Fungi ID please - no pics sorry

[Shewie]

Whilst out this morning I saw what I thought from a distance, was one of those white fluffy looking lycoperdons growing about 7ft up a dead birch.

On closer inspection and general prodding about with my knife it wasn't what I thought.

This had a thin white waxy film over a brown shiney cap, the inside looked exactly like an 8oz solid lump of pure cocoa powder. It also had the same texture as cocoa and it certainly looked good enough to taste but I resisted.

Any ideas, I can't find a match in any of my books.

Measured approx 4 x 4 x 6 inches.

 

[xylaria]

Now by lycoperdons do you mean puffballs or slimemolds. It is the later it is probably running away because it saw what you did to the other guy .

 

[Shewie]

When I first glanced it I thought it was one of those which look like loads of little eggs in a cluster. Oozing out of a dead birch it just caught my eye because it obviously wasn't a polypore.
But as I got closer it wasn't bobbley it was smooth and waxy. I was expecting it to be squashy but it was solid, so I just had to have a look inside. It can only be described as solid cocoa powder.
I'm gutted I didn't have my camera with me as it was something I'd not seen before.

 

[xylaria]

Shamlessly nicking a link bushblade posted, the piccys of a slimemold in its various stages are at the bottom. I know from uni that some the cells become skin cells, but I have only seen them either as the cluster that looks like white goo or lump of spores.

 

[Shewie]

That phallus ravenelli (sounds like a randy italian footballer off a carry on film) looks very similar, well the remains do