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David

Caruncles: muscovy, Perton

Caruncles: muscovy, Perton

The knobbly red folds around the beak of the muscovy’s beak are apparently called caruncles. This is the drake resident on the upper pool at Perton.

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David

Frost resistant fungi: old wood blewit

Frost resistant fungi: old wood blewit

Another fungus which has survived the prolonged spell of overnight frosts. This wood blewit first appeared before the new year, now faded and battered.

Frost resistant fungi: old wood blewit

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David

Frost resistant fungi: collared earth stars

Frost resistand fungi: collared earth stars

Collared earth stars send up their exotic fruiting bodies in late autumn or early winter. Unless they’re molested, they then last through the colder months.

Most of the ones I spot seem to be half-hidden in the undergrowth below hedgerows, as these were by the canal at Wightwick.

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David

Rosebay willowherb, frosty January morning

Rosebay willowherb, frosty January morning

The husks of the previous year’s rosebay willowherb always seem to hang around until their replacements grow in the spring. Here some were getting a coating of frost against a background of freezing mist.

Rosebay willowherb, frosty January morning

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David

Umbellifers, frosty January morning

Umbellifers, frosty January morning

Last year’s umbellifers, what remains of the woody material of the seed heads after all the seeds have been dispersed, encrusted in tiny ice crystals on a frosty morning.

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David

Frost-resistant fungi: another small bracket

Frost-resistant fungi: another small bracket

Another (unidentified) small bracket fungus, or perhaps two different species on the same tree stump in Northycote Farm. Pictured mid-January, during the long spell with frost overnight every day, and showing no after-effects from this cold.

Frost-resistant fungi: another small bracket