Fungi Friday - Post Hill, Pudsey

A few more fungi from last Sunday's visit to Post Hill Wood, Pudsey, a Leeds City Council designated Leeds Nature Area. Its a steep sloping area of birch and oak woodland rising up between Pudsey and Farsley with marshland at the base adjoining Pudsey Beck. It has an interesting history, in 1926 it was opened as an area for motorcycle sport, where it was named after the Yorkshire Evening Post, and it continues to be used by West Leeds Motor Club. Apparently during WW2 it was the site of an anti aircraft post and a POW camp.

As well as the scarlet red Fly Agaric we found a few more fungi, such as this  damaged Earthball (Scleroderma) which was worth a snap, it was surprisingly weighty & covered in a tough scaly skin.   

A cluster of cap and stem fungi growing underneath Hawthorn and birch.

A purple tinged cap and stem fungi growing amongst leaf litter under a Hawthorn

Growing in clusters through dense leaf litter, Common Puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum), their surface is covered with tiny spines that wear away as they mature. The darker area is where the pores develop and the spores released. 

Finishing with a splash of colour, Stag Horn fungus (Colocera viscosa), bright orange-yellow tiny fungus, 2-3cm tall, growing through moss on a conifer stump.

Post Hill is worth a visit, if you do go I recommend clambering to the top of the hill where the views are worth the effort. Leeds Countryside Volunteers Newsletter pdf (1.8Mb) includes an article on Post Hill.  

Super Fly Agaric

The Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) is one of the most recognisable British toadstools. This weekend I found a few at various stages of development and it was interesting to note the variations in both form and colour. Post Hill, Pudsey and Goldenacre Park both offered some great examples.

When they emerge, the young are rounded and covered by the universal veil, like the one above. These two have suffered a bit of slug damage but it provides a useful view through the surface layers. The white patches on the cap are remnants of the universal veil.

The bright scarlet caps start to flatten out as they mature, the colouration gradually turning to a more orange hue. The white patches gradually wash away over time. These next two grew on a patch of steep grassland near birches, and overall I counted 5 in this spot.

The gills are large and white, and the spores have a white print, the universal veil is visible on the underside. 

Elsewhere at Spot Hill, two more mature Fly Agaric on the fringes of a patch of bracken, the green fronds provide a lovely contrast to the spotted scarlet caps.

At Goldenacre Park this parched looking Fly Agaric grew directly under the canopy of a Birch, the flattened cap and orange colour suggests a mature fruitbody, the remaining white patches may be a result of the cover provided by the canopy overhead.  

The roots of the fly agaric have a symbiotic relationship with a variety of trees, pine, spruce, fir and birch, attaching themselves to tree roots to siphon off nutrients in a way that does not damage the tree.