Friday 26 September 2014

A Concentration of Toadstools

The car boot hadn't been shut properly so we pulled into a passing place to close it, but spent far longer there than expected.

At this time of year the fungi are coming into their own, but it's rare to find no less than four different species all within a space of the two square metre sheep-cropped area along the side of the tarmac.  The one that caught our eye was this bright yellow one, which may be a yellow wax cap.

Whoever has the privilege of naming these fungi must have great fun.  Names such as scarlet hood, crab scented russula, plums and custard, and stinking parasol may be descriptive, but amethyst deceiver, wood blewit, rusty wood rotter and ear pick fungus are just plain fun.  We have no idea what this one is called.

The people who name fungi doesn't feel that the names have to be short. This one's fleshy pink colour and faded margin suggest it might be an orange-red wax cap.

Fungi are as bad as moths when it comes to trying to identify them - there are hundreds, and they vary a lot within individual species.  This one, with it's neat, parasol shape and lump on its top, should be easily identifiable, but I'm really guessing when I call it a brown rollrim.  If it is, it's described as 'deadly poisonous'.

2 comments:

  1. I wish the pictures in the identification books were as clear and composed as your photographs, Jon. Your pictorial natural biography is a joy.

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  2. Thanks, Derryck. Certainly, identifying things like fungi, using books and Google, takes hours, and then I'm never sure I'm right. Jon

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