Thursday, 31 October 2019

Ashridge Estate Herts - Coprinopsis picacea "Magpie Inkcap" Mushrooms

On a walk to see the Fallow Deer rut on the Ashridge Estate the traditional rutting grounds were disappointingly quiet with not a buck to be seen (possibly due to either the field in the woodland being used as a film set location last year right in the middle of the rut or the winter culling of the deer bringing numbers drastically down and making the deer more nervous of people) and so I turned my attention to the wonderful fungi in the surrounding woods.

Amongst the several varieties I found were the photogenic and poisonous Magpie Ink Cap Mushrooms (see also post of 14th Nov 2011).

One just appearing out of the leaf litter....

...to mature....

....before the gills drip liquid carrying their spoors and disintegrating (they deliquesce) ...


...to nothing.

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