The Shroom Room

I am perhaps one of the few people who, upon hearing it was going to rain all day today, jumped for joy. My husband and I had planned to go for a walk through the woods today as soon as we heard it was going to rain. What better way to celebrate the start of mushroom season than by looking for them in prime conditions? We weren't disappointed either, as we found many species poking through the woodland, including the Collared Parachute , or Marasmius rotala. These babies are even smaller than the Twig Parachutes that I wrote about a few weeks ago , so it's a miracle I even noticed them. Luckily, their distinctive white caps, though tiny, stood out amongst the greenery. There were quite a few groups of them growing on fallen twigs. Despite their small size, Collared Parachutes tend to have extremely long stems, some of which reach the length of 7cm. Needless to say, they are extremely fragile. They get their name from the way their gills attach. While most mushr...

The fungal kingdom is fascinating in many ways, if not only because in the same step you can find a mushroom as big as your head, and one smaller than your finger. There is a whole world around us which we can't even begin to imagine, and it is quite special when you spot one of these tiny treasures. In my case, my latest tiny find was the Twig Parachute , or Marasmiellus ramealis. Had it not been for the sheer number of these mini mushrooms, I'm not sure I would have seen them. They were growing on a pile of fallen twigs - hence their name. Their caps are white with a pink tinge to them, and they are usually darker at the centre. They start out convex and become increasingly flattened over time. The curved stem becomes darker towards the base and their gills are white to pink in colour. Characteristics Habitat:  On twigs, usually old ones. Often in large groups. Cap:  3-10mm across, convex then flattened. White to pink in colour, darker at the...