27th September 2020

Bracket and Crust Fungi: There are so many of these world-wide that they haven’t all been identified, let alone named but here are a few of the sorts you may see more locally. Bracket Fungi, also called Polypores, have a different structure to fungi that grow in the ground, but like them, the visible form you see is just the fruiting body, producing often millions and sometimes trillions of spores. It is the miles of hidden filaments that break down, in this case, wood, whether already decaying, dying or still living.  They play an important ecological role and are one of the reasons we are urged to leave piles of wood around. As well as digesting organic matter, they provide food for many insects and small creatures, which in turn provide food up the food chain. Some are edible, like Chicken-of-the-Woods. Other have found unusual uses for humans. The Bracket fungi growing on Silver Birch is called the Razor-Strop Fungus because it was cut in strips and used by barbers to sharpen or ‘strop’ their razors. The multi-coloured Turkey-tails were gathered and used to decorate dining tables and hats! Other forms of fungi live on wood, including the ‘Crusts’ and unusual forms like ‘Jelly Ear’.

Dryad’s Saddle

Hairy Curtain Crust

Beef-steak

Jelly-ear

Turkey Tail

Sulphur Tuft

25th September 2020

The Shaggy Inkcap or Lawyers Wig– this common and pretty easy to identify edible fungi should be springing up in parks, gardens and path edges around now.The fungus erupts from the soil or grass, often in numbers, and quickly grows into a tall (around 15cm), white, cigar-shaped fruiting body with a shaggy cap. This is when it is edible, before it opens and ages. You need to cook them shortly after picking as they quickly disintegrate, even if kept in a fridge- if you are sure of your identification (plenty of on-line sites if you haven’t got a book)  just slice them and cook gently in butter and maybe some garlic. After a day or two of growth this fungus opens into a bell-shape and soon after this, it dissolves into a dark liquid (see photos). This liquid was used as an ink in the days when ink was expensive and people had quills and nibs to hand (easy recipes on-line too). Interestingly this fungus is being researched for it apparent bio-accumulator qualities. It is one of several natural souces that may prove useful in digesting heavy-metal pollution. Conditions: Windy and grey. Temperature: Max 13 Min 4C.

Shaggy Inkcap

Shaggy Ink Cap

Shaggy Ink Cap

Shaggy Inkcaps

24th September 2020

The Garden Spider: Our most common spider and of course, the most frequently seen of the Orb Web Spiders, especially at this time of year. This is partly because the Garden Spider is fully grown now, and partly because their webs show up best, covered with dew-drops in the early morning. The spider varies in colour from grey, through browns to a reddish hue, and have a white cross-form on their backs. They sit, either head-down in the centre of the web or to one side on a special, long thread. Either way, they are ready to feel the vibration from any small insects being caught

Garden Spider

Garden Spider

Garden Spider Orb Web

Orb Web of Garden Spider

Garden Spider Orb Web

on the sticky web. At this point, they run towards the trapped insect and wrap it in a silk cocoon, before giving it a fatal sting. Harmless to us, the Garden Spider is a brilliant natural ‘architect’. They choose a spot in the fly-path of small insects and first build the radial structure of non-sticky threads, like spokes of a wheel, before adding the sticky spirals of web The silk is, relative to size, as strong as Kelvar, the material used or bullet-proof vests, and is under research in an attempt to reproduce the strength and flexibility for human use. Conditions: Much needed rain, mild. Temperature: Max 12 Min 6C.

20th September 2020

Horse Chestnut: A well established tree of our landscapes, especially those of country houses, this tree was introduced to England in the 16th Century from Turkey. It can live for 300 years, and grow to a height of 40 metres. This is a lovely tree year-round, with its twisted and gnarled trunks in winter, the sticky buds and candle-flowers in spring, attractive to many insects, especially bees, and the favourite conkers at this time of year. The rules and rituals of conkers varies round the country but the first recording of it being played is from 1848, in the Isle of Wight. The soft wood is only really of use for carving, but the tree has had many other uses over the centuries. It contains saponin and is added to shampoos, and you can wet and screw up the leaves for a hand-wash if out and in need.(Maybe useful in these days of extra  hand-washing) The Vikings ground conkers and used them to wash with (apparently they were hygienic folk)  and there are Victorian recipes for ground conke

Horse Chestnut Tree

Horse Chestnut Flower

Sticky Bud of Horse Chestnut

Conkers

r flour, but I wouldn’t try it. Unless you go through a leaching process it is mildly toxic.  There is also no proof that leaving conkers round the house deters spiders, but they do give off a moth-deterrent as they dry so they can be worth leaving in your wardrobe. It is thought the name comes from their use in treating Horse ailments, as well as sprains and bruises in people, and interestingly research has shown it contains Aescin, which is an anti-inflammatory. Conditions: A dry, warm spell with cloud and sun. Temperature: Max 17 Min 10C.

