4th November 2016, Beckenham Place Park

Ironically the drought has been continuing but today was miserably wet. And there were hardly any fungi. I rarely come to Beckenham Place Park but I think that will change in the future. It’s parkland with a long, uninterrupted history and so should be good for mushrooms. But not today. Apart from the species I photographed there were some other commoners – Beefsteak Fungus, Clouded Agaric and Sulphur Tuft.

Hen of the Woods I’ve seen here before, and I cut a lump of this one to take home and eat. It has a mild bland flavour but a rather nice crisp texture. The unidentified mushroom (#2) is one I think I’ve seen and failed to identify on another site before – it should be a Bonnet but doesn’t fit with any of them, but perhaps also could be a Greyling. Shaggy Bracket I’ve probably seen before and not recorded. I generally don’t take much interest in big brackets but I think I’ll start paying more attention and try to record them all. I assumed this was a Beefsteak Fungus when I first saw it, and took some pictures because of its large size, but spore size was completely wrong and also appearance when I looked again.


1. Hen of the Woods (Grifola frondosa).
Growing on base of oak tree. One large cluster. 35cm across. Little smell, perhaps a bit mousey. Mild bland taste but nice crispy texture. Eaten. Sporeprint White. Spores 5.5-7µ x 4-5.5µ.

2. Unidentified.
Growing in grass in a damp hollow. Small group. Cap up to 5cm, stem up to 10cm. No smell. Sporeprint White. Spores 7.5-9.5µ x 5-6.5µ.

3. Southern Bracket (Inonotus hispidus).
Growing 3 metres high on trunk of living oak tree. One but also others in the park. About 50cm across. No distinct smell. ID is fairly likely. Sporeprint Looks light brown but not enough to be sure. Spores 8.5-10µ x 6-8.5µ.