Orange peel (Aleuria aurantia) is a fungus I’ve not seen very often, despite it being officially classified as common. So, when, on a very grey, often drizzly day, I spotted a scattering of something bright orange on the ground in front of me, I initially thought some litter bug had thrown away the remains of their fruit. But no, this was the real thing, and there was more of it than I’d ever seen before.

My guide book says this fungus grows alongside paths and disturbed forest tracks, which is exactly where I found it, alongside a meandering path at the edge of the woodland in one of Cardiff’s parks.

Though it doesn’t look much like it in these photos, Orange peel is a cup fungus. The exterior of the cup is a paler shade of orange-beige and covered with fine down, whereas the interior is, as you can see, a vibrant orange.

The Orange peel I found had become wavy and twisted with age, and had been munched around the edges, probably by snails and slugs, but it was still a stunning sight.