Winter fungi

I'm sorry I've been rather neglecting this blog. I've been distracting myself creating a new blog about the plants you saw in Tenerife (a work in progress). Plus, the weather has not really been conducive to wandering in the countryside. But last week I was compelled to go outside to take photos to make a lichen guide for a class. And while on the survey itself, student T and I spotted a lovely mushroomy specimen growing on a dead tree. It was something like this:

CC image by Aaron Sherman

It rather caught my eye because it's growing in an asymmetrical brackety way, but unlike most fungi like that you might expect to see in winter, it's got gills, not pores.

I think it was an oyster mushroom, in the genus Pleurotus. In fact it may well be the culinarily acclaimed Pleurotus ostreatus, like the one above, which is happy growing on dead wood, and fairly common.

So this has restored my faith that there are still fungi to be collected, although winter may not be the most productive season for the mycologist. It's worth looking at this page in The Mushroom Diary website, where John Harris gives a list of wintery mushrooms to seek out. He's got a couple I mentioned in my own post last year, but also a number of others. Who could resist looking for a 'scurfy twiglet'?

The Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust also has a list of winter fungi (a different list).

So there's still time. Get out there and don't forget to look up as well as down, and try to visit different types of woods and habitats. Remember it's best to identify your specimens as soon as you can, and then bring them in so they can be freeze dried (if that's appropriate - some wintery things like cramp balls and polypores will dry happily at home).

P.S. I am proud to say that my overall mark for my MSc Biological Recording arrived over the holidays, and I got a Distinction. I trust this will fill you with some confidence if you come to me for help. So long as you don't ask me about fishing.