Barren Strawberry (Potentilla sterilis)...Longwitton Dene
Hazel Bracket (skeletocutis nivea)
Slime mould (Reticularia lycaperon)...Borough woods
Possibly a different stage of the above
A carpet of Moschatel in the Borough woods
Between Atheys dene bridge and Highford is a fine area of Hazel ranging from semi-ancient to fresh young saplings. A good place to look for Hazel fungi and Hazel Bracket was easy to find but I noticed a couple of unusual 'plants' growing among the thick lower branches of one of the Hazels. This is a slime mould not a fungi but a Protozoa though professional opinions differ into what classification these are placed into. I believe both the above slime moulds are actually the same species at different stages. They resemble foam but are actually moving very slowly over the substrate, pores appear once the food source has been depleted.
This afternoon I was down at Longwitton Dene looking at the plants that cling to an ancient wall there. A bit early for some plants but Alkanet and Barren Strawberry were coming into flower. Plenty of birds here with the usual woodland Tits including Marsh, Nuthatch and a nice Wood Warbler feeding and singing in a large Oak.
2 comments:
That slime mould is also growing in hazel woods near me on the IoW, but I haven't seen the bracket fungus.
I wonder if all those Town Hall Clocks (Moschatel) are telling the same time..
I have come across the white foamy slime mould before in the same place last year but the first time I have come across the one which is actually identical to a one in a field guide! Those Moschatels are probably telling us the wrong time as they seem a bit late this year.
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