Kingston Cemetery Fungi

Dryads saddle on horse chestnut

 

 

Its rather late in the year to be looking for fungi; the dry autumn and the long grass have meant there has not been much to see. Whilst some species benefit from infrequent mowing - others  do not - wax caps and the corals definitely prefer the shorter, warmer grass. 

 

Wax cap sp.

 

Some birds prefer shorter grass as they find ants on shorter turf, which is exactly where we found the droppings of the green woodpecker, which resembles a burnt out cigarette (see photo).  

Most of the fungi therefore was located on the boles or stumps of old trees such as the honey fungus on the tree outside the Dawson Road gate- no sign of the orange peel fungus that was present last year. The Inonotus hispidus on the ash with the many woodpecker holes (walk in the main gate and turn left).

Green woodpecker dropping

These are all important contributors to the web of life and it was possible to see the fungus gnats flying in the warmer temperatures- as well as spiderlings - that had set up some opportunistic webs around the upturned gills of a late honey fungus

 

 

A total of thirteen species was recorded a much reduced number than before (see post 29.10.14 -19.11.14).