UK Fungus Day #UKFD16

Today was UK Fungus Day, so Bug Mad Girl and I had a good snuffle around our special area of woodland. It doesn't look like much, but there always to be something special hiding out under the beech trees.

A few weeks ago there were huge devil's bolettes growing over the site, but they've all turned to mush and disappeared in a cloud of noxious gas. Today's big find was ashen chanterelles. They're little grey trumpets, very similar to the slightly larger, black horn of plenty that grow nearby. I've never seen them before and my book says they are uncommon to rare. Quite a find, and not easy to spot!

The chanterelles seem to be having their 'moment' as we also found the normal chanterelles that people love to eat and what I think are newly emerged trumpet chanterelles.

Chanterelles - highly prized by foragers

Chanterelles

I think these will grow up to be trumpet chanterelles

There seem to be a lot of poisonous deathcaps around at the moment, as well as false deathcaps.

Deathcap, with a smooth olive cap

False deathcap, with remnants of the grey veil still attached to the cap

We also found plenty of other fungi, including beechwood sickeners, charcoal burners, puffballs, inkcaps, blushers, wood blewits and some lovely coral fungus (that really does look like it should be in the sea).

Blusher

Charcoal burner

Wood blewits

Crested coral fungus

We spotted lots of lovely snail shells while we were hunting, including little spiralled shells and some pretty pink ones.

There was also some bright yellow dog vomit slime mould on a tree stump. Slime mould is fascinating stuff although you have to wonder who named it as both slime and mould are hardly attractive terms!

Another lovely hunt through the woods. Happy UK Fungus Day!