Squawking

An Ear-pick Fungus on a pine cone covered in feathery green moss. There is out of focus moss in the foreground

An Ear-pick Fungus growing at 45 degrees out of a moss-covered pine cone. The underside of the mushroom’s cap is made up of many white spines. The stem is brown

Looking closely at nature always reveals something wonderful - Like this mini-ecosystem on a pine cone!

It’s always exciting to find the wonderfully-named Ear-pick Fungus 🍄‍🟫

#FungiFriends #FungiFriday
#Mycology #Fungi

2026 is proving to be a wonderful year for first time fungi finds so far. Looks like this is the rarely recorded Henningsomyces candidus - tiny little macaroni-like tubes found on a very rotten piece of wood in Southeast England. #fungifriends #fungi #mycology #naturephotography

I think it might be coral spot, Nectria cinnabarina, that goes through quite a lot of change through the year. Near me it’s very orange at the moment, later on it will be more like very hard blackish lumps.

A brown mushroom about five inches tall, standing upright among twigs and leaves in scrubby grassland. It has a slender fibrous stem and a cup-shaped cap with an inrolled edge; pale gills beneath are crowded and weakly forked.

I came across this today, a quite distinctive mushroom, with an elegant shape, sheltered in scrubby grassland.

I think it may be The Goblet, Pseudoclitocybe cyathiformis.

#fungifriends

I have not got a photo of it anymore but in what used to be my patch of woods there was what I think of as a crèche of blusher amanita, maybe 30 coming up within just a few square metres. Someone at the top of the hill was using the wood for practice and every other amanita egg was a golf ball.

Close-up of a pale cream-white crust fungus growing on tree bark. The surface shows a delicate, wrinkled, net-like pattern and thin, slightly lifted edges. Sunlight shines through from behind, making the fungus appear softly translucent against the darker bark.

Wider view of a slender tree trunk in winter woodland, with long vertical stretches of pale netted crust fungus running up the bark. Small shelf-like folds protrude along the trunk. The background is a tangle of bare branches with low afternoon sun filtering through.

I think this might be Netted Crust (Byssomerulius corium).

Suddenly vibrant today, its delicate wrinkled pattern, backlit by the late afternoon sun, felt like a treat at the end of the day. #fungifriends

Large amber-brown jelly fungus forming folded, leaf-like lobes on the underside of an old hazel stool. The translucent, gelatinous mass clings to the wood, with paler edges glowing where light passes through.

A heavy convoluted cascade of amber and honey-coloured jelly fungus bundled beneath an old hazel stool, its folded, leaf-like lobes translucent and glossy, catching the light against the dark, damp wood.

Found today on an old hazel stool. I think this is likely Tremella foliacea (leafy brain fungus).

If the ID is correct, it’s parasitising Stereum hirsutum (hairy curtain crust).

The largest mass of jelly fungus I’ve seen.

#fungifriends

Close-up of a moss-covered, decaying traveller’s joy stem. Nestled among the green moss are tiny, pale fungi shaped like miniature hoods or bells, each only about 1–1.5 mm wide, their smooth interiors opening sideways or downward.

I’ve been searching for fungi on traveller’s joy (Clematis vitalba) for ages and thought I’d finally found one, about 40 tiny caps, just 1–1.5 mm across, smooth inside.

Possibly Moss Ear (Chromocyphella muscicola), in which case it’s growing on the moss, not the climber.

#fungifriends

They were lovely, it was a delight to see them. The leaf had settled between trunk and branch so had dried differently to the ones on the ground. Sort of leathery.

Small, glossy, purple jelly fungi forming shallow cup shapes on decaying wood. The fruit bodies are translucent and smooth, nestled in cracks of dark, wet bark with patches of moss nearby.

Cluster of deep purple, jelly-like fungi growing on a mossy fallen log. Some fruit bodies form rounded cups while others are folded and lobed, with a wet, gelatinous surface in a damp woodland setting.

When I saw this today I first thought it was Purple Jellydisc (there’s a lot starting to shape up just now), but some of these had begun to form small cups rather than the brain-like bundles, so perhaps this might be Budding Jellydisc (Ascocoryne cylichnium).

