#wild fungi
Sutton Park, Birmingham, UK, October 2021
Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria)
I found swathes of these iconic mushrooms while walking across Sutton Park yesterday - so large and distinctive they can often be identified by even the most beginner mycologists from a couple dozen metres away.
They’re the most beautiful little fairytale mushroom, and always gorgeous to spot. What a lot of people don’t realise at first is that the captivating ‘spots’ sported by the Amanitagenus are remnants of the universal veil- the spherical sack that these fungi emerge from. They tear it as they grow, the cap widening to split it as it stretches open, leaving spots of the white substance clinging to the surface of the cap. These loose remnants are not securely attached, meaning the ‘spots’ can be washed off fairly easily by rain, as you can see most prominently in the antepenultimate photo, which I at first thought was a red Russulaspecies, the spots of this specimen having been almost completely washed away, until I investigated beneath the cap to find a few scraps clinging to the edge (just visible) and a telltale ring around the stem.
Post link
Walthamstow, London, UK, October 2021
Lawyer’s wig inkcap / shaggy inkcap (Coprinus comatus)
This gorgeous fungus starts as a long, softly scaley white ovaloid body, which slowly opens up and deliquesces, as you can see this specimen doing. This reveals the stem more clearly, allowing us to see the small, fragile stem ring around the fibrous white stem.
They are edible, but should be collected before the black ink begins to show, as shown in the second photo.
Post link
Epping Forest, London, UK, October 2021
Rosy bonnets (Mycena rosea)
It’s rosy bonnet season baby!!!! If you’ve been following for long, you already know I’m a slut for these pink mushrooms. They start appearing in the UK in August, but I think the autumn specimens are always a much brighter pink - or perhaps they just look better against the autumnal forest floor.
Post link
