Stick insects, acorn hots and slimy fungi
Your sightings did not disappoint.
Last week I asked you to share your recent sightings and ponderings and boyyyy did you deliver. I mean look at THIS:
”A 4 inch walking stick in Kansas City” from Clare. Thank you, Clare! I’ve never seen a stick insect that isn’t in a tank, so this really excited me!
It’s definitely fungi season here in the UK, and Rhona Jayde sent me this, with the caption “We’ve had lots of flooding in our village so everything’s all damp - a mushroom dream!”…
My mushroom knowledge is limited, but I’m pretty sure they’re honey fungus (Armillaria mellea), one of those mushrooms people say is edible and then immediately after say “oh but they give some people quite a serious gastric upset”. Despite the fact there are TONS of them round here I don’t think I’ll be tucking in any time soon. Looking at this has just reminded me that I picked some up yesterday to do a spore print and they’re still in my coat pocket, excuse me one moment while I retrieve them…
OK, I’m back. Here’s a lovely porcelain fungus (Mucidula mucida) from Jess… Also apparently edible, “as long as the slime is washed off” - appetising eh?
And a beauty of a parasol from Rosie, who usefully put her hand in shot for scale…
A couple of weeks ago I found a parasol mushroom (Macrolepiota procera) the size of a dinner plate. I carried it home in the pouring rain and realised people probably thought I was using it as an umbrella to keep Noushi dry! I wasn’t, but it would have been quite effective at keeping her lovely soft ears dry, had she not already been soaking wet. I took it on a mushroom walk I was helping out with the next day where I told this story and we did an impromptu photoshoot with a baby on the walk, posing as if the mushroom was the baby’s umbrella. DON’T EVER SAY I DON’T KNOW HOW TO HAVE FUN.
Pia sent this lovely shot of some Virginia Creeper. Our allotment neighbour has this growing over his shed and I’m very envious of it. The virginia creeper and his shed, which has a chimney and everything. We just have an old plastic cupboard we found on the street which lies flat on the ground so it doesn’t get blown over in the wind and therefore gets flooded every time it rains. One day I’ll have a shed….
Keeping it autumnal, Jess sent this photo of some lovely fluffy acorn hats, which she said she can’t seem to identify: “Some signs lead me to Turkey oak, others to bur oak. Very strange little beasts”. My guess is bur oak, but I’d have to see the rest of the acorn and the leaves of the tree to be sure. What do you think?
Finally,
shared this stunner of a heron shot! I can’t help but hum the Jurassic Park theme every time I see one fly over.I’ve cropped this photo for the purposes of this newsletter, so to see the full photo, and to share your own, head over to this thread.
Thank you all for sharing your sightings, it’s always fun seeing what you’ve noticed where you live.
Zab x
Important notice: Never eat something unless you’re 100% sure you can identify it correctly. Do your research and make sure it’s safe to eat, and in what quantities. In the UK, we have common law to forage the four Fs (fruit, flowers, fungi and foliage) for personal consumption, but never uproot anything without permission and only take what you need if it’s growing in abundance - leave enough for wildlife to thrive!
I so appreciate your invitations to notice, Zabby. I apparently do needed to be reminded regularly :D
I also still have this pull to write more about nature...and I'm still sort of avoiding it. So this has really got me inspired again!
Wow great pictures! I love the theme! Thanks for sharing the heron shot.