#fungifriends

Close view of several minute white fungi with umbrella-like caps standing upright on a brown ivy leaf. The caps are slightly cupped and semi-transparent, supported by hair-thin stems. Green moss and textured decaying wood fill the background.

Close view of several minute white fungi with umbrella-like caps standing upright on a brown ivy leaf. The caps are slightly cupped and semi-transparent, supported by hair-thin stems. The gills are few, well-spaced, simple and pale. Green moss and textured decaying wood fill the background.

I saw these tiny (approx 2mm) fungi caps on an Ivy leaf today. I think they might be Ivy Parachute (Marasmius epiphylloides).

If that ID is correct, there are 145 U.K. records in the NBN database but likely reflecting how tiny and easily missed it is rather than true rarity.

#fungifriends

Close-up of a tree trunk coated in a chalky white crust fungus, patchy and uneven like peeling whitewash, with thin areas and thicker cracked sections. Green moss and lichen break through the white surface.

Wider view of a slender tree trunk in woodland, where a pale white crust fungus runs vertically along the bark. Green moss blends into the white coating, giving the impression that both were brushed on together, while ivy, brambles, and ferns surround the base of the trunk.

I think this one is possibly Elder Whitewash (Xylodon sambuci), if it is then the name suits it well as it is very chalky and like whitewash peeling in some places, thin in others.

Elder Whitewash is not Elder Specific.

#fungifriends”

Close-up of a thin twig coated in a bright white crust fungus. The surface is finely cracked and textured, with a maze-like pattern. In catching the light it appears almost crystalline against the dark, damp woodland background.

This starkly white crust wrapping a twig looked almost mineral when seen up close, it seemed to sparkle in the damp woodland.

I think it may be Netted Crust (Byssomerulius corium).

#fungifriends

A close view of Black Witches’ Butter growing on a mossy oak branch forming dark, gelatinous, translucent folds.

The Black Witches’ Butter (Exidia glandulosa) looked glorious after yesterday’s heavy rain.

#fungifriends

Bright yellow-orange Yellow Brain Fungus (Tremella mesenterica) growing on a freshly fallen branch at eye level. The jelly-like, folded fruit bodies glow against damp grey-brown bark, with moss, lichen, and blurred winter woodland in the background.

Saw this vibrant Yellow Brain Fungus (Tremella mesenterica) on a big, freshly fallen branch today at eye level.

The vivid yellow-orange colour contrast against the damp winter woodland was startling.

#hotsticksaturday #fungifriends

Backlit Jelly Ear Fungus (Auricularia auricula-judae) growing from the side of a standing dead trunk. The ear-shaped fruit body glows warm amber-orange where sunlight passes through it, showing smooth, gently folded inner surfaces against darker bark.

Cluster of Jelly Ear Fungus on a dead tree trunk, showing soft, ear-shaped fruit bodies with wrinkled, folded surfaces. The fungi are deep brown to reddish-brown, with lighter translucent edges where the light catches them.

Jelly Ear Fungus (Auricularia auricula-judae).

It’s always a joy to see the soft, fragile folds when they’re caught by the light and backlit like this.

#fungifriends

White, jelly-like fungus growing in soft lobed patches along a cracked fallen branch, emerging from splits in the bark. The translucent fruiting bodies cling closely to the damp wood, with ivy leaves and wet leaf litter visible in the background.

Close-up of White Brain Fungus (Exidia thuretiana), showing pale milky-white, brain-like folds and a glossy, gelatinous surface. The fungus appears soft and swollen from moisture, contrasting with the rough brown bark beneath.

White Brain Fungus (Exidia thuretiana) today on a fallen branch. It’s a good indicator of how damp things have been here, as it shrivels in dry conditions.

Its name comes from the brain-like folds of the pale, jelly-soft fruit bodies, which will deepen as this one matures.

#fungifriends

I checked, and yes it’s from the same Latin roots: sclero means hard, -derma means skin.

In earthballs it refers to the tough outer layer; in medicine it describes skin that hardens.

