Dryad's saddle rides again

 For the fourth time in a little over two years this old sycamore stump has produced a magnificent display of dryad's saddle Cerioporus squamosus bracket fungi. The previous crop appeared this spring, in April.

It's likely that the fungus was the original cause of death for the mature tree, which must have been felled as a safety precaution since it was growing close to a road.  The fungus has been digesting its remains every since.

In classical Greek mythology 'Dryades were nymphs that presided over the woods. Oblations of milk, oil, and honey were offered to them, and sometimes the votaries would sacrifice a goat. They were not generally considered immortal, but as genii, whose lives were terminated with the death of the tree over which they were supposed to preside.' J. Lempriere. A Classical Dictionary: containing a copious account of all the proper names mentioned in ancient authors. Originally published in 1788.

The underside of the cap, with thousands of tiny pores releasing millions of spores.

Exquisite pattern of scales on the cap of a bracket.

Fabulous Fungi

Autumn is still some way off but there are already some fine displays of fungi around, thanks to warm, moist weather. We encountered this amazing display of fairy inkcap Coprinellus disseminatus on a fallen tree in Stanhope Dene in Weardale, County Durham last weekend.

Hundreds of tiny toadstools, each less than a couple of inches high, smothered the trunk and branches.

A carpet of damp moss provided the perfect cover for the fungal mycelium that produced this spectacular display, which will have only lasted a few days.

This toadstool - the dryad's saddle Polyporus squamosus - is more durable and was growing on the base of an ash tree beside the Ripon Canal a couple of weeks ago. The upper tiers of 'shelves' were still expanding.

From above, showing the distinctive pattern of scales on the cap. Next time I find one of these I must take a sniff because John Ramsbottom, in the classic New Naturalist book on Mushrooms & Toadstools published in 1953, claims that it smells like uncooked tripe - not that I know what uncooked tripe smells like....