Wolves Wild

Coprinus species fungi like these shaggy inkcaps shed their spores by deliquescing: the caps turn to a gooey black mess from the rim inwards. In the specimens pictured the process has gone to the end. The caps are almost gone. Traces of remains of the goo can be seen shadowing the stems.

Autumn leaves, bright colours: yellows and reds from one of the Japanese acers growing in West Park.

Shield bug which had retreated inside a lean-to, and was resting on one of the windows.

Mushrooms growing amid the leaf litter of a small group of trees. Perhaps verdigris agarics, but if so the characteristic colour resembling tarnished copper had been washed off by the persistent heavy rain.

Misty late October day. It was already mid=morning by the time I reached Himley Plantation. In open spaces, the mist had already lifted. In the clearings in the wood, a trace of the mist still present, just enough to transform the scene by catching the sunbeams forcing their way through the gaps in the trees.

Two neaby trees in Himley Plantation, each with tiny, delicate-looking fungi growing directly from the wood up tree trunks. The two sets of fungi were of similar size, but different species.

First frost of the winter leaves hoar sprinkled on a late clematis flower and the hips on the rose bush supporting it. Pictures of the same plants later in the day, when it had warmed up somewhat.

Big birch polypore on a fallen trunk in Himley Plantation. Although it looked fresh, it had already been lightly nibbled.

False saffron milk cap mushroom growing in short grass near conifers, West Park. The green colour of the cap develops as the mushroom matures. When it’s fresher, the cap is the yellow shade which can still just be made out around the rim. At that point, it is often confused with the saffron milkcap, also known as the delicious milkcap.

That species is, as the name implies, a foodie favourite. This, more common one has a bitter, unpleasant taste.

Flower buds from a passion flower growing on a bay tree, developing too late and unlikely to flower as winter frosts arrive. One picture shows the tightly coiled tendrils which enable it to cling as it climbs over other plants.

Group of shaggy parasol mushrooms growing under low-hanging yews by the bridge in West Park. One of them down on the ground, possibly knocked by a questing dog.

River Severn at Bridgnorth late last month, on the day when the flood was at its highest, with the riverside footpaths under perhaps three feet of water. Views from the old road bridge and from Castle Walk.