I’m 5 months into my mycology apprenticeship, how the time is flying. The autumn time is often seen as the best time to find fungi , but some brilliant wood rotting fungi is around all year – have a look at some of the fallen branches from trees or on old rotten stumps – you might find some bracket fungi or crust fungi happily rotting down the wood.
My apprenticeship is focusing on this group and I have been enjoying forays with the Fungus Group of South East Scotland in Penicuik wood and Roslin Glen and Peebles, where we have found some great winter wonders including Turkeytail, Hairy crust, Dead mans fingers, Candlesnuff and the Artists fungus.
On a recent field trip to Dawyck Botanic Garden with Roy, we found the unusual bracket fungus, Ischnoderma benzoinum, pictured right, and an array of crust fungi and ascomycetes on the sculptured pod, pictured left, including Stereum hirsutum, Stereum rugosum and Hypoxylon multiforme.
At Dawyck, Roy introduced me to a log, pictured below, which will become the basis of a project for my apprenticeship. It is a Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) which was planted at Dawyck in the 1840’s from seed in the Forest O’Mar, near Braemar. It blew down in January 1993 and has been left to decay naturally as a habitat for fungi, flora and fauna. Roy has kept records on the kinds of fungi growing on this log and my project will continue this recording, producing a report on the history of the tree and the fungi involved in its decay over the last 16 years. So more blogs on my log to come soon!
