I believe this is Rosy Bonnet (Mycena rosea), very closed related to Mycena Pura, and in fact they may well be one and the same species.
I spotted this beautful pair in the local wood this morning as I went on my first mushroom hunt of the season. Muddy knees indeed!
October 2019 © Pete Hillman.
Sulphur Tuft (Hypholoma fasciculare) on dead Beech, October 2017, local wood, Staffordshire, England.
October 2017, growing on dead willow on local river bank, Staffordshire, England.
October 2017, local wood, Staffordshire, England.
This bolete is ochre, reddish-brown or chestnut in colour, and can be greasy and felty, developing cracks near the centre. The pores are a bright lemon-yellow, becoming olive with age. Cap width 8 to 15cm. Stem height 8 to 12cm.
Seen late summer to early autumn. Found in deciduous woodland, but not exclusively with oak as the common name states. A rare bolete which is more frequent in the south.
Photographs taken September 2011, local canal, Staffordshire. Camera Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38. © Pete Hillman 2011.
A fairly large mushroom with a cap of up to 12cm across, it is golden yellow or rusty brown covered in darker scales.
Found clustered on the dead wood of deciduous trees, especially tree trunks or logs. It is widespread but occasional.
Photographs of Golden Scalycap (Pholiota aurivella), taken October 2016, local wood, Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2016. Camera used Nikon D7200, with Sigma 105mm macro lens.
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.
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.
The morning sun is shining, the birds are singing from beyond high boughs, and fallen autumn leaves crunch under foot as I walk along the narrow, meandering woodland path. Beneath an aged Sweet Chestnut tree I spot such a magical minature world of wonder.
There is hardly any light, and what little light there is it is fairly diffuse beneath the canopy of woodland trees. And yet here they grow from the hollow of the tree, a world of fungi, this species named Sulphur Tuft.
Photographs of Sulphur Tuft (Hypholoma fasciculare), taken October 2016, local wood, Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2016. Camera used Nikon D7200, with Sigma 105mm macro lens. ISO 800 to 1000. 1/50 sec. f/6.3. Compensated flash used. All hand-held.
I have been itching to get out into the woods all week to try to track down some fungi to photograph, but with work and the rapidly diminishing afternoon light it has not been possible until this afternoon. I ventured into a local Beech wood which I always enjoy walking through, and growing out of a fallen giant was this most beautiful Porcelain Fungus.
This is one of the great attractions of Beech woods in the autumn. Sometimes called the ‘Poached Egg Fungus’, the cap is slimy and translucent, giving the impression it is made out of porcelain. It is white or ivory in colour, greyish when young, and grows up to 10cm across The gills are white, and the slender stem has a prominent ring.
Found July to October in groups or clusters on dead or dying broadleaved trees, especially Beech. Common and widespread.
Photographs of Porcelain Fungus (Oudemansiella mucida), taken October 2016, local wood, Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2016. Camera used Nikon D7200, with Sigma 105mm macro lens.
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.
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.
Before you begin to look through these colourful and fantastic forms of fungi, I would like to state I am no expert on identification and will not be making any reference to their edibility or inedibility, so please, if you see any of these out in the wild do not pick them or eat them without consulting a specialist, ideally a mycologist, an expert in the field. Some species of fungi can be extremely poisonous, and even deadly, especially as some people may be allergic to some forms. So hey, do not touch but enjoy their beauty and their wonder!
Most folk think that you may only be able to see a mushroom or a toadstool in the autumn months, but in fact they maybe observed all year round. The fungi are always there even if you cannot see the fruiting body; a large portion of it remains underground or within the growth mass, rotting wood for example. Environmentally they are of great importance for they are nature’s recyclers, breaking down the dead and dying, and releasing their nutrients back into the earth so that others species may thrive.
Fungi are recognised as completely different to animals and plants, and are scientifically classified having their own separate kingdom simply named ‘Fungi’. Unlike plants, fungi do not manufacture their food via photosynthesis, and cellulose is replaced in them with chitin. They digest their food externally and absorb it. Fungi reproduce by releasing tiny spores into the atmosphere via fruiting bodies. Some fungi reproduce asexually, by simple cell division, whilst others have asexual and sexual stages. Sexual reproduction involves the fusion of hyphae, the long white mass of tendrils which penetrates the feeding mass and is hidden from everyday view.
We as humans consume fungi in the yeast in our breads, beers and wines, in cheeses, and also in the form of penicillin.
Despite this talk of parasitism, these are few compared to the many that mutually benefit the well-being of the woodland environment. To put it simply, trees and fungi rely on each other for their healthy survival, and this symbiont relationship is important for all life species of the woodland habitat.
Grass & Grassland Fungi
Our areas of grass and grassland, whether they are pastures, meadows, moors, hills and mountains, parkland, road verges, or even our own garden lawns, are a rich environment for many species of fungi to thrive in. In fact, each species of grass cannot live without fungi, and vice-versa. It is the same symbiotic partnership as woodland fungi has with the trees. Even on our coasts, fungi grow amid the clifftop grasses and those of the sand dunes.
Bracket & Crust Fungi
Bracket and crust fungi come in various shapes, patterns and colours, and can be quite magnificent to see. Most feed on dead or dying trees, or rotting stumps, but some are also parasitic.
If you are interested you can find more information and images of individual species via the ‘Fungi‘ link.
Also called the ‘Clouded Agaric’, the cap of this mushroom becomes generally flatter and only slightly depressed in the centre, at most with a shallow umbo. Variable colouration, but usually in shades of beige or grey, often with a darker centre. It is often covered in a white bloom. Cap width up to 20cm. Stem height up to 10cm.
Seen late summer to late autumn. Found in deciduous or coniferous woods, often in rings or troops. Common and widespread.
Photographs of Clouded Funnel (Clitocybe nebularis) taken January 2012, local wood, Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2012. Camera used Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ38.
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.
A tiny species which grow in large troops producing bell-like caps. These caps are whitish and deeply pleated when young. As they age the flesh becomes greyish with an ochre centre. Also known as Trooping Crumble Cap or Fairies’ Bonnets. Cap width up to 1.5cm. Stem height up to 4cm.
It fruits early spring until winter, and grows in dense clusters in the earth or on the wood at the base of fallen deciduous trees. Found in woodland, parks and gardens. Common and widespread.
Photographs of Fairy Inkcap (Coprinus disseminatus) taken August 2007, country park, Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2007. Camera used Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W1.
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