Westonbirt late fungi & Somerset Mistletoe

THE National Arboretum at Westonbirt (Gloucestershire) was surprisingly quiet last weekend, except for people (like us) buying a Christmas tree, or partaking of the hot soup in the restaurant.

The recent mildness and wetness has meant that there was a good show of toadstools, in spite of the time of the year.  We were impressed by some super large fairy rings surrounding a number of trees.  The fungus in these cases probably has a close (ecto or endo-mychorizzal) association with the trees, where the fungus gains a free home and the tree gains nutrients obtained through the fungus's hypha.

Wood blewit

 

As its getting towards Christmas I thought that the mistletoe found on Saturday on the Somerset Levels would be worth sharing:

Kiss anyone?

The start of the fungi season

Last week we paid a visit to the New Forest in Hampshire, to get away for a day or two.  During our walks around the woodland and heathlands I was particularly on the look out for fungi and deer.  Saw a fair few of the former, but very few of the later unfortunately.  However another important grazer was abundant - the new forest ponies.  They can give you quite a surprise if you are not expecting them.

A rare moment of sunshine

 

Boletus

Boletus

Honey fungus

The wood ants in the forest make some pretty impressive nests:

There's one particular group of fungi that you often smell before you see them - they attract flies to the sticky top where the spores are - this one is called Phallus impudicus...can't think where it gets its name from...?

Last years visit around the same time was a bit sunnier and I found a few more interesting characters: http://wildlifewanderings.blogspot.com/2010/10/fungi-pigs-deer-and-sunshine.html