I was retilling a garden and dug up a bunch of these, actually, they were just loose way under the dirt. Newt sent me and told me to seek out terresterial_man to see if he could help identify this. I am located in upstate South Carolina. The property I have was an old established farmland established in 1901, but has been left unattended since 1988, if that info helps at all? http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j182/cmc2dina/070802_South_Carolina002.jpg http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j182/cmc2dina/070802_South_Carolina001.jpg <a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j182/cmc2dina/070802_South_Carolina002.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>
Being as deep underground as they were, plus all the mycelial matting and the lack of any apparent "base" all speak to an Elaphomyces. "Deer Truffle" is the more common name.
