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earthstar

~ a celebration of nature

earthstar

Category Archives: fungi

A single earthstar

10 Friday Feb 2023

Posted by sconzani in fungi

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earthstar, Earthstar fungi

In previous years, I’ve found as many as 40 earthstar fungi in this particular location in a Cardiff cemetery; during Monday’s walk, despite a very thorough search, I found just this one. Even so, it was a welcome sight, as a visit to the cemetery late last year, when these fungi should’ve been at their peak, didn’t produce any specimens.

230210 earthstar (1)230210 earthstar (2)

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Golden shanks

13 Friday Jan 2023

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British fungi, Enoki mushroom, Flammulina velutipes, fungus, Velvet shanks

Velvet shanks (Flammulina velutipes) always look to me like they would taste delicious, like layers of crumpets dripping in runny golden honey. And, though I’ve never tried them, they are indeed edible; the commercially grown versions (also known as Enoki) can be purchased in cans and jars, very occasionally fresh in some supermarkets and many specialist food shops.

230113 velvet shanks

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Silverleaf

30 Friday Dec 2022

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British fungi, Chondrostereum purpureum, fungus, Silver leaf fungus, Silverleaf fungus

The pinkish-purple colour of this fungus makes its identification a little easier than many fungi, and is reflected in the epithet of its scientific name, Chondrostereum purpureum. Its common name, Silverleaf (or Silver leaf) fungus, comes from the damage the fungus can do as a parasite of some species of fruit trees.

221230 silverleaf fungus (1)

I’ve only ever seen it on dead wood, as in these photos, where it starts off looking like a crust spread across the surface of the sawn end of a tree, then, as it grows, develops into brackets, with a hairy upper surface and white edges.

221230 silverleaf fungus (2)

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On narrow-leaved willows

26 Monday Dec 2022

Posted by sconzani in fungi, insects, leaves, trees

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Aculus tetanothrix, Euura proxima, hoverfly larva, insects on narrow-leaved willow, ladybird pupa, leafmines on narrow-leaved willow, mite galls, moth eggs, Phyllonorycter viminiella, rust on willow, sawfly galls

In early October I, and others, began a new leafmine search, for mines on narrow-leaved willows (see Leafmines: Phyllocnistis saligna, 3 October). In the months since, I’ve only found these mines in two locations, partly due to a lack of the host plants and partly, probably, because the moths have yet to spread very far (which may be because of a lack of host plants). I’ll continue the search next autumn but, in the course of my search – and this is one of the brilliant things about staring at leaves – I’ve found many other life forms that were making these leaves their home.

221226 on willow (1)

I found two types of galls: the first, above top, have been made by a species of mite, Aculus tetanothrix, and those immediately above are home to the larvae of the sawfly species, Euura proxima.

221226 on willow (2)

On the underside of one leaf I found this array of what I think are moth eggs and, on the right, is the pupa of a ladybird, and, below those, is a hoverfly larva.

221226 on willow (3)

There was also a different species of leafminer, the tiny moth Phyllonorycter viminiella, and I found a rust, which might be Melampsora caprearum.

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Tufts of sulphur

23 Friday Dec 2022

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British fungi, Hypholoma fasciculare, Sulphur tuft, wood-rotting fungi

During my recent walks to marvel at the autumn colours of the Beautiful Beeches of Cwm George in Dinas Powys, I noticed that one of the Beech trees had, at some time in the past, succumbed to the ravages of time and weather and, where once a majestic giant stood tall, there was now a large, crumbling stump.

221223 sulphur tuft (1)

As well as a thick covering of fallen leaves, the greens of moss, ivy and a thin clump of grass, the stump was providing a home – and food – to fungi, a thriving colony of Sulphur tuft (Hypholoma fasciculare), one of our most common wood-rotters. I’m sure this is a fungus almost all my followers will have seen.

221223 sulphur tuft (2)

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Ride a White saddle

09 Friday Dec 2022

Posted by sconzani in fungi

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British fungi, Helvella crispa, White saddle, woodland fungi

There wasn’t a horse to be seen but there were plenty of White saddles (Helvella crispa) poking through the leaf litter. I usually fiddle with the surroundings when I’m photographing fungi, clearing away the odd leaf or grass stem to provide a clearer shot but, today, I decided to show them as they really are, an integral part of this woodland ride.

221209 white saddle

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Earthtongues

02 Friday Dec 2022

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British fungi, earthtongues, Geoglossum cookeanum

Well, these were a surprise sighting from the beginning of today’s walk. They were growing on a road verge, next to a block of flats, in an area now called Penarth Marina but which was once Penarth Port, a huge area of working dockland.

221202 earthtongues (1)

This seems a bizarre place for earthtongues to be growing – the First Nature website explains that this species, which I’m fairly sure is Geoglossum cookeanum, is found ‘mainly in mossy, sandy grassland, often in dune slacks or on the edges of coastal pine forests’.

221202 earthtongues (2)

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A miniscule Mycena

25 Friday Nov 2022

Posted by sconzani in fungi

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#FungiFriday, Bonnet mushroom, British fungi, Mycena fungi

Here’s a teeny tiny bonnet mushroom for this week’s #FungiFriday, about the right size for a fairy to wear, one of those miniscule Mycena species you find growing amongst the moss on a tree in a damp woodland.

221125 mycena

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Golden globules

21 Monday Nov 2022

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Alder bracket, bracket fungi, British fungi, Inonotus radiatus

I’ve blogged about Alder brackets before (Oozing brackets, November 2021; Fungi Friday: Alder bracket, December 2016; and 353/366 Old Alder brackets, December 2020), so today I’m just going to share a photo of my most recent find of the golden globules of Alder bracket goodness.

221121 alder bracket

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Brown rollrims

18 Friday Nov 2022

Posted by sconzani in fungi

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British fungi, Brown rollrim, fungus, Paxillus involutus

I initially thought these were a type of funnel fungi, one of the several Clitocybe species perhaps but, as I’m only too well aware that I’ve forgotten most of what I ever knew – never much – about fungi identification, I consulted an expert, Emma [@Coalspoilfungi on Twitter]. Turns out I was wrong – no surprise there!

221118 paxillus involutus (1)

These are Brown rollrims (Paxillus involutus) and they were massive, the biggest at least 12 inches across. They were growing on a grassy verge, next to a very busy local road. Emma told me: ‘They would have been viscid when wet, but when dry, [are] the texture of silky soft pig leather. Gills, cap and stem bruise easily deep red /orange to dark brown / Blackening slowly.’ Fungi are just so fascinating!

221118 paxillus involutus (2)

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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