I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bigger waxcap than this absolute unit of a Crimson (Hygrocybe punicea) I bumped into last week. Bigger than most Field Mushrooms, it stood out like a beacon across the turf.

I’ve been saying for a while that I would LOVE to see an Elfin Saddle, Helvella lacunosa! Then today, four appeared all at once! This curious spore-shooting mushroom was so named as long ago, it was believed that elves rode them in the dead of night!🧝🐎✨
#fungi #fungi friday

My first time seeing the gorgeous Crimson Waxcap, Hygrocybe punicea, in this lovely old churchyard near Penrith. These stunning #mushrooms were seemingly everywhere! An indicator of high conservation value grassland, this burial ground is a special place.😍 #fungi #FungiFriday

Oh wow, this Strangler was found by a member of the group yesterday but noone knew what it was. It's since been identified as the Strathy Strangler (Squamanita pearsonii) 😍 This species is only known from 12 sites globally and I think this is the 3rd British record!

How cute is this Dusky Puffball, Lycoperdon nigrescens! Just like a teeny, tiny curled-up hedgehog! Perched atop a grave in a wonderful old churchyard near Penrith. 🦔
#fungi #MushroomMonday

Today seems like a good day for a ghost story...

The first Ghost Orchid to be recorded in Britain was found in July 1854 by Mrs Anderton Smith in Herefordshire. Not recognising it, she picked it, and it was sent away to be identified. (1/12)

(This image, from 1978, c/o A.Wake)

Pirouetting perfectly & ruffling their pink tutus, Ballerina Waxcaps, Porpolomopsis calyptriformis. My first time seeing this utterly gorgeous species & amazingly saw loads of them too!!!!!! 🥰

#MushroomMonday #fungi #FungiFriday #AutumnWatch

The Powdercap Strangler (Squamanita paradoxa) 😍 A wonderful mycoparasite - the lovely greyish fruit body grows out of the stem of another! It's host is the Earthy Powdercap (Cystoderma amianthinum) The highlight of a fantastic Foray with the North West fungus group today!

Oops, forgotten to photograph any wildflowers this week - I've been too absorbed in finding fungi 😄
#wildflowerhour

Sometimes you turn over a fungi and go WOAH what has happened here - forget the ID just marvel at the oddness - seen on the Sussex Fungi Group walk on Malling Down #fungi

30/10/22 Cumbria - I was delighted to come across a Caterpillar Club (Cordyceps militaris), especially as I hadn't seen one so far this year. This #fungus is an entomopathogen, literally infecting insect larvae in the soil and consuming them. Grisly stuff! #FungiFriday

I've done a drawing. I'm calling it Spiralichen. #spiralichen #lichen #drawing

30/10/22 Cumbria - Rebecca's already beaten me to getting this up on Twitter, but I had to post it myself too. Clavaria zollingeri (Violet Coral) and Porpolomopsis calyptriformis (Pink Waxcap) #fungi growing side by side in ancient grasslands on the banks of the Lune #FungiFriday

30/10/22 Cumbria - Size comparison, Parasol #Mushroom (Macrolepiota procera) and my head #fungi #fungi friday

This is the best pic of the day though! Photo caption suggestions welcome! 😉😂

It’s not every day you get to see Violet Coral or a Pink Waxcap but to see them together that’s something else! 💕💜 Huge thanks to Dr Richard Bate 🇺🇦 for showing me around some incredible Waxcap sites today! #fungi

Grassland fungi are not just great to look at they provide and maintain the conditions required for many of our wildflowers that support our insects. These insects are essential for other wildlife including us… Love fungi ❤️

29/10/22 Lancs - hundreds of Splendid #Waxcaps (Hygrocybe splendidissima) have popped up across the grasslands of Silverdale, one of the more conspicuous #fungi on show at the moment #FungiFriday