September 15th – With some damper weather, the fungus is coming on well, and few better places to spot it than the relatively undisturbed verges of industrial estates.`This venerable specimen was spotted in Wednesbury, and seems quite old, although it does appear to be growing. About the size of a small plate, it’s fascinating, and also a home for lots of bugs.
It looks like some kind of lactarius and was part of a fair-sized group.
September 6th – At Clayhanger Common, I’m pleased to see the Japanese Parasols coming up again this year. Also known as the pleated ink cap, these tiny, delicate toadstools open into a pleated parasol and are beautifully delicate, but also short lived, being gone within 48 hours or so.
Must check if the orange peel fungus and rosy earthstars are back this year, too.
September 3rd – Shooting through Weeford on my return, expecting the rain to start again, I noticed these mushrooms growing on a verge. They were huge, and their presence reminded me that now we’re coming on Autumn, watching out for the fungus could be productive.
Wondering in the rosy earthstars and orange peel fungus will be back on Clayhanger Common this year?
June 15th – Noticed on a grass verge in Wednesbury, this fine crop of toadstools.I think they’re roundheads, but I didn’t have time to study them closely. But you know you’re advancing through summer when the shrooms are out.
I love to see fungus – such a fascinating, misunderstood part of the ecosystem.
May 15th – The ride to and from Fazeley was nice, too. I sped there, running late after some bike maintenance prompted by the previous day’s tribulations, but cutting over Little Hay was lovely. I left the market heading south to Middleton and the conveyor Bridge, and came out to the rear of Middleton Hall, so I came through Drayton Basset for a change, forgetting the grinding uphill run past the vineyards to Caraway Head.
Drayton Basset is, of course, the resting place of Sir Robert Peel, creator of the British Police Force, and who died surprisingly young, at 62.
The scenery was beautiful, there was a bit of an insistent headwind on the way back, but a pleasing 30 miles.
January 15th – one would tend to think that fungi don’t really grow over the winter, but a few species like the cold, wet weather. Here at Hammerwich the turkey tail fungus is growing well on a rolling, windfallen log.
Initially quite dull, when studied closely you can see how this delicate fungus got its name.
December 31st – Remember the peculiar fungus I found a few weeks ago on Clayhanger Common – the Rosy Earthstar? Well, today I passed the same spot again and stopped to have a scout around. It seems that there were a whole bunch of them here – now the leaves have gone and the undergrowth is less dense, it can be seen there were at least 25 of these remarkable fungi.
Interesting too to see how they go over, seemingly with the ‘petals’ of the star rotting away first.
Hope we get them again next year and this wasn’t just a fluke. I’d love to watch them grow.
December 15th – I spotted these odd remnants of toadstools on a damp grass verge near the canal at Walsall. I can’t recognise the original fungus, and they seem to be decaying in an almost skeletal manner. I’m fascinated by the way they seem to be reducing to the structure of their gills.
Fungi are endlessly captivating.
December 12th – A wet, horrible day, but a remarkable, surprising find – a rosy earthstar.
This curious thing, looking like plasticine or glazed ceramic, is a fungus like toadstools. It’s relatively rare, and I’ve never seen one before. It’s in a bunch of about 5 in various stages of life on a small patch of CLayhanger Common, and I spotted it entirely by chance.
A great find on a very unpleasant day.
November 25th – Spotted on a damp Darlaston canal towpath just after daybreak, this tiny toadstool. It was alone, and looked almost pristine – I have no idea what it is and would appreciate suggestions. Key is the dimple on top of the cap; this is a delicate and tiny orange-brown fungi yet was outstanding enough to catch my eye as I passed at speed, so I felt it deserved recording for posterity.
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