P Johnson
22 people gathered for a lovely Monday afternoon stroll in Childwall Woods, searching for fungi, and there was a lot to find.
White Saddle P Johnson
Matt found these White saddle mushrooms, Helvella crispa. Their cap is very folded and their stem quite grooved or holey. They like to be under one of our large beech trees where they share a Mycorrhizal relationship exchanging nutrients and sugars. They also like to be near to a well-trodden path.
Looking at photos P Johnson
A large felled tree was the perfect place to see 3 different types of Ganoderma polypore as well as a patch of Small Stagshorn, which is a jelly fungus that grows on wood.
Three kinds of Ganoderma Polypores B Cameron
Many other fungi could be seen breaking down the log including Lumpy bracket, Tremetese gibosa, Turkey tail, Tremetese versicolour, and Hairy Curtain Crust, Stereum hirsutum. Taking out the cellulose and Lignin until the wood crumbles away
Lumpy bracket B Cameron
Stink horns, Phallus Impudicus, are always a favourite for fungi hunters and we were lucky enough to find one that still had some stinking black gel on it. A favourite with flies that carry away the gel and the spores hidden inside it.
Matt admiring a Common Stinkhorn P. Johnson
Through the woods and onto the top field we were rewarded with a cluster of Glistening inkcaps in the base of a broken white poplar tree. This fungus regularly fruits here when conditions are right leaving the mycelium inside the wood to do its job of extracting the nutrients while the glistening ink caps deliquesce, dripping their spores back into the ground in their ink.
Glistening ink caps Coprinellus micaceus B Cameron
We finished our walk by the pond as the light began to fade.
The group at dusk B Cameron
25 different fungi presented themselves to us as we rambled around the different habitats and we all considered that to be a pretty successful Fungi Walk
Turkey tail Trametes versicolor B Cameron
Here are some of our finds
White Saddle Hellvella crispa
Giant Polypore Meripilus giganteus
Artists Polypore Ganoderma applanatum,
Southern Bracket Ganoderma australe
Hoof Polypore Fomes fomentarius
Small Stagshorn Calocera cornea
Turkey tail Trametes versicolor
Hairy curtain crust Sterium hersuitum
Lumpy bracket Trametes gibosa
Beech woodwarts Hypoxylon fragiforme
Beech jelly disc Neobulgaria
Purple jelly disc Ascocoryne sarcoides
Birch Polypore Fomitopsis betulina
Beef steak fungus Fistulina hepatica
Sheathed woodtuft Kuehneromyces mutabilis
Sulphur tuft Hypholoma fasciculareoccurs
Glistening ink caps Coprinellus micaceus
Jelly ears, Auricularia auricula-judae
Jelly rot, Phlebia tremellosa
Stink horn Phalus Impudicus
Stump puffballs, Apioperdon pyriforme
Earthballs, Scleroderma citrinum
Oyster Mushrooms, Pleurotus Ostreatus
Candlesnuff fungus, Xylaria hypoxylon
Honey Fungus, Armillaria mellea
Bootlace rhizomorphs of the Honey fungus B Cameron
Event Leaders – Matt Jones and Brenda Cameron.
Thanks to Paul Johnson for his brilliant photographs.