Something has been in my mind as to where these have all come from, some I know are on logs, some from my compost. Many are along the bank above the water drain or in that region, I have been wondering if spores were washed in the water, but the water level is much lower, and it had been dry for a long time this year. I have made a new bed near the drain, perhaps some spores were dug up, but they were either side as well, some on the edge of the private road but under an oak tree and still near the drain.
What else I am asking myself, as 2004 was also a dry year and quite hot for some time. The difference I can think of is that there was only a short period in 2004 where the drain was dry in August, as is usual, this year it was dry for a very long time. The thought that birds looking for water and dropping spores crossed my mind, but that should apply to other years. That narrows it down to the drain carrying spores, and because it was so dry some spores have been blown up the bank or carried by small animals such as voles, even when dry for short periods there has always been wet leaves and soil in the bottom. This year it was dry dry. Mystery solved?
mushrooms; a fascinating element in the garden.
I should say thanks for the ID's bonitin! I can see I will be on the hunt for a good book next. They do make wonderful photograpic subjects don' t they! I had trouble with the white parasols, the camera preferred the log.
Wallaby, thanks for your thanks! I enjoy it ! I'm still going into the Id of the other one's some time later.
Your last picture I couldn't open, there's only a little red cross!
The long draught this year could very well have to do with it.
In one of my books they explain how the mycelium makes a lot of little dormant knobs that grow sometimes in as little as a couple of hours into a mushroom when there is a shower after a dry period.
But in fact it still stays a mystery, and there are also other theories. Some say that it is a stress situation which causes the mycellium to produce abundant fruit bodies in order to secure the procreation, like also happens with plant species.
I also learned that spores can stay 'alive' for many decades in waiting for the ideal conditions to hatch.
Gracious what beautiful pictures!!
Red Tree Brain fungus - I believe
Close-up
As it begins to fade
mushrooms in my canna this past summer
another picture of these
last picture of these
The last picture should show up, it does that sometimes when slow. Often if you click on the box the pic is there. It's a close up of the parasols.
It could be so that the spores have been triggered by a hot season then rainfall, a survival technique. In many cases there was only one of a sort.
judy, hi, were those mushrooms edible ones? All in a row against the wood it looks like spore has blown there. The Red Tree Brain fungus is, um, red! Strange looking fungus. I hope my brain doesn't look like that....
I don't know about the mushrooms, they looked tasty, but I didn't give them a try. lol lol They only grew in that one raised flower bed, I'm guessing the spores were in either the top soil, potting soil or compost I used to make the bed. I poured in several bags of each and stirred.
I loved the red tree brain fungus!! The last picture I called 'Braindead', but it didn't actually die, it flares ever so often. It's doing a good job of destroying the tree stump.
Braindead, good one! They do eat into the wood, I notice the surface becomes almost smooth as if the grain is lost, and those parasols are springing from holes. I wonder if they made the holes.
Nice yellow tops, another wood fungus?
I found a site with lots of pics on it, California fungi mostly but 1,900 of them at least.
http://www.mykoweb.com/
Go to the photos link and there are links to pages with 10 samples on each
http://www.mykoweb.com/f_photos.html
The California fungi link has another link to a species list, it's a shame there's no thumbnails
http://www.mykoweb.com/CAF/index.html
http://www.mykoweb.com/CAF/species_index.html
Found another,
http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/fungi/
with thumbnails!
http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/browse_imgs/fungi.html
Some pages with pics closer to home
http://www.northamptonshirewildlife.co.uk/nfungi/nfungiindex.htm
http://fungus.org.uk/
wallaby1,
Shame on you, I will be up late into the night looking at all those pictures!!! (lol)
Actually those are GREAT links and I appreciate you sharing them with us.
Judy
Wallaby, managed to open your close-up now of the white parasol. Very pretty!
Judycooksey, very interesting your brain mushrooms!
I think I found its scientific name which should be Tremella foliacea.
Thanks Wallaby 1 for the very interesting links. I must go into them deeper when I have some more time!
I have some more pictures I took, unfortunatly didn't have time yet to look up their names. It is soo difficult (and time consuming) to be sure of an ID if one cannot see them in real, even if the pictures are of good quality. There are elements like smell, colour of the spores, the many stages of age, the substrate they're growing on, their relationship with particular trees etc...
Nr1
Nr 2
nr 3. The same of Nr 2, another angle. Perhaps the same as your white parasols Wallaby ?
Nr4. This one looks a little creepy! The Flemish name for it is : 'dodemansvingers', literally translated : 'dead man's fingers'.
