Tag: toadstool

September 28th – My quest for fly agaric – the red and white spotted toadstool of folklore and fairytale – was satisfied today when I visited a familiar patch that unexpectedly exists between the Darlaston Road and canal in Walsall. 

This edge land, under self-seeded silver birches at the top of the cutting, is host to the largest colony of these toadstools I’ve ever seen; there must be at least a hundred of them in various stages of life.

This is a remarkable find and confirms my suspicion that I’ve largely missed the season this year – they seem to have peaked earlier this year, but this spot which is quite hard to climb to contains some of the best, most perfect examples of the fungi I’ve ever seen.

All in one of the most built-up, urban patches of Walsall.

September 24th – I can’t make up my mind at the moment if fly agaric – the red and white spotted toadstools of folklore – are having a bad year or if I’m just a bit early.

I’ve found a few examples – notably a good specimen on August bank holiday on the Chase – but all the favourite spots like the bank before Anglesey Wharf on the canal at Brownhills are empty save for a few dog-eared or faded specimens.

This one at the top of the above bank seems quite elderly, as the spots drop off and the colour fades as they mature – but where are it’s usual companions?

They had an extraordinarily good year last year so perhaps it’s natural balance.

September 20th – A good fungal find near conifers by the canal in Clayhanger – Sticky Bun fungus, sometimes known as Sticky Jack. When damp, this large toadstool looks slimy and unpleasant, but as a boletus it’s edible (but to avoid a bad tummy remove the slime layer before preparation), and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it here before.

Were it not sprouting from formerly contaminated land I’d certainly be picking a few for a fry up…

August 2nd – Another late summer and autumn bounty is fungi. A prime hunting ground for edible treats like these lovely field mushrooms and puffballs are the verges of industrial estates. Usually undisturbed, fungi prosper quietly here, and tend to go unstomped by mischievous kids. 

From now until late autumn I will carry a cotton bag and knife to perform an impromptu harvest of anything tasty that would otherwise go unplucked.

This time of year does have some excellent things to commend it.

November 16th – Not sure what this large fungus actually is, but it was handsome and glistening with collected dew and rainwater as I passed through Victoria Park in Darlaston in the early morning.

To my sadness, the fungi haven’t been terribly prolific this year – some did explode into life late, like the fly agaric, but this year I’ve hardly seen any puffballs, very few shaggy ink caps and the brackets seem well down too.

I do hope the unusually dry autumn hasn’t scuppered chances of seeing rosy earthstars at Clayhanger again… 

October 20th – Spotted from the canal towpath as I zipped past, a forest of toadstools growing on a fallen log in the scrub at the back of Queen Street Cemetery in Walsall. 

I think they might be honey fungus, but I’m not sure. There were hundreds of caps, all growing in clumps, feeding on the decaying wood. Ranging in colour from a dull weigh to a dark burnt umber, they were beautiful and fascinating.

Best crop of toadstools I’ve seen for a while.

October 11th – Oh boy. Not more that a few days ago, I was bemoaning the lack of decent fungus this year, and was stunned to find a sing fly agaric toadstool in the usual spot near Chasewater, then this.

I was shotting along the canal through Pleck of all places, and as I rode a red flash on top of the canal cutting embankment caught my eye. Scrambling up there to investigate, I saw found one of the best crops of these cute red and white spotted fungi I’ve ever seen.

Large, profuse and very beautiful, these are in the heart of formerly industrial, urban Walsall, in a place few humans would ever think to go. A really wonderful find.

October 9th – A late afternoon ride up to Cannock Chase, and like the day before, disappointing as fine weather had been promised, which wasn’t forthcoming when I was out and about – it was yet another grey day.

Brightness, however was evident in the first fly agaric toadstool of the season I found on the canal bank near Wharf Lane in Brownhills. This was a perfect young specimen, bright red and round with lots of white spots. As I took photos, I felt myself being watched.

Stripes, observing me curiously from some decking on the opposite bank could see what I was up to – but wasn’t impressed at all.

That’s one lovely cat.