Dont forget the Fungi

With October being one of the most productive birding months of the year it is easy for a naturalist to get caught up in it all and forget about just how good October is for fungi. Certainly along with September these are perhaps the most productive months of the year, in which mild wet weather sparks good fruiting conditions. Here are a few species I found growing within close proximity of where I live.

Yellow Fieldcap Bolbitius titubans - Typically a species of nitrogen rich grasslands, especially where live stock is grazed. Larger specimens tend to grow on old dung piles, this specimen was found on the edge of sheep pasture.

Clouded Funnel Clitocybe nebularis - This species often grows in lines or in "fairy rings". This is essentially a woodland species, that can be found in both deciduous and coniferous woodland. I am yet to find them in the latter, these were found amongst beech woodland.

Amethyst Deceiver Laccaria amethystea - A personal favourite and one which often litters the woodland floor. This is a very common woodland species in both coniferous and deciduous woodland. This species tends to be regularly encountered near beech, which is where this was taken.  

Shaggy Scalycap Pholiota squarrosa - Interestingly a species which can be identified by it smelling like garlic. This species is saproxylic on either deciduous or coniferous wood, living or dead (most often the latter). These were found growing on a dead larch stump.