Fungal variety

Fungi come in all shapes and sizes - identifying individual species correctly can be tricky.

Many species vary in appearance with age, which often makes them even harder to distinguish.
However, some older fungi (like the one below) develop characteristics that actually make them easier to identify.

Oak Hill Woods Nature Reserve - 16 September 2020

Appearing to sprout from the moss on this fallen log, these Lumpy Brackets
(Trametes gibbosa) have turned from white/grey to green due to algal growth - a fairly common symptom of old age in this species.
Aside from ageing beautifully, this fungus also causes white rot.

Other species are fairly recognisable at any stage of their lives (like the two below).

Oak Hill Woods Nature Reserve - 16 September 2020

These are both examples of King Alfred's cakes fungus (Daldinia concentrica) 
(or 'Coal cakes'), and are both very easily identified - despite the second one being visibly older.

New Blog!

 
First things first - I love fungi. Their variety is astonishing, as are the unique parts they play in ecosystems. Some fungi (like the one below) are saprobic - which means they spread through and colonize dead wood and other organic material, like leaf litter.

These tiny blue saucers are the fruiting bodies of Green Elfcup
(scientific name Chlorociboria aeruginascens - bit of a mouthful).
Running through this piece of wood is a network of hyphae (basically fungal roots), with most of the fungus existing below the surface.

What makes this mushroom so special is that it produces a pigment called Xylindein, which stains the wood a blue/green colour. The stained wood is much more common to see than the cups themselves.

The first photo is from Gutteridge Woods, December 2019; the second is from Hampstead Heath Extension, September 2020.

(I'm totally obsessed with this fungus - there are going to be lots more photos in the future).