It may be the middle of winter – and chilly with it – but rust fungi can still be found, thriving on those plants that survive these cold temperatures. I’ve found these three in the past week, and I’m sure there must be more around. The good thing about rust fungi is that they generally only infect one species of plant so they’re easier than most fungi to identify – and that’s got to be good thing!

Melampsora euphorbiae on Petty spurge (Euphorbia peplus)

Puccinia lagenophorae on Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris)

Puccinia smyrnii on Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum)