Fungal Frenzy. 2; Death In The Woods

I know, I know...

😇

A toddle through the woods with the Folks and that Little Black Dog of theirs - which was lovely even before we got to the coffee and japflacks :D - saw very few birdies but a whole heaps of assorted funguses. Most infamously, of course being;

Amanita phalloides

Olive cap, shining white beneath, ring, volva, the lot... The notorious Deathcap - which does what it says on the tin - a common inhabitant of Autumnal woods, so careful with the foraging, eh?

Not the only fatal fungus out either, but we'll get along in due course. 

Let's start at the start of the books, with the Russulas;

Primrose Brittlegill 

Russula turci

R. nauseosa

Powdery Brittlegill

Humpback Brittlegill

Not a Russula;

It's... Scurfy Deceiver!

Got to have a Deceiver.

False Saffron Milkcap

[old ones]

The same, inverted by a third party. 

Handy ID features on display

Lactarius zonarius

This appears to be a grey form of

Woolly Milkcap?

Same sp., posed by third party

Giant Club

[deer browsed?]

Stump Puffball

Giant Puffball

Growing on the underside of a fallen tree!

Sulphur Tuft

Brick Tuft

Clouded Funnel

Fool's Funnel

Brown Rollrim

Those last two look quite innocuous, don't they? Not particularly dissimilar to many others sitting quietly besides paths? Both deadly.

Speaking of, let's take a look at that most infamous of genera, the Amanitas...

Shining white, sweet-smelling,

Angel of Death, A. virosa

Not the best picture, you can't see the ring or volva due to required angle of shot, but trust me, they're there. :)

False Deathcap

Not all amanitas are deadly, however [though this one smells it!]. This is False Deathcap, which is non-fatal, but apparently tastes so horrible you think you might expire.. [I really wouldn't try it out].

Even more fun is this little darling;

White False Deathcap

This is allegedly edible, not having the horrid odour of False Deathcap - it smells quite pleasant, in fact - but I'd hesitate before eating any white, sweet-smelling amanita, what with A. virosa up there..

Elderly Fly Agaric

Couldn't find any fresh ones un-destroyed, alas... I suppose being red and white does make them stand out, but it got a bit silly, even out of the way ones were at least damaged. :(

A brown, speckled amanita, but which one??

There are three to choose from, all frequently found*. The small white speckles and the rim around the base of the stem [you can sort of see it] show this is the Panthercap, A. pantherina, which is, yes you guessed it, another one of the 'only edible once' ones...

Speaking of things scary, here's something differently fearsome;

Honey Fungus!

Bane of gardeners.....

A. ostoyae

Yes, there's more than one kind... ::Cue; The Scream::

Ahem.

And on those terrifying notes, I shall end this, as I've still lots to show and I've decided to put the rest in another post! 

Coming up, Part 2b, with all the boletes and brackets and things and probably nothing even slightly deadly [unless you're a tree....]. Also the odd non-fungal thing. Maybe.

Be Seeing You...

[Don't have nightmares]

[[*A non-rimmed or bulbous base to the possibly brownish stem, and grey or reddish tinge to the cap 'spots', especially when said bits are bigger, are indicators of Grey-spotted Amanita and The Blusher [which discolours on damaging, as the name implies], both possibly edible if you're really sure of what they are.]]

[[While I have you.. There is a white form of Deathcap, but I'm sure that's not it up there, as False Deathcaps have bits of veil [especially squarey bits] stuck to their caps, while real ones generally don't]]