A few more fungi - sorry!

I’m off on my travels to Peru tomorrow so this will probably be my last fungus-related post (or any post come to think of it) for a while. The main fungi season will be over by the time I return. Phew I hear you cry! 

A walk from home on Saturday (mainly to avoid the football!) was quite productive considering the lack of good habitat and the late date. Stubble Rosegill, an oozing Oak Bracket, Sulphur Disco, Wrinkled Crust and Wet Rot were the highlights. 3 Fieldfares and a Red Kite having a go at a Skylark in mid air were also entertaining.

Fast forward to Sunday and I cut short a visit to Norwich to venture out to Burlingham Woods with directions Lorraine Auton had kindly given me. My quarry was a lovely bunch of Aniseed Cockleshells growing at the base of a tree. This rare fungus has only 2 other county records this century so was well worth going to see. It’s curious shape, saw-edged gills and faint aniseed smell are diagnostic. Also there I found Funeral Bell amongst a few common bit and bobs. Earlier in Norwich there was a very large and impressive Shaggy Bracket right where we parked the car. 

                                                                                                                             Stubble Rosegill

                                                                                                                                   Oak Bracket

                                                                                                                               Wrinkled Crust

                                                                                                                    Wet Rot

                                                                                                                        Sulphur Disco

                                                                                                                               Aniseed Cockleshell

                                                                                                                           Funeral Bell

                                                                                                                             Shaggy Bracket

Pepper Pot Earthstar - the fungal holy grail! 7 November 2025

Pepper Pot Earthstar was thought to be extinct in the UK (there have been no Norfolk records since 1880!) but the species was found in Suffolk again in 2006. The site has remained a closely-guarded secret ever since but I was told about it in the strictest confidence this week and popped along yesterday. 

And I located 7 specimens albeit most had gone past their best. Looking at the site you do have to wonder if any others lurk undiscovered on a hedge bank somewhere.

As I was told about them in confidence I’m afraid I won’t be giving the location away. 

Cavenham Heath, over the border with the NFSG! 1 November 2025

A rare foray into Suffolk for the Norfolk Fungus Study Group. And a great attendance too with c25 people turning up and trying to squeeze onto the tiny carpark! 

We explored the woodland from the carpark followed by the open grassland of the heath. The final list of 150 species was pretty impressive although, of course, this number is boosted by many micro-fungi. 

I can’t do much better than copy and paste from Steve Pinnington’s ‘official’ trip report:

‘Starting from the car park we explored the mixed woodland and then moved onto the heathland where we had lunch and explored for grassland fungi until we retraced our steps down the lane to the carpark at the end of the day.

In the woodland there were plenty of fruiting bodies, mostly in the leaf litter of the birch and oak trees. Highlights were - Amanitas - Tawny Grisette and Amanita excelsa as well as Earpick Fungus and Ramaria stricta/Upright Coral. Lots of funnels, including Fragrant and Clouded and a single False Chanterelle growing out of a pine cone. There were a range of Lactarius/milkcaps - Oakbug, Mild and Ugly, plenty of Russulas/Brittlegills - Powdery, Bloody - and Mycenas/Bonnets - Coldfoot, Yellowleg, Angel’s, Rosy and Lilac. The dead wood had Hoof Fungus and Birch Polypore as well as Rosy Crust, Jelly Rot and Conifer Blueing Bracket. There were plenty of microfungi among which were Cacumisporium capitulatum and Natantiella ligneola on dead oak wood.

We had a very pleasant lunch, sitting on the only log on the heath, during which someone handed round a Macrotyphula fistulosa var. contorta/ Contorted Pipe Club. In the afternoon we were treated to grazed grassland scattered with dung - ideal! The highlight were Cordyceps militaris/Scarlet Caterpillar Club and its accompanying larva, found near the lunch log, along with two types of Deconica - Flecked Brownie growing on grass stems, and Dung-loving Brownie on cow dung as well as another amanita - Fly Agaric.There were two types of waxcaps - snowy and blackening as well as two Mottlegills - Petticoat and Dewdrop and two Inkcaps - Coprinopsis pseudonivea and Parasola misera/Least Inkcap.

An extremely pleasant day - enthusiastic recorders, pleasant company, great location and fine weather - what more could you ask for?’

I can’t add too much to that except 14-spot Ladybird, Western Conifer Shieldbug, and Minotaur Beetle. Plus loads of Bay Boletes, Bluefoot Bolete, Liberty Cap, Ochre Coral and Grassland Puffball. 

A fungus foray on the Earsham Estate, 28 October 2025

I met up with a few of what Belinda calls my ‘fungi friends’ for a foray on the Earsham Estate in south Norfolk on Tuesday. Many thanks to Jeremy for organising and for a warm welcome from our host Nick Meade.

We concentrated our efforts of Big Wood (erroneously called Great Wood on Ordnance Survey maps!) and the adjacent America Wood followed by The Lay about 2km to the south. 

Conditions in the woods were very dry despite the reasonable amounts of rain recently. This affected the volume of fruiting bodies but we still managed to find Collared Earthstar, Golden Scalycap, Trooping Funnel, Conical Brittlestem, Magpie Inkcap, Beefsteak Fungus, Blueing Bracket, Peeling Oysterling, Roundspored Oysterling, Wet Rot, Hairy Leaf Parachute, Blushing Milkcap, Grooved Bonnet, Burgundydrop Bonnet and Splitgill amongst others.

Cutting our losses we decided to try The Lay, a small mere surrounded by willow scrub and oak with a large wet ‘drawdown’ area. This proved much more fruitful. Initially an area of burnt ground gave us Bonfire Greyling and Charcoal Goldeneye then in the damper areas a flood of goodies including Lakeside Webcap, Hollow Milkcap, Sticky Scalycap, Tiger Sawgill, Firerug Inkcap, Golden Scalycap, Spectacular Rustgill, Common Grey Disco and Oldcrab Brittlegill. 

Following that a we made a quick visit to nearby Outney Common so I could show everyone ‘my’ Russula subrubens and while there we also scored with the usual Blushing Milkcaps and the unusual Trooping Webcap.

As ever, many thanks to Jeremy and Yvonne for their hard work confirming the id’s with microscopy etc at home. 

                                                                                                                               Golden Scalycap

                                                                                                                        Hollow Milkcap

                                                                                                                         Collared Earthstar

                                                                                                                            Spectacular Rustgill

                                                                                                                           Trooping Webcap

                                                                                                                              Firerug Inkcap

                                                                                                                               Sticky Scalycap

                                                                                                                         Common Grey Disco

                                                                                                                              Tiger Sawgill

                                                                                                                                Charcoal Goldeneye

                                                                                                                             Bonfire Greyling

                                                                                                                                 Burgundydrop Bonnet

                                                                                                                                   Wet Rot

                                                                                                                                Grooved Bonnet

                                                                                                                               Lakeside Webcap

                                                                                                                                Magpie Inkcap

Two new fungi found locally

It’s always good to find your own stuff and I had 2 chance finds locally in the last few days.

The first was Inky Mushroom, Agaricus moelleri found close to the carpark at Ladybelt CP near East Carleton. A greyish and quite distinctive ‘yellowing’ agaricus.

The second was a pinkish resupinate, Bruising Porecap, Ceriporia purpurea found on a dead branch along a wooded trackway just south of Great Moulton while out walking. This is only the 12th Norfolk record.