Tag: toadstool

November 2nd – A good day to find fungi too. After a patchy couple of weeks, there were loads around – shaggy ink caps, earthballs, puffballs, fly agaric and several sorts of russula. Bothe the west shore and Anglesey Basin were good spots.

I particularly liked the age progression of the shaggy ink caps, showing how their curious name is derived.

October 15th – Victoria Park, Darlaston is an embarrassment of fungal riches at the moment. I spun through on a misty, wet morning where the only colour I’d seen was the red of brake lights, and noticed several brightly coloured types of fungi in the freshly mown grass. The orange curly one I’ve never seen the like of before, and I love the little yellow button. There was a plentiful supply of shaggy manes, too, which the grass cutters had clearly mown round when attending to the rest of the park. I liked that – a nice touch.

Such welcome colour on a dull morning commute.

October 6th – I returned to Cannock Chase as it was a much nicer day, and I still wanted to find those wonderfully photogenic fungi. Crossing the forest from Hazelslade to Milford via Birches Valley and Seven Springs, I saw lots of lovely things: the deer were showing well, the autumn colours beautiful, and some pretty good mycology. Sadly, though, the fly agaric were still elusive in all but the most tatty forms.

October 5th – I went up on the Chase for a short, late afternoon blast. I was keeping an eye out for interesting fungus, as that’s one of my favourite things about the season. I was trying to find decent fly agaric in particular, but all the examples I found were either old, badly damaged by slugs or very young. Other than those, there was disappointingly little. Perhaps I should have tried a less well-used part of the Chase…

October 14th – The fungi seems to be doing well, too. This is possibly the most perfect specimen of fly agaric I’ve ever seen. This is the classic, spotty toadstool of fairy tales, and is considered toxic, and possibly hallucinogenic. This proud fellow was growing beneath silver birches, as they often do, in a front garden in Hilton, near Wall. The second one is a mystery to me: I know not what it is, but it’s massive. A foot in diameter, the stalk is thicker than my forearm. It’s clearly quite aged, and seems to be host to several sorts of insect. It was growing on a verge in Summerhill. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a large toadstool.

November 26th – The unseasonably warm weather is providing some unexpected surprises, one of the most visible of which is the profusion of fungi still appearing on a daily basis. The fly agaric by the canal at Newtown, in Brownhills, are still in fine fettle and throwing up new caps daily, while the blumells near Shenstone Park look fresh and tasty. Alonside these are a whole host of others – polypores, brackets, puffballs, ceps and caps. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a good year for the mycology.

October 8th – It seems to be a good year for fly agaric, the classic fairytale toadstool. They grow near birches and I’m usually lucky to see a handful or so – this year they’re all over the place. These excellent specimens were spotted on the heathland near the spillway at Chasewater, between the canal and the dam road. Considered toxic, and used as a hallucinogen in some cultures, these bright fungi have an otherworldly aurra, even odder when you consider that the white spots drop off as they age. Nature: always doing stuff just to get attention.

September 25th – The fungi season is upon us. This fine example of Fly Agaric – the classic white spotted red toadstool – grows near silver birch trees and these were no exception, on the canal bank just by Wharf Lane, Brownhills. Widely considered to be poisonous, they are eaten in some cultures and are considered psychoactive.

After you, Dylan…