Last year I went on an organised fungus foray in Beckenham Place Park which was great fun and quite informative. This year I’ve just been too busy, which is a bit sad. I must try harder. But anyway, for me the highlight of that visit was the earthstars growing under some cypress trees. Beckenham Place Park is good for fungi generally, although I’ve not visited recently. I was there about 15 years ago and found a delicious Wood Mushroom, and also a Liberty Cap (the only time I’ve ever found that species). But on my cycle ride back from Hayes Common I was determined to pop in and see if I could find the earthstars again.

So, success! There was a couple of Striate Earthstars under those cypresses, plus several old casings. If I hadn’t known they were there I’d have probably missed them. The first picture shows how hard they can be to find when the star’s been covered by leaves. (The last two photos were taken with a small aperture and long exposure, in order to give a greater depth of focus, and I like the pictures although they have an overall kind of celluloid, unreal, quality.) Why do I never find any earthstars around and about? Either they’re quite rare, or hard to spot, or my eye isn’t attuned.