Brush Hill and the Magpie Ink Caps

It never ceases to amaze me that I can walk around Brush Hill one day and find all sorts of treasures, then return a few days later and everything has changed. When I was there two weeks ago it was all Fairies Bonnets and Candlesnuff fungi, but today was all abut the Ink Caps and Wood mushrooms. It just shows how short lived most of these fungi are and how they need such precise conditions to grow.


My best find today was several Magpie Ink Caps growing right next to the car park. I've now seen them in two different places in the last week, but I've never noticed them before that. Must be good growing conditions for them. They start out as an egg, then open out to the distinctive Ink Cap domed shape. They're very attractive black fungi covered in white flecks, which 'drip' away as they age. Apparently they're not very common.

Eggs appearing through the leaves




A lovely Magpie ink Cap

Just starting to 'drip' away

 I found some other Ink Caps, which I believe are Common Ink Caps.

There were plenty of large white Wood Mushrooms growing out of the leaf litter throughout the woods.

There were also patches of slightly smaller toadstalls that were cream coloured with darker centres.

I found 3 Shaggy Parasols in 2 different places in the woods.





A Shaggy Parasol, showing the cream gills and ring around the stem

From the top you can see the shaggy scales

Some small white bonnets were growing out of rotten tree stumps.

There were also several Rosy Bonnets in the woods. They're pretty, but poisonous!



A few other finds ...

 

Dark red bumps growing on a cut tree stump

 

Coral Spot fungus

Collared Parachute Mushroom

 

The Fairies Bonnets that had been all over the wooden sleepers in the car park were gone, but new ones were just starting to grow. I also only saw a couple of small patches of Candlesnuff fungus today.

A new batch of Fairies Bonnets starting to grow

There was very little Candlsnuff fungus today

And finally, I spotted this beautiful web with a spider in the middle of it that was lit up by the sunlight.