Fascinating Fungi November

A beautiful morning and despite recent high winds, the Beech trees at Waggoners Wells still looked stunning. We had a very successful foray and found 64 different species. Some of them, particularly the very tiny Mycena (Bonnet) species, are extremely difficult to identify without microscopic examination so there were a few ‘best guesses’ when it came to naming them. Most, if not all, of our common fungi now have English names some of them are very descriptive – (Lemon Disco, Wood Woollyfoot, Jelly Babies, Grooved Bonnet) – whereas others are a bit more puzzling (Hairy Curtain Crust, Amethyst Deceiver, Burnt Knight). Arguably the most unusual find was/were the Fenugreek Stalkball, a swarm of minute fungi with a strong, spicy smell. They grow on living or dead tree trunks and look quite unremarkable but the smell is most distinctive.