September 27th – I deliberately made an effort to pass the same clump of glistening ink caps the next morning, to see how far they’d progressed.
As I predicted, just over 12 hours later, they were already decaying to nothing.
Isn’t nature remarkable?
September 9th – Found in Kings Hill Park in Darlaston, a sign of the oncoming autumn. Glistening ink caps, shooting up after a night’s rain; tiny spores waiting in the ground until exactly the right combination of light, temperature and moisture. Then – ping! – instant toadstool forest.
Isn’t fungus incredible?
October 17th – I came back from Shenstone just as darkness was falling, and spotted by chance another bountiful crop of autumn. Isolated in the hedgerow at Footherley, a large, impressive and perfect group of mature glistening ink caps. These are toxic, and shouldn’t be touched, but the temptation to is huge. I love their pure white stalks and brown-black, sing caps.
I don’t think the fungi have been so good this year, maybe due to the dry weather – these are rare gems.
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 