Parasol funghi easy to see in town cemetery

THERE are so many types and variations of fungi that they are often very difficult to identify.

The parasol is one fungi that is easy to see and easy to identify and is common on the unimproved grass of cemeteries.

It can be seen parading across Newtown Road Cemetery in Newbury nearly every autumn, standing tall and proud, looking like a parasol, until it suddenly collapses. The parasol mushroom is a basidiomycete fungus with a large, prominent fruiting body which resembles a parasol.

It is a fairly common species on welldrained soils.

It is found solitary or in groups and fairy rings in pastures and occasionally in woodland.

When young the ‘parasol’ is closed and egg-shaped with the cap margin attached to the stipe (or stem). It grows to maturity before opening up leaving a distinctive fleshy ring where it was attached.

A crop at varying stages can be seen under the cedar near the south gate of the cemetery.

The leathery cap is easy to recognise. It is almost flat with a flaky or snakeskin line brown pattern.

In the centre a dark brown umbo (bump) rises up.

A lot is going on underground as the roots interact with and feeds via the thread-like mycelium.

It’s a complex process.

Can you eat it? You can eat the cap, but it is easy to mix up with fungi that can make you ill.

The wildlife in the cemetery need the food more than you, so please leave for others to enjoy and the insects to eat as we do not have that many here.

Warning: Never eat fungi unless you are very sure you know what it is. It may be your last meal or make you sick.

ELIZABETH CAPEWELL

Friends of Newtown Road Cemetery Nature Group