This is one of the easier toadstools to identify - porcelaiine fungus Oudsmansiella mucida. Conveniently, it's almost always found growing in only one place, on dying beech trees Fagus sylvatica, which narrows down the identification possibilities somewhat.
The other defining characteristic is a permanently wet-look cap, covered in a layer of slippery mucilage that gives it the appearance of the finest quality porcelaine - for a day or two, anyway.
The young, developing toadstool produces so much mucilage that it sometimes drips off, as it's doing on the two lower specimens here. Photographed on a fallen beech tree near Blanchland in Northumberland, earlier this week...
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It will come as little surprise to you that I haven't seen these before. I will keep an eye out they look superb.
ReplyDeleteThey look very pretty, like some porcelaine curios.
ReplyDeleteThey're beautiful and tactile. :)
ReplyDeleteThat last shot is a cracker Phil.
ReplyDeleteHi Adrian, It's one of the small number of toadstools that I can identify with real confidence
ReplyDeleteHi lotusleaf, I particularly like the pattern of the gills under the cap..
ReplyDeleteHi Lesley, they look like they ought to be really brittle, like bone china, don't they?
ReplyDeleteHi Keith, a bit of blue sky always shows off plants and fungi to good advantage..
ReplyDelete