October 30th – Sadly, I took loads of photos today, not realising I had a piece of fluff on the lens and they all came out badly. But these toadstools, spotted on a grass verge in Wednesbury after the rains of the morning had stopped were wonderful. I think they’re oak milk caps, certainly some form of lactarius. I love the way they dimple and hole water as they grow.
I actually spotted them because that little one resembled a bum. It appealed to my sense of the absurd. Sorry.
October 25th – The fungi are still going strong. On the common I found plenty of fly agaric at various ages, from globular and spotty fresh young caps to plate-like washed out pink and smooth. I also found a shroom I didn’t recognise, and had to look up. This is certainly a cortinarius, either cinnamon or bicolour. They’re a lovely chestnut, almost chocolate colour, and the gills are fascinating.
I’ve never seen them before and my big book of fungi says they’re fairly rare, so I’m quite pleased spot them.
October 11th – The fly agaric are fairly profuse in the usual places around Chasewater. I nipped out late morning, still a bit rough, so kept it short. I mentioned a few days ago that the white spots dropped off the fairytale fungus as they aged – and so they do. The top picture shows an eight-inch monster that’s aged and split under it’s own weight; it’s almost completely free of spots and is starting to fade. Interestingly, the other two examples are younger, and still fairly free of spots.
I love fungi. I could study it all day.
October 8th – I was right about the rain and the fungi. On Clayhanger common in the morning, pleated ink caps, sometimes known as the Japanese parasol. These delicate, paper like caps only last a day, and 24 hours later, there will be no trace. They appear straight after heavy rain, their spores lying dormant until triggered by nature.
The fly agaric are also going for it. In Pleck on the canal bank, a nice crop which will surely proliferate now. Such lovely fairy-tale toadstools.
October 7th – I was right about the rain and fungus. At the weekend I bemoaned the lack of interesting fungi, particularly fly agaric, and suspected the dearth was due to the dry weather.
Cue the rains of the last couple of days, and hey presto! – A huge forest of glistening ink caps has popped up on Clayhanger Common, and the orange peel fungus I spotted a week ago has, after spending days dormant, opened out.
Rain may be an annoyance for me, but it has been needed for a few weeks.
September 12th – These were incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them before.
In a field near Harlaston, I spotted their bright white shapes as I sped past. A quick about turn, and I found the largest puffball fungus I’ve ever seen.
Almost pristine, largely globular shaped and the size of a small football, they were like some alien egg rather than fungi, but looking them up at home they are clearly giant puffballs.
The looked like plaster casts.
A real find – and apparently edible.
September 8th – It’s nice to see the fungi coming through now – I love this feature of autumn. Many folk don’t realise, but toadstools, balls and polypores are just the bloom of much larger organisms living out of sight. They really are unlike anything else in nature.
This roll-rim was growing on a grass verge in Wednesbury and was about eight inches in diameter. They start flat and become funnel-shaped as they age: it was a misty, wet morning and this one was gathering condensation well.
August 4th – No idea what’s happened in the last couple of days, but Victoria and Kings Hill parks in Darlaston are alive with fungi. I assume these are field mushrooms – I didn’t want to destroy them to check for sure. They’re a good 3-4 inches across and look healthy. So nice to see the fungi back, even if it does herald autumn…
November 19th – I forget every year how good Telford’s roadside verges are for fungi. On the backroads and industrial estates were people rarely walk, the mycology goes undisturbed, and a huge variety grow.
On a cold, dew-laden morning, a variety of Melanoleuca, a large family of toadstools which are beyond my ability to tell apart. I love the bleach-white gills, and the way they’ve split under their own weight.
November 12th – The fungi are still going well, particularly the fly agaric which are particularly prolific on the canal embankment right in the heart of urban Pleck – some gorgeous specimens from young to old and weathered.
Knowing Pleck I’m surprised they haven’t been either consumed or squished…
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