Fabulously Flashy Fungi

Posted by Rosie

I think anyone who enjoys looking for fungi will agree that this year has been a fabulous year for them.  Here in Normandy with the dry September they were slow to appear but once we had a bit more rain in October and November, coupled with the mild temperatures the fungi have just gone from strength to strength, popping up everywhere.  I have already blogged about them here (From Honey to Stink) and here (Fungi and Murder) but now I want to write about them again having found some fungi I have never seen before and that really took my breath away when I saw them.

One of our regular dog walks is down the valley and because the cows are no longer grazing we can walk back up through the fields rather than along the path, which the dogs love!  A few days ago I saw what I thought was a late flowering dandelion but as I got closer I realised it was in fact a yellow fungi - a VERY yellow fungi:

A Yellow Waxcap (Hygrocype)

A bit further on a splash of vivid colour caught my eye, yet another brightly coloured mushroom, this time crimson red:

A Red Waxcap (Hygrocype)

I had never seen either of these before and to be honest I could not have missed them had I been anywhere near them as they are so bright.  I had no camera that day so I returned the next and easily found them again - vivid splashes in an otherwise sea of grass green.

They both belong to the same family, Hygrocybe or Waxcaps but I am not at all sure which species they are.  There are several red fungi in this family but no one description exactly fits what I have found so they could be Hygrocybe coccinea, H. belobia, H. punicea or H. miniata.

The much more numerous yellow ones are possibly Hygrocybe persistens or H. flavescens but again, I am far from sure.

Despite their colour, which in mind indicates that they are poisonous, they are in fact edible, although varying  from "of little value" (H. miniata) through "mediocre" (H. conica) to "good" (H. punicea) but even these levels of edibility vary in different books and on different websites!  Rest assured though, I am not going to eat them even if they fall into the good camp!

Have you found any particularly colourful fungi this year and if so have you had more luck than me accurately identifying them? 

Fungi and Murder!

Posted by Rosie

After a couple of mornings with frost last week the weather hasn't been as cold over the last few days which has meant, after a not particularly good year so far, there are now lots of fungi to be seen.  With not much of interest going on in the garden at Eco-Gites of Lenault, today for my gardening update I shall take you on a walk around our local paths on a fungal foray.  You may need to put your glasses on though as some of the fungi are very small and I may not point out where they all are!  Clicking on the pictures will make them bigger.

The first three are easy to see:

 

 

But now they are getting a lot smaller!

 

 

 No more help now - can you spot the 2 fungi in the last 2 photos?

 

I love fungi.  I love their apparently short life (when in fact the greater part of their life is lived underground and out of our sight).  I love their importance in breaking down dead material and I love the fact that they can be either wonderfully good to eat or fatally poisonous.  I am reminded of a book I read, parts of which I loved, parts of which I disliked intensely but which had, I think, one of the best final lines ever, making me eternally grateful that I struggled on to the end.  A brief explanation.  There are some fungi, that if eaten initially give you stomach pains but then you appear to recover.  However at that point fatal damage has been wreaked on you and several days later you will die an excruciatingly painful death through major organ failure.  This particular book (which shall remain anonymous in case you should chose to read it too) ends with the line:

"The murdered couple drove off down the road."

They had been fed fried mushrooms for breakfast!  I like fungi but I also respect them and would only eat any that had guaranteed by an expert, which in France can be any pharmacist.

I hope you enjoyed my little wander into the world of fungi this week.  For more gardening posts have a look at Annie's How Does Your Garden Grow linky over at Simple Wanderlust ... yup - she changed the blog name again! 

From Honey to Stink - A Fungi Walk

Posted by Rosie

Yesterday I wrote how the September weather here in Normandy has been fabulous.  Whilst daytime temperatures could all too easily be mistaken for midsummer, a closer look clearly shows that we are in early Autumn.  The nights are chillier, the mornings full of mist. Autumnal colours are appearing and there are fungi popping up. As yet there are not too many fungi as the weather has been so dry but no doubt more will appear when we get some rain.  These are the ones I spotted on a walk with the dogs yesterday.  Some of I can identify but one is a mystery as so often is the case with fungi!

Stinkhorn - Phallus impudicus

This is possibly one of the easiest of all fungi to identify and in fact you will smell it before you see it!  The smell comes from their sticky spores which attract flies who then distribute these spores on their feet.  And it's shape - well yes, probably the less said about that the better!

Stinkhorn

The picture below is also a stinkhorn, this time just before the fungus emerges in the characteristic form above.  It also has the distinctive smell and is known as a Witch's Egg.  Apparently it is edible and supposed to be an aphrodisiac but this is not recommended!!

Witch's Egg (Immature Stinkhorn)

Honey Fungus - Armillaria mellea

I think the fungi below are all Honey Fungus, a fungus that is a parasite of tree roots and can cause the death of trees.  The honey in it's name (mellea is Latin for honey) refers to it's honey colour, not it's taste.  It is a very widespread fungus and when it does appear it is easy to spot the large clusters.  As with all fungi though it is short lived and soon rots back, first to brown and then a rather disgusting black mass. 

Honey Fungus

Honey Fungus

Rotting Honey Fungus

Not all fungi are easy to spot. Both these pictures below are fungi but I only spotted them as I was down on the ground photographing the "Witch's Egg" above! 

Dead Man's Fingers - Xylaria polymorpha

It's easy to see where this fungus got it's name from!  It is a common fungus and present all year round where it lives on dead wood.

Dead Man's Fingers

Artist's Conk - Ganoderma applanatum

Look carefully in this picture and you will see a large white object in the top right, the base of a bracket fungus that I am fairly sure is an Artist's Conk. It is said you can etch into the white surface and the marks will turn and stay brown revealing your artistic masterpiece, hence it's common name.  

Artist's Conk - Ganoderma applanatum

Unknown fungus

This little cluster of orange fungi was growing under the gate into the turkey field but I have no idea what it is.  Fungi are notoriously difficult for the amateur to identify as many species look so similar.  However in France you can take you finds to the Pharmacy and they will do the identification for you and advise which ones are edible.

Unknown small orange fungus

With luck we will see more fungi when we get some rain.  Why don't you head out and see what fungi you can find.  But remember, if you do not know what the fungus is, do not pick or even touch it. Some can be irritant to touch. 

Silent Sunday - September 21st 2014