Toadstools, mushrooms, puffballs, brackets, fairy rings and all things fungal!
Last year we tried to arrange for a fungi expert to spend a day with us helping us to identify the fungi of Grove Woods. Unfortunately for our plans, the early autumn was dry, and so a few days before our planned date, as there were very few fungi visible, we had to cancel the day. Of course, as soon as we cancelled, it started to rain and the fungi shot up!
This year we decided to have a DIY session and see what we could discover.
On October 14th a few of us slowly worked our way through Vicarage Grove, trying with the aid of Field Guides and mobile phone apps to identify as many species as we could. We soon found that many fungi were just as difficult to identify as we had expected but at least the apps could save some time by getting us quickly to the right group of fungi. A few hours later we had a list of fungi that we felt confident that we had identified correctly, together with photos. Finding two deadly poisonous fungi was a very good reminder to make absolutely certain of the identify of any fungi before eating them!
We added 13 new species altogether, listed below. We hope to add many more to this list as they appear and as our expertise increases!
| Common Bonnet | Mycena galericulata |
| Tawny Funnel | Lepista flaccida |
| Brown Roll-Rim | Paxillus involutus |
| Whitelaced Shank | Megacollybia platyphylla |
| Deathcap | Amanita phalloides |
| Rosy Bonnet | Mycena rosea |
| The Prince | Agaricus augustus |
| Brittle gills | Russula sp. |
| Common Puffball | Lycoperdon perlatum |
| Suphur Tuft | Hypholoma fasciculare |
| Hairy Curtain Crust | Stereum hirsutum |
| Panthercap | Amanita pantherina |
| Spotted Toughshank | Collybia maculata |
Blyth Woods 