The Fungi Diaries

    In the short while I've been learning about fungi there is one that is my favourite and that is the Earth Star (Geastrum triplex). Last year I kept seeing people posting pictures of these beautiful wonders of the fungi kingdom hoping I too would find one. Then in late autumn while on a visit to Shouldham Warren I spotted my first example, a collared earth star that was well passed it's best but was still an exciting moment for me.    As the weeks followed and more visits were made I started to find more, some wonderful younger examples and more older stars.     Earth stars start off as a bulb-like ball, the outer skin then splits and folds back to form a star shape leaving the spore sac sitting in the center. This spore sac acts like the puffball, as rain drops or leaf litter fall onto it the sac will puff out spores.     These lovely fungi are mainly found in leaf litter in deciduous woodland tho I often find nice examples in mossy grassed ar...

    Well, I have once again ticked another mushroom off my "wants" list, this time it's one of the most famous of all fungi, the Death Cap.    The Death Cap(Amanita phalloides), is deadly poisonous, one of if not the most poisonous in the UK.  It was while on a trip to Thetford Forest that I stumbled on to this beautiful olive capped fungi. It was a very young example only just emerging from the volva and had a really nice light olive green colouring.    Death Caps are often found near Oak or Beech from the middle of summer through until the end of autumn.    After finding this first example it was just three days later while on an evening walk at Shouldham Warren that I spotted not just my second but around twenty more. These were all around the base of a small group of Beech trees, they ranged from very young just emerging to large mature examples that were around 7 inches in size.    I really couldn't believe my eyes, only the se...

    After finding some lovely Dryads Saddle earlier this summer I was really surprised to find more new young saddles appearing around the village.    These wonderful fungi are edible when young but I'm just addicted to their stunning appearence. When really young they look like Shrek ears but they soon start to develope those beautiful large saddle shape  with that feathered design.     Blunts Orchard was where the last two saddles grew and yet again those ancient apple trees are the home for more.     In the village I found what must be my best ever Dryads Saddle find, a very young example with around ten heads growing on it. After returning just two days later tbe heads were already forming into good sized saddles.     It really is becoming a village for Dryads and I for one will continue enjoying there beauty and unique forms.

    This week saw my first two trips to Thetford Forest and what a pleasure the trips were. The forest is one of the oldest and covers a huge area, over 18,000 hectares and has many different areas to explore. For many years I had driven through the forest but this was the first time I had walked in part of it.    First trip was Monday morning and I spent around two hours there, keeping close to the carpark so as not to get lost, an easy thing to do in such a wide expanse of woodland. Within 50 yards of the carpark beneath a small group of Oak trees I found a couple of young blushers, a great start in this new hunting ground.    This first visit produced some really nice finds including a fallen tree covered in moss which was home to what must have been hundreds of Dead Molls Fingers. I was also lucky enough to find my first group of Yellow Staghorn this season, was great seeing the bright yellow orange glow that to me always points this wonderful coral lik...

    This week the fungi kingdom is slowly starting to introduce itself to woodland and grasslands all over Norfolk, the recent rains are at last starting to produce their ideal conditions.     So far this week I've been to two local woods, Monday morning I spent 2 hours at Snettisham Wood and yesterday I was at Thetford Forest, both very relaxing and looking beautiful. One mushroom that I'm finding a lot lately is the Tawny Grisette (Amanita fulva).     The mushroom is an edible tho I wouldn't eat is myself, if ever eaten raw it can really make one ill but fine if cooked properly. They are mainly found in mixed woodland from late summer through autumn, so these are a touch early but a very welcome find.