So, I have only looked at a few fungi recently and photographed even fewer. Some had been trodden on, some were decomposing, some were so lacking in obvious interest that I couldn't be bothered.
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Pleurotus ostreatus beneath a wooden structure. Byfield, Northants. 11 November, 2014 |
Coprinus micaceus beside the playing-fields at Byfield, Northants. 14 November, 2014 |
A few days later my attention was drawn to a cluster of toadstools around an old tree stump. This is Glistening Ink-cap, Coprinus micaceus. It is another of those fungi which, though edible, no-one seems to bother with. It looked rather like a cluster of toadstools illustrated in a child's fairy-tale book.
A familiar fungus, looking like a discus lodged in a tree trunk, was present in Stefan Leys Pocket Park. It is Coriolus (or Trametes) versicolor. Sometimes the con-centric rings are more distinct, but these were neat specimens.
On this occasion I did the sensible thing and looked at the underside of the cap. Along with my shirt-sleeve it can be seen that, instead of the gills with which we are all familiar from common mushrooms, there is a mass of randomly distributed pores.
Lycogala epidendrum? Stefen Leys Pocket Park Daventry, Northants. 8 November, 2014 |
The world of fungi (and slime moulds) is a very strange one and mycology is a fascinating pursuit but you can be assured that I intend to spend very little time studying these organisms. It is just a bridge too far.
Footnote added 20 November
On a further visit to Byfield I found further specimens and was able to do what I should have done earlier. Nevertheless, after examining the gills, sniffing, etc I am still not convinced. The best bet now is one of the so-called 'Cavalier' toadstools such as Melanoleuca grammopodia. To be honest I don't, and will probably never, know
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