Room For a Shroom

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June 2018, near local pond, Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman.

Mushroom Worlds IX

Sulphur Tuft (Hypholoma fasciculare) on dead Beech, October 2017, local wood, Staffordshire, England.

Birch Milkcap #2

Lactarius tabidus

Photographs of Birch Milkcap (Lactarius tabidus), taken October 2016, local wood, Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2016. Camera used Nikon D7200, with Sigma 105mm macro lens.

Glistening Inkcap

Coprinellus micaceus

I came across clusters of this inkcap growing out the rotting base of an old tree trunk. The cap is covered in fine white mica-like scales or flecks. It grows up to 3cm across, begins egg-shaped then develops into a bell-like form. The gills begin white then turn black.

Seen May to November in clusters on decayed stumps and buried wood of deciduouis trees. Common and widespread throughout.

Photographs of Glistening Inkcap (Coprinellus micaceus), taken October 2016, local wood, Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2016. Camera used Nikon D7200, with Sigma 105mm macro lens.

Like A Little Japanese Parasol

Pleated Inkcap (Parasola plicatilis)

Like a little, fine and delicate Japanese parasol, lost in a deep green jungle.

Photographs of Pleated Inkcap (Parasola plicatilis), taken October 2016, local roadside verge, Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2016. Camera used Nikon D7200, with Sigma 105mm macro lens.

Ochre Brittlegill

Russula ochroleuca

Also called the ‘Common Yellow  Russula’, this fairly distinctive mushroom has a yellow-ochre cap which grows up to 10cm in diameter. The gills and stem are a creamy white colour.

Seen August to November in broadleaved or coniferous woodland where the ground is well-drained and dry. One of the commonest of the brittlegills, it is common and widespread.

Photograph of Ochre Brittlegill (Russula ochroleuca), taken October 2016, local wood, Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2016. Camera used Nikon D7200, with Sigma 105mm macro lens.

Sulphur Tuft

Hypholoma fasciculare

A bright and quite spectacular mushroom found in clumps growing from dead wood. Sulphur-yellow cap colouration, with orange-tan centre. Cap width 2 to 10cm, stem height 4 to 10cm.

Seen all year round on both deciduous and coniferous dead woods in dense masses. Widespread and very common.

Photograph of Sulphur Tuft (Hypholoma fasciculare) taken November 2011, nature reserve, Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2011. Camera used Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38.

Parasol

Macrolepiota procera

This grows to be quite a large species of mushroom, beginning with an egg-shaped cap expanding into a large flat cap with a large central umbo (bump). It has a pale-buff brown surface with radiating scales. Snake skin patternation on stem with moveable ring as it ages which is a distinguishing feature. Cap Width up to 30cm. Stem Height up to 30cm.

Seen ummer to late autumn, and found in woodland clearings, fields, meadows, roadsides and grassy hillsides. Frequent to common, and quite widespread.

Photographs of Parasol (Macrolepiota procera) taken August 2009, Malvern Hills, Worcestershire. © Pete Hillman 2009. Camera used Fuji FinePix S5800.

Field Mushroom

Agaricus campestris

Quite a variable mushroom, the cap white or sometimes creamy yellow, and remaining in the button stage for quite a long period. The gills are deep pink, finally darkening to brown. The cap can grow up to 10cm across, and the stem up to 10cm tall.

It can be seen late summer to autumn. A familiar mushroom of pastures, particularly those grazed by cattle. Found clustered, sometimes massed, in grassland of all types. Widespread and fairly common.

Photograph of Field Mushroom (Agaricus campestris), taken September 2016, local field, Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2016. Camera used Nikon D7200, with Sigma 105mm macro lens.

Shaggy Parasol

Chlorophyllum rhacodes

This is a fairly large mushroom with a cap size of 5 to 20 cm in diameter. The cap has a dark umbo with recurved brown scales. The gills are free and white, and the smooth stem is whitish with a brownish tinge, the base bulbous. It has a thick, moveable double ring.

It can be seen summer to late autumn, in mixed woodland, roadsides and gardens. Frequent to common.

Photograph of Shaggy Parasol (Chlorophyllum rhacodes), taken September 2016, local wood , Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2016. Camera used Nikon D7200, with Sigma 105mm macro lens.

Firerug Inkcap

Coprinus domesticus

This is a pale inkcap, found often growing out of a mat of ginger-coloured mycelium (the vegetative part of a fungus which is often hidden in the soil or other substrates). It is egg-shaped to begin, becoming bell-shaped or flatter and deeply grooved. It is cream coloured with an ochre centre, maturing dark grey. The cap is covered in a veil of white scales which soon disappear. The cap grow up to 3cm in height, and the stem up to 15cm tall. The gills are white to being with, then grey,  eventually turning ink-black.

It fruits spring to summer, or when weather becomes milder. Found on the dead wood of deciduous trees. It is also sometimes found on burnt ground arising from buried wood. Uncommon but widespread.

Photograph of Firerug Inkcap (Coprinus domesticus) taken January 2012, local wood, Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2012. Camera used Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38.

Conocybe tenera

An obtusely conical fungi to begin, then expanding into a bell-shape. The cap grows up to 4cm in diameter, and is a matt, ochreous brown to cinnamon, drying yellow-brown. The stem is quite fragile, whitish with hints of the shade of the cap colour, and smooth or longitudinally striate. The stem grows up to 7cm tall.

It fruits summer to autumn. Found solitary or in clusters in grassland, parks and roadsides. Very common and widespread throughout Britain and Ireland.

Photographs of Conocybe tenera taken September 2011, by local river, Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2011. Camera used Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38.

Shaggy Inkcap

Coprinus comatus

Also called ‘Lawyer’s Wig’ or ‘Shaggy Mane’, this is a fairly tall and impressive mushroom. They are elongated or egg-shaped, becoming bell-shaped and turning up black at the base. It has brownish-greyish flesh with white shaggy brown-tipped scales. The cap width is variable, but it can grow up to 10cm tall.

It fruits late summer to autumn. Found solitary or in groups on grass, soil, and waste areas, especially where the ground has been disturbed. It is widespread and very common.

Photograph of Shaggy Inkcap (Coprinus comatus) taken November 2011, nature reserve, Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2011. Camera used Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38.

Veiled Poisonpie

Hebeloma mesophaeum

This small mushroom has a brownish-buff centred cap which becomes paler towards the margin. It has white velar remants at the margin when young. It becomes slimy when wet. It grows up to 5cm wide. The gills are pale buff coloured when young, becoming dark brown with age. The stem grows up to 7cm tall, it is fibrous and pale buff becoming darker in maturity. There is no distinct ring.

It fruits spring through to autumn, and it is nearly always found in association with coniferous habitats. Widespread and common.

Photograph of Veiled Poisonpie (Hebeloma mesophaeum) taken November 2011, nature reserve, Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2011. Camera used Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38.