Cambo in February

 One of the delights of February in Fife is the display of snowdrops at Cambo.

 Snowdrops line the banks of the Cambo burn pushing their way through the fallen leaves.

A clump of primroses.

Pale blue scilla.

 Brightly coloured aconite.

Snowdrops against a background of the strap-like leaves of black mondo.

 The exposed roots of a tree in the woodland.

 Horseshoe fungus (Fomes fomentarius).

Autumn 2016 in the Serpentine Walk

Autumn colours in the Serpentine Walk

A viburnum tree with red leaves and red berries.

Autumn is also a good time to see fungi.

A Large Bracket Fungus

Noticed that this diseased tree in the Serpentine Walk which has had its upper branches sawn off had a large bracket fungus growing from the side of the trunk.

 The underside was creamy-yellow.

It was too high up on the tree to see the upper side properly but I think that it's an example of Dryad's Saddle (Polyporus squamosus) so called because it looks like a seat for a dryad or wood-nymph..

An Orange Fungus

Noticed this orange fungus growing beneath the hedge  in the garden. Although it doesn't look quite like the pictures in the field guides or on line, I think it must be the orange peel fungus (Aleuria aurantia). It does indeed look like discarded orange peel. As here, it usually grows on damp bare soil and is common found in the autumn and early winter.

Fly Agaric

Fly agaric toadstool  (Amanita muscaria) in Keil's Den at the weekend. This is an older specimen specimen which has flattened out and has lost its bright red colour from the margin. Although unlikely to be fatal fly agaric is highly poisonous.

 These next two photos were taken some years ago in the Black Wood of Rannoch.

I think this photo was taken in the Lake District near Aire Force. Again it was some years ago. It shows the more typical bright red colour. The younger specimens have a domed shape.

Shaggy Parasol Mushroom

Another mushroom from a recent visit to the woods in Falkland Estate. There are several parasol mushrooms but these looked most like the shaggy parasol (Chlorophyllum rhacodes). Rhacodes is a mispelling of the greek rhakos or rhacos which means 'piece of cloth'. The cap is at first egg-shaped then opens flat and the outer skin breaks up into shaggy brown scales on a cream background. The stem is white.

Yellow Stag's Horn Fungus

Yellow Stag's Horn Fungus (Calocera viscosa) growing on dead wood in the Falkland Estate. It is a bright yellow, many branched jelly fungus which is abundant on conifer stumps and fallen trunks.

January for Jelly Ear Fungus

Jelly ear fungus - Auricularia auricula-judae - on an old tree stump at the side of the path at the top of the Massney Braes in Lundin Links Maybe because of the wet winter, there seems to have been a lot more jelly fungus about.

 Noticed more jelly ear fungus on fallen logs  in the Serpentine Walk in Lower Largo.

Mushrooms Amongst the Ivy

An impressive number of mushrooms growing on an old ivy-covered tree stump at the side of the path in the Serpentine Walk. Not sure of the identification. Possibly honey fungus (Armillaria mellea) or a similar Armillaria species.

There was a lot of similar coloured mushrooms in the surrounding area.

Two Fungi - One Large, One Small

Large mushroom at the base of one of the prominent beech trees in the Serpentine Walk. I think that this is probably an example of giant polypore (Meripulis giganteus).

Probably wouldn't have noticed these tiny mushrooms, growing in a dark little gully in the Serpentine Walk, except that there were so many of them - literally hundreds of them. Not sure of the identification. Because of the huge number, could possibly be fairies' bonnets (Caprinus disseminatus).

Little Wheel Fungus

Noticed these tiny but beautiful little fungi by the side of the path in the Serpentine Walk. They are little wheel fungi (Marasmius rotula).

They are really tiny!!