The Shroom Room

Oftentimes we can get so caught up in looking where we're going, that we forget to look up. I am especially guilty of this, as I'm always on the lookout for fungi, scanning the sides of paths and fallen logs everywhere I go. It's quite easy to forget that trees are very tall, and that fungi can be found at many heights. It's a good job I looked up when I was standing beneath a cluster of Variable Oysterlings , or Crepidotus variabilis. They were growing off a twig on a dead tree. Oysterlings are unlike any other fungi I've seen, as they generally don't have stems and from below look like little circles. From above, they are a kidney shape. They are relatively common and can be found growing in large groups from late summer to winter. Characteristics Habitat:  On dead twigs and other decaying material, including at the base of hedgerows. Cap:  0.5-2cm across, kidney-shaped. White in colour. Stem: No stem. Gills:  Moderately crowded, radiatin...

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...

I love how so many fungi are named - some are inventive, some are hilarious, and others take more of a say-what-you-see approach. I like to think that today's fungal focus takes the latter approach. Whoever named this fungus the Jelly Ear really did just describe what they saw in front of them, and the Latin name is a bit of a mouthful. I have tried many times to pronounce Auricularia auricula-judae , but I'm sure it still doesn't sound right. They really do look like ears made of jelly, and, being a year-round fungus, you can pretty much guarantee you'll come across a group of them at some point. Unlike a lot of fungi, whose fruitbodies appear for a couple of days before degrading, jelly ears persist for a while. They change state depending on the weather, feeling velvety when dry but slippery and jelly-like when wet. For this reason, they're apparently great when used for stock, although I've yet to try this. Characteristics Habitat:  On wo...

Another day, another nature reserve. I found Forest Farm & Glamorgan Canal Nature Reserve  completely by chance, as I saw it on the map when working out how to get somewhere else. As I had a couple of hours to spare, I thought I'd take a little stroll to see what was there, and I was awestruck with how beautiful it is. It's a really big reserve, so I didn't get very far, but what I managed to see was breathtaking. There's a canal path that you can walk along, a public footpath that goes through a wooded area, or open fields. Along the wooded path there are the sounds of lots of different birds and the smell of wild garlic. And, to my delight, lots of species of fungi. As I came across a rotting stump, there was no way I could have missed the clumps of Sulphur Tuft , or Hypholoma fasciculare. Aptly named, they are sulphur yellow in colour and grow in tufts on dead wood, pretty much all year round. They have a very distinctive mushroom smell, and their gills ...

Spring is finally upon us, and whilst greenery is emerging and bright flowers are peeping through the cracks that winter has left, things are still somewhat quiet in the fungal world. With the main mushroom season being late summer and autumn, there is a way to go before we can see mushrooms at every corner. However, as the weather is beginning to warm, there are a few species that are starting to emerge. One such mushroom is the  Common Inkcap , or  Coprinopsis atramentaria . Common Inkcaps have a long season, beginning to appear in spring and continuing to fruit until the end of autumn. Like the majority of their Inkcap cousins , their caps expand outwards, eventually becoming an inky liquid.         They tend to form in groups and grow on buried wood. Most of the ones I've found have been under trees in grassy areas, such as parks or fields. I like to think their caps look like arrows pointing out of the soil.        ...

Fungi are such a diverse group of organisms that often it's difficult to believe what you're looking at is related to the mushrooms we use in the kitchen. I have stumbled across many a fungus that sparks this kind of reaction in me, one of which is King Alfred's Cakes , or Daldinia concentrica. They are extremely bizarre-looking, forming large black lumps on dead wood. Where there's one, there tends to be multiple. Their name is derived from the story of King Alfred, who allegedly hid in the house of a peasant woman whilst the Vikings were wreaking havoc. The woman asked Alfred to watch her cakes in the oven; however he was so distracted by his problems that he let them burn. And I suppose these fungi are what the cakes looked like in the end. Rather fitting, too, as they feel smooth, hard, and if you tap on them, they sound hollow inside. In fact, if you were to cut open one of these 'cakes', what you'd find inside is zones of shiny circles. Alth...

Bracket fungi are the most difficult to identify for me. I find they all look rather similar and I'm aiming to work on this in the future. There is one bracket, however, that I never fail to identify - the Turkeytail , or Trametes versicolor . These are probably one of - if not the - most common bracket fungi. I have found them everywhere: on stumps in front gardens, logs in woodland and wooden posts in town. If there is wood, there is probably Turkeytail. It has been disputed whether there are multiple species under the name 'Turkeytail', or whether they simply come in an array of colours. I read somewhere that 'true' Turkeytails are slightly hairy to the touch, whereas 'fake' Turkeytails are smooth, however elsewhere I have also read that the texture of Turkeytails depends on their age. Therefore, I'm going to leave the species debate to the mycologists and continue with the assumption that all colours come under the 'Turkeytail' brack...

Rain is usually a consciously-avoided element of mine; however after the dry spell we've been having, I welcomed it with open arms this week, hoping that it might encourage some fungi to emerge. I was not disappointed! In an attempt to expand our mushroom-hunting horizons, Matt and I have been researching new areas to go. On Saturday, we drove to Cwm George and Casehill woods in Dinas Powys for an early March stroll. This wood is over 500 years old and it's beautiful. We had a great time walking around and found loads of different species of fungi. I've chosen today to focus on one in particular: the Velvet Shank , or Flammulina velutipes (the scientific name is fun to say out loud!) These lovely fellas are out from autumn til spring, so I've seen them around quite a lot in the last few months. They like to grow in small groups on dead wood, and most of the ones I've found have been on stumps. They have an orange cap which is often sticky to touch, and the...

I am a creature of habit. I always tend to go to the same spots when I go for walks, whether in search of mushrooms or not. Last Sunday, I decided to expand my horizons to a nature reserve hidden in a corner of Cardiff, that I had heard was a lovely place to go. Although it was a 30-minute walk to get there, it was definitely worth it. As soon as I pushed open the gate to enter the wood, a sense of calm and quiet washed over me. This was helped by the fact that it was the morning, and nobody was around. I saw only a couple of dog walkers in the entire time I was there. It was as though I had the whole space to myself; my little secret. I was not expecting much in the way of fungi, due to the time of year and the fact that it had been dry for a few days. Nevertheless, I scanned the ground for signs of fungal life, all the while enjoying the sounds of birds, watching the bees and taking pictures of the hidden daffodils and snowdrops. Whilst walking down a less-beaten path, a flash...