This blob of what looks like old chewing gum on a dead Buddleia branch, is I believe Netted Crust (Byssomerulius corium), a new species for the garden. This fungus is found all year round on dead wood - usually deciduous/ The white spots on another piece of dead wood, this time from my Corkscrew Willow, are some kind of slime mould.
Eight fungi and a slime mould from a guided walk at Kemerton Lake this weekend. Several fungi I never saw, or managed to identify, before. Now I just need some to pop up in the garden, where I’ve barely seen any fungi this year - it’s certainly damp enough…
I’m a bit frustrated with this one, as last week some alien looking pink/orange blobs looking like melted plastic appeared on a stump of dead wood. They didn’t look right for Coral Spot Fungus, at >1 cm across too big for sure, but thinking I had time I didn’t get a decent photo or check it out properly, and a couple of days later when I had time the orange was gone replaced by these brown spheres. After due research, it turns out that my fungus was in fact a slime mould, Wolf’s Milk (Lycogala terrestre), which is found on dead timber mostly from June through to November. It is sometimes called Toothpaste Slime, because when you puncture the orange blob fruiting body and squeeze a little toothpaste-like orange slime comes out; something I also missed the the opportunity to try…
#626 Wolf's Milk Slime Mould (Lycogala terrestre)
Clearing away some leaf litter at the weekend, I found this dead leaf from the Beech tree covered in a neat pattern of white spots. Not a fungus, it turns out, but a slime mould. I couldn’t really find one looking quite like this on-line, so I didn’t yet work out the species, which anyway appears difficult, so it goes down as “Myxomycetes sp”,
These slime moulds are single celled animals, that cluster together and reproduce by forming these while spherical fruiting bodies, which ultimately release spores into the air. Surprisingly slime moulds are not static, but slowly move around in a search for food; apparently even being able to traverse mazes in pursuit of a suitable meal.
Passionate about nature, based in Gloucestershire UK; this site is about creating a wildlife friendly family garden and exploring the diversity of animal & plant species that share it with us.
As a nature lover and wildlife gardener I started wondering about the biodiversity in my backyard and just how many species from plants to insects to birds to mammals might live in or visit it.
Much of the wildlife in my small, village garden has been present right under my nose for years without my really appreciating it, so on the way I am learning a lot about different species and how to make a wildlife-friendly environment for them; also getting engaged more in conservation activities around Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and the Cotswolds.
My garden species tally started from zero on June 1st 2018, the target is 1000 species - let's see where it goes.
I'm very interested in your comments & advice: whether it's about the blog, some help with identification or just how to make my own little Eden better for wildlife. So please leave a comment or drop me a line if you feel like it!
Graham Tompsett
microedenproject@gmail.com
Powered by Squarespace.
