On Saturday R & I led two fungi forays for volunteers at the National Trust Mottisfont. We aimed to follow their normal guided walk, but as usual for a fungi foray, we didn't get very far before we foud some intersting specimens. Car parks are wonderful places to find all manner of interesting things.
We found some Handkea excipuliformis, both new specimens and some older fruiting bodies which puffed.
We also found another puffball, Lycoperdon perlatum, which has some soft spines.
There were also evidence of Bovista plumbea, as we found an old fruiting body, as well as some Bolbitius vittelinus, Fried Egg Mushroom. (sorry about the sideways photos!)
We carried on the boardwalk by the Duck Ponds and found some nice things and we talked a lot about fungi to the volunteers. It was lovely to speak with fellow nature enthusiasts.
It is half term this week and so no Ignite, so on Monday we led two public fungi forays, one at Bramshaw Common and one in Speareywell Wood. These were different as there were paying public including children. They mainly came because they wanted to know what ones they could eat. They were really amazed at the variety of shapes and sizes that fungi come in. From typical mushroom shapes, with gills or pores, to ball shaped ones, growing close to the ground or on stalks, to coral looking ones, to egg shaped ones, which grow into quite rude shapes! Again, it was great watching people see the variety of specimens and realise that there is some much to see if only they looked a little more closely.
We had a great day, but quite tiring.
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