Latin name : Xylaria polymorpha. Grows in bundles on dead wood of deciduous trees. Common, but easily overlooked because of the dark dull colour.
This message was edited Nov 26, 2006 6:30 PM
Nr.5
Nr6 . This one was taken in an open clearing of a pine wood, growing in a carpet of mosses on acid sandy soil.
Nr. 7. Taken in my brother's garden. Had a beautifully purple-lilac-toned colour. I'm almost sure it's ID is: Lepista sordida
This message was edited Nov 26, 2006 6:47 PM
Same one, other angle.
So many different subtle variatons! Your #1 looks to be in the same family as my #41. Your #2 does look very similar to my parasols, but I have watched them and they don't open flat as they age. See the extra growth at the base, they are not more parasols but a sort of tubular shape, there doesn't look to be more growing from them.
Their common names are a little too graphic, ugh, dead man's fingers. #6 is strange, the way it folds up. I wonder if this is so the wind can transport the spores easily.
Love the delicate shade of #7.
judy, did you stay up all night? I almost bought a book, but thought about it and decided that I just like to take the pics when I see them! Still, a book would be good, an Encycopedia with1,000 species and good photos in proper light, tempting.
I just thought you may be interested to know that Roger Phillips has just updated his book with even more photos and it is just called "Mushrooms". We have numerous fungi books and this is the best yet.
wallaby1 - I spent more time on those sites than I should have!!
bonitin - Your pictures are great!
Patbarr - now I know what I want for my birthday present!!
Judy
Here is a photo of the underside of the giant toadstool I found behind my compost bin;
Good one Pat! It looks big, must be all that compost...
Pat I have seen that book by Roger Phillips, I already have 2 of theirs, they are good for reference.
The place I found the Encycopedia was at The Book People, only £6.99 and I get free postage before Dec. 21st, which is very tempting. Oh heck, why not just go ahead and buy it??? You don't need to commit to membership with them.
http://www.thebookpeople.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/categoryPage_10001_10051_10021_100_10019__29
the link has gone to the first page, the book is on page 3.
I haven't bought anything from them for 6 years, but they keep sending catalogues, not that this was in it but I decided to take a look.
In case you didn't notice, this has now been included in the Ferns forum.
This message was edited Nov 27, 2006 2:29 PM
I found more fungi today! One growing on the compost bin, it smelled like an ordinary mushroom but much nicer than the supermarket ones. It doesn't look like the edible ones growing wild I have seen, it's a little more greyish-brown on top with a very light underneath. Nice shaggy stem too..
#46
This message was edited Nov 28, 2006 1:14 PM
The underneath, I tried to tip it and replace it so it could complete it's cycle, oh woe is me, looking after fungi now!
This is growing in places on a branch of the horse chestnut tree which was cut too far from the tree causing rot going down it, so we cut it off and left it on the ground to return to nature.
#47
This message was edited Nov 28, 2006 1:15 PM
What a beautiful shape Janet, I don't think I've seen one with such a fine edge and shaggy stem.
It should be easy to identify.
i never knew that there were so many beauties...
are any edible??
hap
The beauty is often underneath, or is it inner beauty?
some will be edible hap, it's knowing which ones that is fun! Unless I knew for sure I don't think I'd like to chance it, even experts can get it wrong!
I spied another in the grass surrounded by leaves, nearly missed it!
#48
This message was edited Nov 28, 2006 1:16 PM
side view
I toppled it for an under view, sorry fungi!
Patbarr, Beautiful the underside. Is this really the same one you had posted earlier ? The last one looks like being Pleurotus cornucopiae, which is a type of Oyster mushroom so I think you were right from the beginning. It is strange though it grows at the foot of your compost bin, because oyster mushrooms grow on the wood of dead, cut, but also living trees.
Perhaps there is some hidden wood near your compost bin ?
Wallaby 1, your first of the last series could very well be: Lepista sordida (syn. tricholoma sordidum). It is supposed to be uncommon.
As far as I can observe from your picture it has a purplish shade.
bonitin, I'm not sure if it's the same as yours that has the purple shading, this looked to me more sivery grey on top and the stem is shaggy, I can't see a shaggy stem on yours. The are possibly of the same family as they do look very similar.
I had better edit them to include numbers.
Another from yesterday, the mild weather has produce another flush of different fungi.
This is very dark on top, less than 1.5" max. diameter, there are some very small ones nearby that look to be the same.
(I just checked the colour of #46 and in daylight it looks like it does on my screen, a very pale beige.)
#49