Common earthball fungus in leaf litter, with thick yellow-brown, warty skin split open to reveal a dark mass of powdery spores inside, ready to be dispersed by wind and rain.

There are still a few Common Earthballs (Scleroderma citrinum) about.

This photo was taken yesterday…all those spores drying in a gentle breeze. Today it poured, and every raindrop will launch them.

#fungifriend

Close-up of a hart’s-tongue fern frond showing a round, bullseye-shaped brown fungal leaf spot with darker outer margin and paler centre on the glossy green leaf.

Hart’s-tongue fern frond showing a narrow, winding serpentine leaf mine within the leaf tissue, with a pale track contrasting against the green surface.

Yesterday I mistook this bullseye-shaped fungal leaf spot on hart’s-tongue fern for a leaf miner, so today I searched until I found one, likely a fern-specialist micro-moth larva.

Very scarce compared with the widespread fungal leaf spot.

#fungifriends

Earthstar fungus in deciduous leaf litter with thick brown rays split open and arched upward, lifting the spore sac above the ground; abundant brown spores visible on the top surface.

Closed earthstar fungus in leaf litter, appearing as a small round greenish-grey ball before the outer layers split into rays.

Came across these four earthstars again today in leaf litter at the base of a mature oak.

The vaulted, arched rays made me think possibly Arched Earthstar (Geastrum fornicatum)?

#fungifriends

Close-up of a bramble leaf showing a pale, winding leaf-miner trail running across the leaf surface, with a thin dark line of frass visible inside the track against the green leaf tissue.

More leaf miners… Bramble leaf with a winding larval track visible within the leaf tissue.

Possibly tiny moth or sawfly larvae. The dark line is frass and shows the direction of travel.

Two bright scarlet cup fungi, each about 3 cm across, growing from moss and leaf litter in deep woodland shade. The cups have smooth, vivid red interiors and thin, slightly irregular rims, emerging from buried wood beside a deer track.

A burst of vivid red caught my eye today, it was a cheering delight to see Scarlet Elf Cup, (or similar), glowing in deep woodland shade. #fungifriends

Close-up of a black, granular fungal crust inside a hollow in decaying wood. The surface is made up of many small bead-like nodules embedded in the wood, giving a textured, charcoal-like appearance.

Fallen log on woodland floor covered with moss and leaf litter, with ivy growing over it. A dark black patch of crust-like fungus is visible in a hollow on the side of the log.

Black crust fungus in hollow of dead wood, approx. 6 cm across.
Granular, bead-like surface. Possibly Dead Man’s Fingers / Candlesnuff (Xylaria) in crust stage.
Looks like rot but structured.

#fungifriends

A large moss-covered fallen oak branch hosts two circular patches of fungal growth, each about 6 cm wide. Both patches have bright orange edges that sharply contrast with the moss and warm grey centres. One patch is flat, with a wrinkled, lumpy surface marked by vein-like lines radiating outward from the centre. The other patch is more textured, featuring small, finger-like structures up to 1 cm tall that give it a spiky, uneven look.

A large moss-covered fallen oak branch hosts two circular patches of fungal growth, each about 6 cm wide. Both patches have bright orange edges that sharply contrast with the moss and warm grey centres. One patch is flat, with a wrinkled, lumpy surface marked by vein-like lines radiating outward from the centre. The other patch is more textured, featuring small, finger-like structures up to 1 cm tall that give it a spiky, uneven look.

Wrinkled Crust (?)
Phlebia radiata

Found this crust on oak today.
Like sunshine on a foggy day.

#fungifriends

www.first-nature.com/fungi/phlebi...

These were mature oaks, 800m down the hill are young trees, still leaf litter no grass, but wax caps growing beneath them, no grass. I reckon they were likely there before the trees. I wonder how long the mycelium will stay strong even though conditions above change and filter down into the soil…

Thank-you!

There again maybe something else? Pink waxcap is rare here and grows on ‘closely cropped or mown grassland’ (according to First Nature), these were in old woodland, on a slope under oak, just leaf litter and twigs/fallen branches, no grass at all…

www.first-nature.com/fungi/porpol...

Thanks Bengi, never too late to learn!