Horse’s hoof fungus

Horse's hoof fungus

Horse’s hoof fungus ls also known as the tinder fungus, because it is the source of amadou, a substance which can be set aflame by a single spark.

Ötzi the Iceman, the prehistoric man found preserved in an Alpine glacier, had some amadou in a pouch.

Tawny funnelcaps growing by a garden wall

Tawny funnelcaps

Why are these mushrooms called tawny funnelcaps? They’re brown. They have a depression in the middle of their caps, making the caps look a bit like a funnel.

Tawny funnelcaps

They are fairly common mushrooms of late summer and autumn, associated with trees – usually conifers.

Tawny funnelcaps

Brown roll rim mushrooms

Oak roll rim mushrooms

Brown roll rims are common mushrooms found in association with many species of trees.

Oak roll rim mushrooms

They can be poisonous. Indeed, they can kill and have no known antidote, but this has only been known since the end of the Second World War.

Oak roll rim mushrooms

Dew-festooned webs

Dew-festooned web

Two spiders webs on a metal fence, the one behind the other, made more prominent by the morning dew recently.