Autumnal Fungi

Whilst walking around the Long Walk at Keddleston Hall, I noticed an abundance of fungi in the woods.  These are the ones that caught my eye.

Ganoderma lucidens is a fine bracket fungus, often associated with dead or decaying trees.  It contains a powerful antibacterial compound that protects it and the surrounding timber from bacterial decay.

This bunch of fungi are Glistening Ink Caps, Coprius micaceus, which are edible and very good in omelets.  They must be cooked quickly to degrade the enzymes that cause digestion of the caps, producing the black and sticky ink residue.

Hypholoma fasciculare is the sulphur tuft.  This is another fungus that grows on old and decaying wood ind tree roots.  They glisten a dull sulphur yellow in the sun.

The candle snuff fungus, Xylaria hypoxylon, is an interesting fruiting body.  This fungus has been used to distill anti-cancer drugs, especially effective against liver tumours.

These little charmers are faries' bonnets, Coprinus disseminatus. It is a type of ink cap found throughout the Northern hemisphere and very common on rotting logs.

This final photograph is of a striped snail, Sepaea nemoralis, resting at the base of a dessicated hogweed florescence.  No doubt it will travel down the dry stem on the next rainy day.