Is This a Real Petrified Mushroom?

[Zach]

I found this about 10 years back.  In my little bit of research I found that petrified/fossilized mushrooms are very rare and mine is most likely fake.  Where did it come from if it is not real?  I am convinced that it was not machined out because of the large cavity inside and such a small hole in the stem area.  Could this be casted?  Can anyone explain what this is or if its real/fake?  Thanks!

Edited March 12, 2017 by Zach
more descriptive title

[Zach]

Here is what I'm guessing the cavity cross section would look like...

[ynot]

Looks like a porcelain cast to Me.

They poor a porcelain slip into a mold and after some has set they remove the extra and then fire it in a kiln.

Tony

[Rockwood]

I think it is most likely a fossil sponge.

[doushantuo]

Fossil mushrooms are preserved in amber(I think two documented occasions(Poinar)).

If anything,it might be a coeloptychiid poriferan,like Rockwood says/supposes

 

edit: and manmade is of course a real possibility,but i suck at recognizing fakery/artifactual "fossils"

[RandyB]

I'm of similar mind to ynot, looks manmade.  If there is any translucency or if the chips are completely smooth and non-porous I would say porcelain, if it's more matte white and rough or porous I would say ceramic or maybe even pressed chalk

[Ludwigia]

I'll go along with Tony. I've never seen a sponge with a uniformly hollowed out cavity like that. Normally they would have roots at the bottom.

[GeschWhat]

I'm in the man made camp. The fact that it has a hollow stem and a flat base really cinches it for me. Mushrooms have a fibrous stem and a more bulbous base. When you said you "found" this, I'm assuming you found it at a store or sale of some sort?

[Zach]

I found it in our vegetable garden.  Every year we would get several truck loads of compost and find all kinds of weird things (toys, garbage, electronics).  I have no idea how this got in there or where it would have come from.

[howard_l]

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/long-before-trees-overtook-the-land-earth-was-covered-by-giant-mushrooms-13709647/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=socialmedia

 

 

Good article But they looked nothing like mushrooms.

[doushantuo]

or,alternatively:

 

graotaxites+full.pdf

[GeschWhat]

9 minutes ago, Zach said:

I found it in our vegetable garden.  Every year we would get several truck loads of compost and find all kinds of weird things (toys, garbage, electronics).  I have no idea how this got in there or where it would have come from.

That explains it...a lot of people put decorative mushrooms in their gardens.

[doushantuo]

the history of Prototaxites

I highly recommend this RPP article!!

[Fossildude19]

I'm in the ceramic camp, as well. 

[Rockwood]

Memory check: There is a sponge that looks eerily similar to a mushroom ? 

[Ludwigia]

1 hour ago, Rockwood said:

Memory check: There is a sponge that looks eerily similar to a mushroom ? 

 

Is this what you were thinking of? 

[Rockwood]

Looks right. I think we have one on here too.

[Ludwigia]

8 minutes ago, Rockwood said:

Looks right. I think we have one on here too.

You mean in this post? Definitely not. I have some of these in my collection and there's no comparison whatsoever.

[abyssunder]

That's a pretty nice mushroom artifact, in my opinion.

[Rockwood]

45 minutes ago, Ludwigia said:

You mean in this post?

Definitely not.

In fact it occurred to me that I did sort of 'pull a presidential' there. Real close to taking both sides on the issue in the same thread. 

#SAD