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David

Fairiesbonnets in a troop

Fairies bonnets in a troop

Fairiesbonnets are tiny inkcap mushrooms – less than a centimeter high. They grow in troops.

Fairies bonnets in a troop

These two troops give some idea of the range of colour. The pictures were taken at the same time; the troops were only a couple of feet away from each other, just inside West Park’s South Gate.

Fairies bonnets in a troop

This picture shows all but a few stragglers of the patch with the paler coloured variant (middle photo).

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David

Blushing rosette

Blushing rosette

Blushing rosette, or Abortiporus biennis to give their official name, is very strange even for a fungus. 

They grow on buried wood, and are very variable in form and especially in colour. This can vary from near-white, through yellow and red (hence “blushing”), to browns like this one.

Blushing rosette

I saw this one (or is it these?) growing on one of the patches of short grass just by an entrance to West Park.

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David

Rook on Exeter cathedral lawn

Rook on Exeter cathedral lawn

This rook was searching among the short grass in front of Exeter cathedral for anything to eat.

Rook on Exeter cathedral lawn

It didn’t seem to be at all worried by people who were walking just a few yards away.

Rook on Exeter cathedral lawn

 

Rook on Exeter cathedral lawn

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David

Sloes in a hedge

Sloes in a hedgerow

The sloe crop has been very sparse this year. These were ripening growing on a blackthorn in a field boundary hedge.

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David

Robin’s pincushion gall

Robin's pincushion gall

Robin’s pincushion galls also go by several other names, including rose galls.

The insect whose young cause the growth choose dog roses for preference: the “Robin” refers not to the bird, but the folkloric Robin Goodfellow.

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David

September poppies

September poppy

Some summer flowers carry on blooming well into September. These poppies were still in flower in the middle of the month, a couple of years back.