Promising start to the toadstool season

Thursday's Guardian Country Diary is about toadstools.

It's been an early and very promising start to the toadstool season so far this year. Here are a few species that we've seen so far.

Larch bolete Suillus grevillei in a larch plantation at Backstone Bank, Wolsingham, Weardale

Purple brittlegill Russula atropurpurea Backstone Bank wood, Wolsingham, Weardale

Shaggy inkcap aka lawyer's wig Coprinus comatus near Romaldkirk, Teesdale

Fairy ink cap Coprinellus disseminatus Weardale

Dryad's saddle Polyporus squamosus on a tree stump on a golf course near Wylam, Tyne valley

Lumpy Bracket Trametes gibbosa Hollingside Wood, Durham

Purple jellydisc Ascocoryne sarcoides Hollingside wood, Durham city

Weeping widow Lacrymaria lacrymabunda Weardale

Sulphur tuft Hypholoma fasciculare Backstone Bank wood, Wolsingham, Weardale

Blackening waxcaps Hygrocybe conica in a sheep pasture near Egglestone in Teesdale

Oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus Hollingside Wood, Durham city.