Putting the fun in fungi
AUTUMN offers us the opportunity to enjoy many wildlife spectacles but without a shadow of a doubt delving into the mysterious and magical world of mushrooms has to be my favourite.
Fungi can be found year-round but the damp, autumnal drizzle provides the ideal growing conditions for fungi to grow and now is the best time to see them.
Certainly during my local walks, my pace has slowed right down in the hopes of spotting something new.
Fungi are a bit of an ecological outlier. Once considered to be plant-like organisms, they are actually much more closely related to animals, sourcing their energy externally rather than through photosynthesis, like plants.
The fruiting bodies that we see are only a small manifestation of a much larger, hidden network of fibres - the mycelium - connecting the landscape and effectively mother nature’s answer to the internet, well worth reading into if you get a chance.
Above ground though, the fascinating world of fungi continues to unfold, an abundance of breath-taking and bizarre sights.
A few species to be on the lookout for this autumn are: shaggy ink cap, jelly ear and fly agaric.
Shaggy ink caps are very commonly spotted in parklands and road verges.
Standing at between 10 to 30cm
tall, they are hard to miss and unmistakable; bearing a characteristically peeling, shaggy surface.
With age, shaggy ink caps begin to blacken and liquefy from their outer edges, living up to their ink cap name.
Jelly ear fungi are my favourite, flicking their velvet, wobbly surface is a form of therapy and they really do look exactly like an ear growing out of dead and decaying wood.
Jelly ear is fairly common, favouring damp and shady conditions.
They are mainly found living on elder trees but can also be spotted on other types of hardwood, like beech, sycamore and ash.
Fly agaric is the classic fairytale toadstool, scarlet with a white stalk.
They are often found in woodlands and parks, beneath birch trees in autumn. Fly agaric is beautiful but also poisonous so do not touch but do make sure to take a photo.
The UK is home to around 15,000 different species of fungi which can be found in a wide range of habitats.
The best way to learn about fungi is to get out and explore your local patch, search high and low and don’t be afraid to get a few odd looks from passers by as you crawl out of the undergrowth – it’s all part of the experience. To find out more, visit our website.