A short cut to mushrooms.......

Actually it should read ' a short cut to fungi' but Tolken didn't make that line famous!

Fungi, lichen and moss are a secret passion of mine. I love diving into their miniature world, studying their delicate and intricate structure, the multitude of colours, habit and form. They are incredibly photogenic which appeals to me and sometimes short-lived in their perfection before they are damaged by the environment or eaten by a bug.

A casual wander off the path and a poke around in the rotting wood underneath the trees can uncover a hidden world of delicate and colourful beauty. The warmer weather these last few days and recent rain has helped to produce this amazing display of fungi - perfect for my camera!

A quick id for you - at the top of the page we have the orange wax cap fungi a lover of undisturbed leaf litter; the above photo is of the many-zoned Polypore, it's common name is Turkeytail for obvious reasons and it loves dead tree stumps or fallen branches. They can be found in numerous colour schemes - I love this variety of fungi, its pretty tough, is easy to find and identify. Below is a darker version of a polypore. Apparently they are edible but I haven't got that hungry yet!

My final photo from my walk, is a beautiful orange/rust cluster of 'Hairy Stereum' sometimes call the false Turkeytail due to it similar habit to the above fungi. This one is easy to be found in older woodlands often growing on living trees here in Scotland I often see it growing on older birch trees where the bark has started to peel back.

I hope enjoyed my dive into the world of fungi

Bye for now

Liz x