By the Chapel Ash roundabout on the Wolverhampton ring road, there’s a paper-bark birch tree, with its roots protected by a substantial metal grill. Popping up in gaps in that grill were these shaggy inkcap mushrooms.
Colours of autumn – lichen on a blackthorn
Lichen growing on the trunks of trees make interesting colours and textures at any time of year. They can be seen more clearly once the trees have lost their foliage.
Retreating squirrel, West Park
One of the West Park squirrels started coming towards me, hoping I was going to give it some peanuts. Then it spotted someone with a dog coming from the opposite direction. It turned tail, and started to run for the nearest tree. Once it had climbed high enough to feel safe, it paused to look around.
Autumn fungi flush – plums and custard revisited
A front garden with a tree stump, with mushrooms growing on the stump. I’d previously passed the stump a fortnight earlier, and already taken pictures of the fungi.
Colours of autumn – bright red acer leaves over garden wall
Showing over the high garden wall of a house on one of the quiet streets at the back of Tettenhall’s Upper Green, an extreme colour contrast in autumn leaves.
Autumn fungi flush – spindles, white and yellow
The white spindles in this set which appear to be growing out of bare earth were in West Park. The others, white and yellow were growing together on the same lawn, which was also the lawn with the brown birch bolete (recent post).
Colours of autumn – crow up high, West Park
A carrion crow up at the top of a tree in West Park. Its high vantage point would have given it a view over most of the park.
Autumn fungi flush – birch bolete (brown)
Lots of mushrooms are associated with trees. Some are not very particular about which kind of tree, while others occur only near one type of tree. Brown birch boletes are one such. The clue to the tree is in the name, which also gives an accurate description of the colour.
Colours of autumn – liquidambar aflame, West Park
The reds and yellows of this liquidambar by the lake in West Park did look a bit like those of a particularly vivid flame, especially when reflected in the low waves on the surface of the water.
Autumn fungi flush – circled milkcap
These circled milkcap mushrooms were growing under hornbeams by the side of a quiet residential street. Mklkcaps are a set of mushrooms which exude a white fluid when damaged. This species has caps zoned in rings in different shades of grey. It’s a species found under deciduous trees, particularly hornbeam.