Is it just me or has this autumn been particularly good for fungi? In past years I have noticed the odd mushroom or toadstool, but only this year has there been quite such a profusion of different species. I must profess I am no great expert and honestly the vast majority of fungi I find don't do much for me, but there have been certain mushrooms this year that have really spawned a personal interest. My only regret was not photographing the giant puffball that kick started my fungi quest in August this year, and indeed if it hadn't been on private land I would have taken it home an eaten it, I later found out they are quite a delicacy, this one would have fed me for a whole week. Nevertheless, since that encounter I have had several others with different species, and below I include some of the photos.
The quintessential toadstool - the Fly Agaric
(Amanita muscaria). I found a whole colony of these growing in a damp birch woodland in the lee of a spoil heap at the old Desford colliery, now Bagworth Heath country park, Leics.
Yellow stagshorn fungus, more orange than yellow as it had matured with age, and this is probably accentuated by the use of a flash, making the fungus look almost luminous.
Orange stagshorn fungus
(Calocera viscosa), Harlestone Firs, Northamptonshire
This was a real surprising find. I had only ever seen earthstars in books. They look the most unusual of fungi, when their outer layer splits open into segments they resemble (as their name suggests a star). This isn't perhaps the best photo to show this affect, but it does show the typical collar of this species of earthstar, formed when the segments of the outer layer break off to form a visible collar underneath the central orb. This family of fungi employs the same method of spore dispersal as puffballs.
Collared Earthstar
(Geastrum triplex), Grace Dieu Wood, Thringstone, Leics.
Puffball, not sure which type,
Lycoperdon sp. Charnwood Lodge, Leicestershire
The quintessential toadstool - the Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria). I found a whole colony of these growing in a damp birch woodland in the lee of a spoil heap at the old Desford colliery, now Bagworth Heath country park, Leics.
Yellow stagshorn fungus, more orange than yellow as it had matured with age, and this is probably accentuated by the use of a flash, making the fungus look almost luminous.
Orange stagshorn fungus (Calocera viscosa), Harlestone Firs, Northamptonshire
This was a real surprising find. I had only ever seen earthstars in books. They look the most unusual of fungi, when their outer layer splits open into segments they resemble (as their name suggests a star). This isn't perhaps the best photo to show this affect, but it does show the typical collar of this species of earthstar, formed when the segments of the outer layer break off to form a visible collar underneath the central orb. This family of fungi employs the same method of spore dispersal as puffballs.
Collared Earthstar (Geastrum triplex), Grace Dieu Wood, Thringstone, Leics.
Puffball, not sure which type, Lycoperdon sp. Charnwood Lodge, Leicestershire
