Some interesting fungi

Striated bird's nest Cyathus striatus growing on decayed wood. Each of the cup-shaped 'nests' contains egg-shaped structures called peridioles that contain the spores. Photographed in Slindon Woods, near Chichester, West Sussex.

In these field bird's nests Cyathus olla you can see the 'eggs', which are attached to a fine thread and are splashed out of the 'nest' by raindrops and become entangled in surrounding vegetation. When they dry out they then discharge their spores into the airstream. For more detailed explanation, click here.These specimens were photographed in Durham, growing in a garden border of perennial plants that had been cut back for the winter.

Bog beacon Mitrula paludosa, a tiny jelly fungus.

These bog beacons were growing on a waterlogged bed of decaying spruce needles in Hamsterley Forest, Co. Durham.

Eyelash fungus Scutellinia scutellata growing on wood chips after tree felling in Hamsterley forest, Co. Durham. Each of the orange cups is surrounded by long hairs that look like eyelashes.

Terracotta hedgehog fungus Hydnum rufescens. The majority of toadstools carry their spores on radial gills or on the surface of pores but in this genus the spores are attached to tooth-like structures under the cap. Growing under beech trees in Hamsterley Forest, Co. Durham.