14th September 2020

Black Medick: For years I have been confused about how to tell these little clover-like, trifoliate-leaved prostrate flowers from the very similar looking Hop-trefoils, when the kidney-shaped seeds (black when ripe) aren’t present. I think I’ve cracked it so if you, too, have struggled here’s what I have found (though if you haven’t struggled it is fine to just call them Hop Trefoil or Black Medick in my book!).  Black Medick have much hairier trifoliate leaves, wider towards the top than the bottom but the tell-tale clue is in what is called the “apiculate” nature of the leaves which just means that in the leaf-end there is a short, fine needle shape sticking out (see labelled photo). Of course, if the coiled pods of seeds are ripe it is easy because they are black.

Black Medick

Black Medick

Black Medick seeds

This has been used in medical applications though sounds a bit risky, but its name doesn’t come from that, it comes from “of the Medes”, an ancient Persian population. It is of the pea-family and so is nitrogen-fixing, it is tough and often appears on areas of short turf- and is very good for bees, especially as it has a long flowering season. Conditions: Once again, unseasonably hot and very settled. Temperature: Max 25 Min 14 C.

11th September 2020

Mouse-ear Hawkweed

Mouse-ear Hawkweed

Mouse-ear Hawkweed

Mouse-ear Hawkweed

Fox and Cubs

Mouse-ear Hawkweed: If like me you get muddled about the many Hawkweed, Hawkbit and Hawksbeard yellow dandelion-like flowers that spring up, here’s a bit of a guide to the Mouse-Ear Hawkweed: You will find this forming mats of flowers on poor grasslands, grazed fields and cliff-tops,  sand-dunes, and especially on chalk and limestone. One key is the shape and form of the rosette of leaves that hug the ground- they are spoon-shaped, round-ended and downy, green above and whitish beneath. The single flowers are held on hairy stalks and are more lemony-yellow than dandelions, often with red on the underside of the petals but colours do vary. They have fluffy seed-heads, dispersed by wind, and can be in flower from April to October. They contain anti-oxidants and have been used to treat respiratory infections.  May small insects feed on them, and the caterpillars of several Butterfly species feed on the leaves. They are related to the ‘Fox and Cubs’ originally a garden variety and now naturalised in some areas- beware having Fox and Cubs in your garden- we have and they spread and seed prolifically. Conditions: Breeze and cloud, with sunny intervals. Temperature: Max 18 Min 12C.

6th September 2020

Hawthorn: as well as being great for wildlife in spring and early summer, Hawthorn is a boon through autumn and winter, and it looks like being a heavy crop of Haws again this year. These small fruits taste apple-like and are dry, with a large stone relative to the fruit so for us humans. they are best either nibbled as you walk past or made into Jelly, ‘Cheese’ or ‘ketchup’ (recipes on-line). Birds of the Thrush family (including soon to arrive winter Thrushes need them and can often be found in flocks, sometimes mixed flocks, along hedgerows, gorging on them. Yellowhammers also eat them, as do some insects and several moth caterpillars eat the leaves. As well as providing nest sites in summer the dense, thorny foliage provides great hibernating and roosting sites for birds and some small mammals like the Wood Mouse in winter.  Hawthorn has good medical research backing its use in herbal medicine, for regulating heart-beat, blood pressure and imroving circulation but of course, don’t use instead of prescribed medicines or without professional advice. This common small tree and hedgerow plant is so easy to grow and so valuable year round it is worth considering having one, or a hedge that includes it. Conditions: Some sun and cloud. Temperature: Max 15 Min 9C.

Haws, Hawthorn

Haws, Hawthorn

Wood Mouse

3rd September 2020

Fly Agaric: Such a great symbol of autumn, the Fly Agaric appears especially associated with Birch and Pine woods and heathlands. we were always taught never to touch this fungi as all parts are toxic, though it doesn’t appear fatal like some fungi. Alice in Wonderland is tempted to eat some and it has been used for at least 4,000 years for its hallucinogenic qualities. It formed part of a sacred drink called Soma, in India and Siberian Shamans used it in rituals, but it can cause extreme reactions. Our ancestors knew it was useful as an insecticide, parts of the cap being steeped in a saucer of milk,  and modern science has revealed it contains Ibotenic Acid, which attracts and kills flies! Ecologicaly, like other fungi, it has been shown to have a vital symbiotic relationship with the trees it associates with. Miles of Mycorrhizal strands under the soil interact with tree-roots and pass nutrients and minerals to the tree, which in turn passes sugars made from photosyntheses into the fungi. Of course, we just see the annual fruiting bodies in the form of the beautiful Fly Agaric fungus.  This complex ecology is yet another key reason why the destruction of Ancient Woodlands (1,000 are in danger right now) and the ‘planning-gain’ replacement by new plantations

Fly Agaric

Fly Agaric

which clearly comes nowhere near ‘replacing’ ecosystems that have built up over centuries. It is eaten by slugs, Red Squir

Fly Agaric

rels and a certain gnat! Conditions: Breezy and cloudy, after rain overnight. Temperature:  Max 19 Min 11