More fungi

I have the opportunity to attend a fungal foray on Saturday, so I thought I would check out my local area to see if there were many fungi around. Whilst I didn't find anything unusual, the sheer number of specimens was astonishing.  These two shots might give some impression of what I found:

Fungi on woodland floor

Fungi on woodland floor

Most of the specimens in this area were Russula mairei (Beechwood Sickener) or Lactarius blennius, although the second photo shows a cluster of Mycenas at the centre.

I also found a single specimen of the Honey Fungus, Armillaria mellea:

Honey Fungus - Armillaria mellea

And a few Deceivers - Laccaria laccata:

Deceiver - Laccaria laccata

The Deceiver gets its name from the fact that it changes colour and shape as it matures, and can often resemble other species. It smells very much like the yeast used for making bread.

Here is a mature specimen:

Mature Deceiver

Helvella crispa is just appearing through the grass. It is always contorted and irregular:

Helvella crispa

I find Mycenas quite tricky, probably because I don't (yet) have a key to them:

Mycena cf. amicta

A fungal foray on Saturday certainly seems worthwhile.