An Enchanted Place

On day 168 of 365 Days Wild I decided to spend some time toadstool hunting in the meadow. There aren’t really many new species appearing, now, not like there were a few weeks ago, but I thought I’d see which familiar ones there might still be about.

As always, none of my identifications are given with any certainty, so if you recognise anything that I’ve misidentified, please do let me know. I’m new to toadstool identification but enjoy the process of working out what I might have spotted. I’ve finally managed to fit the iNaturalist app onto my phone (not an easy feat – I DO NOT have enough memory space!) and I am now using this as well as websites such as First Nature and NatureSpot, and a couple of Facebook groups, which are very helpful.

The first toadstools that I spotted were these little ones that I think might be Hare’s foot Inkcaps (Coprinopsis lagopus). They are said to be called as such because they are a very fleeting fungi – fruiting in the early morning, and gone by the end of the day, as fast as a startled hare, and also because when they first appear they look a little like the foot of a hare. I’ve not yet seen any in their earliest stage, when they are grey and egg-shaped, with their stem and cap covered in a furry white coating. The two that I spotted this time I think might be in the two mid stages: conical, with the last of the fur clinging to the cap, followed by flat with a striate margin. In its final stage the rim of the toadstool rolls to create a bowl-shaped cap, patterned by the black gills. I spotted one in this stage a month ago. The cap than deliquesces together with the gills, turning to liquid as it decomposes back into the earth.

A little bit further along I spotted yet more of the little orange toadstools that I’ve been spotting in the meadow since late summer. I’ve been back and forth between various identifications but am quite sure now that these two, at least, are Scurfy Deceivers (Laccaria laccata).

In amongst the knapweed plants down at the bottom of the meadow there are still lots of Stubble Rosegill (Volvopluteus gloiocephalus) to be found. I first spotted these popping up in the meadow at the end of October. These ones look a bit worst for wear. It looks likr something has been having a munch on them!

There is also still a clump of the orange funnel shaped fungi, growing in around-about the same area where I spotted some a few weeks ago. Last time I looked at these I thought that they might be Woolly Milkcap (Lactarius torminosus). It was hard to tell from the photo what their surface looked like this time as they were wet, so I’m going to stick with my previous identification. There are, however, several similar species.

There were, in fact, some very similar toadstools on the Millenium Walk, the tree-lined path alongside the meadow. These ones I think share a few more similarities with Tawny Funnel Cap (Paralepista flaccida). There was no sign of furriness on the caps of these ones at all.

In the little woodland area, in the less walked corner, past the fallen tree, I spotted this toadstool, upside down, plus the remnants of several others scattered around nearby. They definitely seem to be a favourite of the local wildlife. I’m pretty certain it’s a Brittlegill (Russula) though more than that is hard to say as there are A LOT of very similar species. They did look a little more yellow in the flesh so it’s possible that they’re Ochre Brittlegills (Russula ochroleuca). Russula cerolens is another common possibility.

The last toadstools that I spotted before I headed home were a little clump of Bonnet toadstools. I think these might be Ivory Bonnets (Mycena flavoalba) but, again, there are also several other similar species.

That’s all for today. What’s growing now where you are? Flowers or fungi, or something else entirely. Why not let me know in the comment section below?