Yeah I know maitake can reach some monstrous sizes. I've found some whopper sulfur polypore in my time too, although they are at their best when young.
How do you tell the difference between maitake and giant polypore though? Aside from the latter intensely blackening quite quickly when picked. Brought some home recently (giant polypore) and by the time I'd finished hiking and walked home it looked too revolting to even consider eating.
Been finding a lot of bay boletes recently (Boletus, or its older genus, now known to be polyphyletic, Xerocomus badius), with big fat stalks looking quite like cep, or even more like B.appendiculatus and caps a few inches thick and a 10-12 inches in diameter.
Those are pretty good eating too, quite a mild flavour, but tasty nevertheless. Apparently they are really popular in poland, as well as honey fungus/pidenki, the boletes are strung up to dry for storage and hung from the ceiling or other fixtures.
They do seem a bit prone to being full of maggots when picked however.
Saw a few common ink caps (Coprinus atrementarius) yesterday, but small and growing by a busy road, so I didn't take them for pollution reasons. And the fact I'd intended on drinking alcohol, and a lot of it, a liter bottle of vodka today in two shots. Whilst the alcohol-sensitive toxin in common inkcap, coprine, doesn't kill, it can make you really wish it would if alcohol is consumed within about 3-4 days post-mushroom-eating.
The size of maitake reminds me of giant puffballs, those can grow up to a meter and a half or so in diameter and way up to 50lb. I've heard tell of even bigger ones than that, but that isn't as common as those reaching 1m across. Those are delightful to eat when white through and through, as are the probably related Calviatia utriformis. Got my eyes on some puffballs atm, watching their growth until they get large enough to make a meal out of. Not sure of the species, but either Lycoperdon or Calvatia spp. Money is on the latter genus though rather than Lycoperdon. Puffballs are another of my favourite fungi to eat, good for the novice hunter as well, as all true puffballs are edible, the toxic earth-balls are easy to tell apart, and there isn't much danger from being unable to ID a possibly toxic gilled mushroom still within the velum universale. Common, and many are really good eating. I'm a happy bunny whenever find big puffballs.
