Two pleated inkcap mushrooms, tiny and elegant, growing among the wood chip mulch in one of the beds in Bantock Park. These fungi are quite common, but they are often half-hidden, lurking in the short grass which is one of their favoured habitats.
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Collared earth stars, Compton Hill
Collared earth stars by the side of the main road near the top of Compton hill. They are sometimes called saucered earth stars, or triple earth stars, and more formally Geastrum triplex, and are by far the most common members of the earth star genus round here. There’s a chance of spotting them any time from now till early in spring.
A small clump of tall ornamental grass in one of the beds in Castle Grounds Park, Bridgnorth. In my opinion, it looks at its best in early autumn.
The first fly agaric I’ve seen this season, under a holly which was itself intruding into a beech hedge in Bantock Park. It had been extensively eaten, probably by at least two different creatures: a mollusc and a mammal.
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All the colours …
Early evening, a short but sharp shower, and a resulting rainbow.
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Hooks all the way down
Two close-ups of a seed-head of a teazle as the seeds ripen towards maturity. Each seed is attached to a long spike which has a hook at the far end, perfect for getting stuck in the fur of some animal which will then disperse the seed well away from the parent plant. These close views show the spikes are covered in lesser hooks all down towards the seeds themselves.
