A day with the Nelson naturalists…

Fungal Foray – October 15th, 2019

The day began at Marsden park in Nelson and then after lunch we headed to a field adjacent to “The Atom” (Panopticon) in Laneshawbridge, Colne. It was cool and dry for the first part of our outing, then we had a chilly afternoon in the open, during the second half. There was predicted rainfall but the rain held off for us.

The first mushroom of the day was a Stinking Dapperling mushroom, (Lepiota cristata). 

The next find was an interesting one, a Fluted Bird’s Nest Fungus (striatus). These were very low on the ground and resembled miniature bird’s nests with numerous tiny “eggs”, which are actually peridioles and contain spores.

Just off the path and into a shady patch, we found a Yellow Stainer (Agaricus xanthodermus). 

This mushroom displays a strong yellow colouration at the base of the stem when cut.

Common Rustgill (Gymnopilus penetrans). 

Crystal brain (Jelly) Fungus (Exidia nucleate)

Middle/right –  Angel’s Bonnet Mycena arcangeliana)   Bottom – Stump Puffball (Lycoperdon pyriforme)

Candlesnuff Fungus  (Xylaria hypoxylon). This one is also known as ‘Stag’s Horn’.  You can see the spores dispersing in the top image. It has an erect, simple or forked body with a downy stalk. It grows in groups on dead and rotting wood, and can be found on stumps and branches of many different trees.

Top – Grey Coral (Clavulina cinerea).  Middle/Bottom – Hen-of-the-Wood (Grifola frondosa).

This Hen-of-the-wood was very impressive!

 

Below – maze bracket

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Artist’s bracket (Ganoderma applanatum). This mushroom has been used as a drawing medium for artists. When the fresh white surface is rubbed or scratched with a sharp implement, dark brown tissue under the pores is revealed, resulting in visible lines and shading that become permanent once the fungus is dried.

To be continued…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marsden Park and Gib Hill

A field trip with the naturalists, 9th of July.

Marsden Park

We began our walk at Marsden Park, located on Walton Road in Nelson. An overall enjoyable day with light drizzle and overcast skies. Alison guided us around the park, she was very informative with the parks history and its plant life. We so a good variety of plants. I picked out some from the first half of the trip.

Photographing some Black Medic

Black Medick – Medicago lupulina

Fennel herb

We looked at Irish and Common Yew. The Irish Yew has needles that are small and curved with a pointed tip. They are black-green (darker than common Yew) The needles grow all around the main stem. Common Yew needles grown in rows from the main stem.

Left: Irish Yew & Right: Common Yew

Lime tree – Tilia x europaea has a beautiful scent.

Lime leaves are eaten by the caterpillars of many moth species, like the lime hawk moth. The leaves are also attractive to aphids, which lore in predators, including hoverflies, ladybirds and many species of bird. The flowers provide nectar and pollen for insects, particularly bees.

Close up Lime leaves

Lovely Canadian Lilac

Close up of the Canadian Lilac

Below, we have Broad-leaved Dock and underneath, Wood Dock.

Broad-leaved Dock have leaves that are large and oblong, whereas the Wood Dock leaves are more slender with straighter stems. The flowers are more spread out in the Broad-leaved Dock. It was quite interesting to see their differences as they were in close proximity.

Mike spotted some Brittle fern, which was quite suited to its name, anew one for me. He also spotted a species of Liverwort on the wall above the stem.

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Gib Hill

Alison directed us to Gib Hill, which was fairly close to Marsden Park. The area was all open and grassy. There were trees of all ages and a good variety of flora and fauna. The skies remained mostly cloudy and the odd drizzly shower occurred, which kept a few insects hidden away. We did have a brief break in the clouds where a few Meadow Browns, Ringlets, Peacocks and a couple of Large Skippers appeared.

There were many of these webs dotted around in the grass. On close inspection, you could see the young spiders scrambling around within the web.

It was great to see these Peacock caterpillars on the nettles beside the path. We spotted another group of them on the way back and those were younger than these. 

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Alison made us aware that Gib Hill had been targeted by developers. Locals have campaigned to protect the area that lies between nelson and Colne.

Ringlet

Large Skipper – Ochlodes sylvanus

The presence of a faint chequered pattern on both sides of the wings distinguishes this species from the similar Small Skipper.

I was quite pleased with this capture. A Latticed Heath moth on some Vetch.

Wood Stork’s-bill

Common Spotted Orchid

Wood Horsetail

Another good day out enjoyed by all