• ABOUT
  • BIRDING 2018
  • Birding 2019
  • BLOG POSTS
  • Butterflies 2018
  • Resources

earthstar

~ a celebration of nature

earthstar

Tag Archives: Terana caerulea

364/366 A vibrant treat

29 Tuesday Dec 2020

Posted by sconzani in fungi, nature, winter

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

blue fungus, British fungi, Cobalt crust, Terana caerulea

It would be fair to say that my fungi-finding year was fairly dismal: only about 20 of this year’s 366 blog posts were about fungi. The highlight, though, was brilliant – the vibrant, intense, almost unreal blue of the Cobalt crust (Terana caerulea) that I posted about earlier this month, in Not just any stick. I haven’t yet been back for a second look at it – I’ve been saving that for a New Year treat!

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

344/366 Not just any stick

09 Wednesday Dec 2020

Posted by sconzani in fungi, trees, winter

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

blue fungi, British fungi, Cobalt crust, Terana caerulea

Do you see the small stick sitting on top of the big fallen branch, in the centre left of the photo? Well, that stick was the absolute highlight of my seven-and-a-half-mile walk yesterday.

201209 cobalt crust (1)

And below you can see why. This is the fungus Cobalt crust (Terana caerulea), an incredible colour to find growing on a stick in the middle of a now mostly brown woodland.

201209 cobalt crust (2)

This is the first time I’ve found Cobalt crust locally and I was/am just so excited to see it. I might just have to go back next week for another look (and, also, to get photos of the red elfcups that were just beginning to appear nearby).

201209 cobalt crust (3)

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Fungi Friday: The Cobalt crust challenge

27 Friday Jan 2017

Posted by sconzani in fungi, nature

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

Cobalt crust, crust fungus, fungus, Glamorgan Fungus Group, Terana caerulea

My fellow Glamorgan Fungus Group members and I are taking part in another challenge this month, hunting far and wide within the county to see how many specimens we can find of the supposedly rare Cobalt crust fungus (Terana caerulea). You may remember that I blogged about this special, once-seen-never-forgotten fungus back in February. It’s generally classified as rare but, here in Glamorgan, it most certainly isn’t.

170127-cobalt-crust-terana-caerulea-1

Here are the latest stats: for the 14 days from 13 to 26 January inclusive, 14 of our group had made a total of 45 separate finds on 16 different host plants, ranging from elder, bramble and buddleja to hazel, oak, ivy and even Japanese knotweed. Our results just go to show that this fungus is not actually rare but rather rarely recorded, and our participation in challenges like these also highlights the benefits of ordinary folk like you and I making the effort to record the biodiversity we see around us every day. We’re helping to rewrite science!

170127-cobalt-crust-terana-caerulea-2

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

When we went down to the woods today …

15 Friday Apr 2016

Posted by sconzani in fungi, nature, nature photography

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Armillaria mellea, Auricularia mesenterica, Coed Ty Rhiw, Coprinellus micaceus, Daedaleopsis confragosa, fungi foray, Hypoxylon multiforme, Lycogala sp., Metatrichia floriformis, Piptoporus betulinus, Polyporus brumalis, Reticularia lycoperdon, Scutellinia scutellata, Terana caerulea, Trametes versicolour, Xylaria hypoxylon

Well, there weren’t any teddy bears in the Coed Ty Rhiw woods today but we did get lots of lovely surprises. Five friends and fellow members of the Glamorgan Fungi Club and I went on a foray, mostly looking for spring fungi but, as we had a ton of other wildlife expertise in our group, we were also drawn to birds and bugs, bees and butterflies.

Here’s a selection of our fungi finds: Piptoporus betulinus Birch polypore; Auricularia mesenterica Tripe Fungus; Daedaleopsis confragosa Blushing bracket; an unidentified crust fungus; Hypoxylon multiforme Birch woodwart; Terana caerulea Cobalt crust; Reticularia lycoperdon False puffball; Metatrichia floriformis – a slime mould; Lycogala sp. – another slime mould; Trametes versicolour Turkey tail and Xylaria hypoxylon Candlesnuff; Polyporus brumalis Winter Polypore; Trametes versicolour Turkey tail (lovely patterns on this one); Scutellinia scutellata Eyelash fungus; Armillaria mellea rhizomorphs Honey fungus bootlaces; and Coprinellus micaceus Glistening inkcap.

160415 Coed Ty Rhiw foray (1)
160415 Coed Ty Rhiw foray (2)
160415 Coed Ty Rhiw foray (3)
160415 Coed Ty Rhiw foray (4)
160415 Coed Ty Rhiw foray (5)
160415 Coed Ty Rhiw foray (9)
160415 Coed Ty Rhiw foray (10)
160415 Coed Ty Rhiw foray (13)
160415 Coed Ty Rhiw foray (14)
160415 Coed Ty Rhiw foray (15)
160415 Coed Ty Rhiw foray (17)
160415 Coed Ty Rhiw foray (18)
160415 Coed Ty Rhiw foray (19)
160415 Coed Ty Rhiw foray (20)
160415 Coed Ty Rhiw foray (21)

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

‘Blue velvet on a stick’

29 Monday Feb 2016

Posted by sconzani in fungi, nature

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Cobalt crust, fungus, Terana caerulea

Although this stunning fungus is apparently found in my native New Zealand – as well as in much of Europe, North America and some countries in Asia, I had never seen it until a few weeks ago. This is the appropriately named Cobalt crust (Terana caerulea), a fungus many books and websites report as a rare sight in England and Wales yet many of my fungi friends have seen it. We assume it is not actually rare but rather rarely reported or, perhaps, not recognised, as it is often to be found lurking on the undersides of fallen branches and dead trees, and it turns almost black when past its best.

Terana caerulea Cobalt crust (1)

When it’s young and fresh, its vibrant cobalt colour is instantly recognisable and a real highlight of any woodland wander. With a soft, almost waxy feel when moist, it’s no wonder it’s been described as ‘blue velvet on a stick’. As its name implies, this fungus is a member of the corticiord group of fungi – that’s crust fungi in layman’s terms, a fungus that adheres to something, rather than growing on a stem like a normal mushroom.

Terana caerulea Cobalt Crust (2)

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

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.

View Full Profile →

Follow earthstar on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent blog posts

  • Pussy willow January 21, 2021
  • Wild word: pupa January 20, 2021
  • The big wet January 19, 2021
  • Grazing January 18, 2021
  • Midwinter wildflowers January 17, 2021

From the archives

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

COPYRIGHT

Unless otherwise acknowledged, the text and photographs on this blog are my own and are subject to international copyright. Nothing may be downloaded or copied without my permission.

Click on the category

'Dedicated Naturalist' Project 365DaysWildin2019 amphibian animals autumn birds coastal fauna flowers fungi geology insects ladybird leaves lichen mammal molluscs nature nature photography parks plants reptiles seaside seasons spiders spring trees walks weather wildflowers winter

Fellow Earth Stars!

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel
%d bloggers like this: