#MycologyMonday

Happy Monday everyone!

Todays #fungifind is Candlesnuff Fungus! (Xylaria hypoxylon) 🍄

The candlesnuff fungus, also known as the 'Stag's Horn', has an erect, simple or forked fruiting body with a downy stalk. It grows in groups on dead and rotting wood, and can be found on stumps and branches of all sorts of trees.

Top tip: By keeping dead wood in your garden, you can encourage all kinds of fungi to grow, including Candlesnuff Fungus, which in turn attracts the wildlife that depends upon it.

#fungioftheday #candlesnuff #candlesnufffungus #fungi #mushroom #nature #mastodonmushrooms #mastodon #mastoart #mycodon #mosstodon #mycology #fungiverse #fungus #mushroomsofmastodon #nature
#fungifacts #mushrooms #plants #fungikingdom #mastodonmushroom

Good #evening everyone 🌙

Todays #fungifind 🍄

Deer Shield / Mushroom! (Pluteus cervinus)

The Deer Shield is a #wood-rotting fungus that occurs mainly on hardwood #stumps. This fungus can appear at any time from late #spring through to late #autumn.

Although its caps are usually fawn or light brown, like the coat of a young #deer (referred to as a 'fawn' regardless of its colour!), some authorities say that the common name comes not from the #brown colour of the #cap but from antler-like horn-shaped protrusions on apex of the gill-face #cystidia (known as pleurocystidia) that can be seen under a #microscope!

#fungioftheday #deershield #wood #gills #horns #deermushroom #toadstool #fungi #mushroom #nature #deadwood #mastodonmushrooms #mastodon #mastoart #mycodon #bracket #mosstodon #mycology #fungiverse #fungus #mushroomsofmastodon #nature
#fungifacts #mushrooms #plants #fungikingdom #mastodonmushroom

Happy Sunday everyone! ☀️

Todays #fungifind 🍄

The stages of a Shaggy Parasol! (Chlorophyllum rhacodes)

A Shaggy Parasol is a #large, stocky mushroom with a #convex cap when mature. The cap’s surface has raised #brown scales, giving it a #shaggy look, further enhanced by the shaggy edge to the #rim.

The shaggy parasol’s habit of #growing in rings, known as #fairy rings, has long been part of European #folklore. Some believe the #rings symbolised a place where #fairies, #pixies or #elves danced in the woods. Others believe that they were a #portal between the fairy world and the #human world!

On a side note, though #edible when cooked for some, I wouldn’t be #foraging this one for dinner because it can cause #severe gastric upset in 1 in 25 people!

#fungioftheday #shaggyparasol #toadstool #fungi #mushroom #nature #tinderfungus #mastodonmushrooms #mastodon #mastoart #mycodon #bracket #mosstodon #mycology #fungiverse #fungus #mushroomsofmastodon #nature
#fungifacts #mushrooms #plants #fungikingdom #mastodonmushroom

Todays #fungifind 🍄

Turkeytail! (Trametes versicolor)

#Turkeytail is a very colourful #bracket fungus that grows throughout the year, but is at its best in the #autumn. Its circular caps can be seen growing in tiers on #trees and dead #wood; mainly hardwood such as #Beech or #Oak.

It can often be found in huge #groups and has also been found to have #medicinal properties!

It was once #popular as a table #decoration; at one time, it was even used to decorate #hats!

#fungioftheday #turkeytail #bracket #fungi #mushroom #nature #tinderfungus #mastodonmushrooms #mastodon #mastoart #mycodon #mosstodon #mycology #fungiverse #fungus #mushroomsofmastodon #nature

Todays #fungifind 🍄

Hoof Fungus! (Fomes fomentarius)

This #species produces very large #polypore fruit bodies which are shaped like a horse's hoof and vary in colour from a silvery grey to almost black to brown.

They generally grow on #Birch or other #deciduous trees and are #parasitic, eventually killing the tree. They can remain on the #trunks after killing them.

They are not #edible but are known as Tinder Fungus due to their use as #tinder and #clothing if ever needed!

#fungioftheday #hooffungus #bracket #fungi #mushroom #nature #tinderfungus #mastodonmushrooms