Spring fungus finds around the village

Remember that period of incessant rain as we headed towards spring? The jelly fungi were loving it.

A trip to Hoe Wood on 15 March produced a good haul of Tremella and Exidia species.

Clockwise from top left: Leafy Brain Tremella folicea, Witches' Butter Exidia glandulosa, Yellow Brain Tremella mesenterica and what-I-think-is-probably White Brain Exidia thuretiana.

And it felt like wherever I found Elders, I found Jelly Ear Auricularia auricula-judae soaking up the atmosphere.

Jelly Ear Auricularia auricula-judae

On a trip to nearby Horton Wood on 8 April I found baby 'ears' popping up all over the place...

Young Jelly Ear Auricularia auricula-judae

... With Wild Primrose Primula vulgaris carpeting the woodland floor, it felt like spring was finally getting going.

Over on the other side of the village, the Wood anemones Anemone nemorosa put on an equally impressive show in the public part of Hoe Wood, at Woods Mill.

Hoe Wood, 18 April 2018

I had a rootle around for Anemone Cup Dumontinia tuberosa but didn't managed to find any.

Three weeks went by before I managed a return trip to Horton Wood, and by this time yellow had given way to blue as the Bluebells Hyacinthoides non-scripta took centre stage.

I had a close encounter with a Hornet Vespa crabro. But Horton Wood didn't seem to have anything new to offer in the way of fungus interest.

Wandering back towards the village, some splodges of white beneath a roadside hazel hedge caught my eye.

I collected one of the fruit bodies, so I could get a closer look at its features. I thought I could detect a vaguely flour-y smell (but have limited confidence in my olfactory skills).

With its white, sinuate gills, I reckon this is a pretty good bet for St George's Mushroom Calocybe gambosa. It's a spring species – and a new one for me!

Over on the other side of the village, our old faithful Chicken of the Woods Laetiporus sulphureus was putting an another cracking show. It's at least the third year in a row that it's fruited on this log pile. (Here is is in 2016 and 2017.)

It wasn't until I got home that I spotted some distinctly mushroom-y looking things at the bottom left of the frame and it's been annoying me that I never found out what they were. Anyone care to hazard a guess? Glistening Inkcaps Coprinellus micaceus are very common at Woods Mill, so I thought they might be that. But the caps look a little too round, and insufficiently glistening.


Over in Hoe Wood I found more Witches' Butter Exidia glandulosa among the bluebells.

And I got thoroughly confused by this bracket fungus which looked to be putting on a growth-spurt on the railway sleeper bridge at the edge of valley field.

It looks quite distinctive with its cinnamon colouring and large pores, but it has completely defied my attempts at identification.

The frustrating thing is, I think it got determined to species on the Sussex Fungus Group foray last year – but I haven't been able to tie up my notes well enough to figure out what we decided it was.


For the record
Location: Hoe Wood, Small Dole [private site]

Date: 15 March 2018

Location: Horton Wood, Small Dole
Grid reference: TQ208127 (site centroid)
Date: 8 April 2018

Location [Calocybe gambosa]: New Hall Lane, Small Dole
Grid reference: TQ214132
Date: 29 April 2018

Location [Laetiporus sulphureus]: Woods Mill, Small Dole
Grid reference: TQ217137
Date: 29 April 2018

Location [Unidentified bracket]: Woods Mill, Small Dole
Grid reference: TQ219133
Date: 29 April 2018

Records entered into FRDBI 07/09/2018