discernible odor coming from these mushrooms, and I certainly did not harvest any to eat. Never consume any mushrooms that you don’t know are 100% safe to eat.

AARON HORRELL is owner of Painted Wren Art Gallery in Cape Girardeau. He is a Bollinger County native.