Monthly Archives: October 2018

16th October 2018, My Garden in Catford

Several thousand Fairy Inkcaps growing in the garden! The raised bed retainers are built with untreated oak. I got them untreated to avoid tainting my vegetables, but the delightful result is that the mushrooms love them. I wonder how long it will take them to rot away…, they’ve lasted about 10 years so far but mouldering nicely. Fairy Inkcaps are edible but the general opinion is that you’ll never get enough to make it worth your while. If they come back (which surely they will) then I will certainly be partaking.


1. Fairy Inkcap (Coprinus disseminatus).
Growing beside untreated oak slabs. Several thousand. Caps around 1cm across. No smell. Sporeprint Umber. Spores 6-8µ x 4.5-5.5µ.

9th October 2018, Petts Wood and Hawkwood

This was my first time around Petts Wood, and I’m hoping for some good finds here in the future, but this trip was rather disappointing. Mostly scattered, smallish, brownish or whitish, hardish to identify fungi! I’ve recorded 6, many of which I could not identify, and I could have recorded several more unidentified.

The two Mycena (Clustered Bonnet and Mycena flavescens) I have seen before. The Deer Shield was a nice black and white specimen, but tricky to identify because of its immaturity.

Apart from those recorded below, I also saw Ochre Brittlegill, Birch Polypore, Hen of the Woods, and many Honey Fungus.


1. Unidentified.
Under hawthorn hedges, possibly growing from twigs? Several scattered around singly. Cap 3.5cm. Stem 5cm. Vegetabley smell? Tough stem. Sporeprint White. Spores 5.5-8µ x 4-5µ.

2. Unidentified.
Growing in mixed woods, mainly oak. Several scattered around. Cap 3-9cm. Indistinct slight smell. Cap dome shaped then very flat. Striate when old. Sporeprint Whitish but not enough to be sure. Spores 7-9.5µ x 4.5-5.5µ.

3. Clustered Bonnet (Mycena inclinata).
Growing on rotting birch stump. Group of three. Cap 1-3cm. Slight mousey smell. ID is fairly likely. Sporeprint Whitish but not enough to be sure. Spores 8-9.5µ x 5.5-7µ.

4. Mycena flavescens.
Growing in leaf litter in mixed woods. Two or three. Cap 1cm. Stem up to 8cm. No smell. ID is very likely. Sporeprint Whitish but not enough to be sure. Spores 7-9µ x 5-7µ.

5. Turkeytail (Trametes versicolor).
Growing on deciduous log. Many tiers of small brackets. Up to 7cm wide by 4cm deep. Zoned. Leathery. Spores 4.5-6.5µ x 2.5-4µ.

6. Deer Shield (Pluteus cervinus).
Growing from the knot hole on a large log. One. Cap 3.5cm. Stem 4cm. No smell, perhaps slightly peppery. This does not look like a typical Deer Shield, but I believe it to be an immature specimen. ID is very likely. Sporeprint Pink. Spores 6.5-8.5µ x 5.5-7µ.