FUNGIPUNK

Welcome to the pages of Fungipunk.. You will find a collection of my own photos as well as anything interesting I may find on my travels across the web

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Everybody knows that moths are brown and boring right? Here are just a few that I have trapped in my garden so far this year, nothing boring here

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More adventures with my trusty Stick (Mr Stick) and Basket (550).

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Dear followers, I haven't posted for a while, thanks for sticking with me. The truth is I feel that a lot of the changes made to tumblr have proved detrimental to the whole tumblr experience and there are far too many ads now, it seems like every other post is an ad of some kind. This is one of the most depressing aspects of using the internet, I wonder how many people still take notice of ads? I'm sure that many people simply skim past them without actually reading them. I know ads are a fact of life but I just feel it's all too much now.....moan moan moan! Having said that, there are still a number of quality blogs on here and some stunning images which always have me coming back for a gander. So, here are a few pictures of mine which first appeared on my Twitter @celticwildfood, feel free to follow if the fancy takes you. It's not all wild food, more of a nature account really, a bit of everything. My hope is that my pictures may inspire people to get out and about and explore the world around them and take a few pictures of their own. You don't need fancy photography equipment, most of my photos are taken on simple point and shoot cameras and edited on free apps. I believe that if we get to know our local environment we will value it more and fight for its protection, in these politically uncertain times we all need to stand up and be counted.

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Although undoubtedly joyful, one can only spend so many hours of the day looking for mushrooms. Fungi hunting is, after all, primarily a daytime activity. Despite the fact I have eaten millions of carrots in my lifetime, I am still unable to see in the dark. This is very frustrating, but it does afford us an opportunity to look for fun things to do in the dark. Moth trapping is a fantastic way off having fun at night. I used to think that moths were a bit dull and boring, but how wrong I was, there are some wonderfully colourful moths that live in and around your garden. Here are two that I recently trapped: Angle Shades (top) and Feathered Thorn. The great thing about moth trapping is that what you catch varies from month to month, so you never know what will drop in. Moth trapping is the most fun you can have at night with you clothes on.....

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You never know when you will come across a fancy fungus. This is Devils Fingers (Clathrus archeri) a rare fungus here in Wales, so rare in fact that it may not have been formally recorded here before (still checking if this is the case). Apparently they have been introduced from New Zealand and Australia where they are native. I came across this stunning fungus, a member of the Stinkhorn family, whilst I was out foraging for Sea Radish leaf along the Severn Estuary. The specimens I first encountered were somewhat passed their best and didn’t make for great photographs. Being a member of the Stinkhorn family these guys emerge from “eggs”, a number of which had still to hatch. Several daily visits to the site enabled me to finally see this beauty at its best and get a few decent photographs. I think it is fair to say that I was over the moon to see Devils Fingers in the flesh, it just goes to show that fungi hunting is all about being in the right place at the right time, and sometimes that is all down to Lady Luck. Enjoy

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Wonderful Waxcaps

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The Dog Stinkhorn (Mutinus caninus). In common with its cousin the Stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus) the Dog Stinkhorn emerges from a protective "egg" and has a spore laden gleba on its cap. Although this gleba is not nearly as smelly as that of the Stinkhorn, it is still potent enough to entice flies and other insects to feast upon the fetid flesh. Thus the spore of the Dog Stinkhorn is distributed hither and yon on the legs and in the guts of the unwitting dinner guests, very clever indeed. These fungi are quite small and easy to overlook so I haven't seen too many of these. Rarer still to see them mighty and erect as this fine forest phallus soon becomes flaccid as can be seen in the final pic.

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The heavy rains a few weeks ago have led to an explosion of fungi. Winter Chanterelles are abundant this year as the above photo demonstrates. However, we seem to be having a late summer here in South Wales, which wont do the mushrooms any favours. I've already seen a few dried out Waxcaps which pains me greatly.

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White Saddle (Helvella crispa) and Elfin Saddle (Helvella lacunosa) are great little mushrooms which I am always happy to stumble across. Unlike most mushrooms which are Basidiomycetes (spore droppers) the Helvella family are part of a group of mushrooms classified as Ascomycetes or spore shooters. The outer surface of the caps are pitted with thousands of microscopic pressurised flasks (asci) which contain the spore. When conditions are right, often when a change in air pressure is detected, the pressure inside the asci is released, shooting spores into the air. Typically, Saddle asci will contain 8 spores at a time and can be reloaded and recharged until the fruiting body is spent. Often a gentle breath upon the cap of an Ascomycete will be enough to encourage them to release their spore, just gently blow, await a short delay then observe the spore as it is discharged from the cap. These Saddle fungi are said to be edible after being thoroughly cooked but aren't really worth bothering with. Some studies indicate they may contain carcinogens, so probably best just to marvel and take pictures. Incidentally, did you know that the fastest accelerating organism on the planet was a fungus? When Pilobolus crystallinus shoots it spore, it reaches up to 45 mph in the first millimetre. This equates to an amazing 20000g. Nothing is faster, think about it.

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At first glance, this old quarry resembles a Martian landscape bereft of beauty and devoid of diversity. Indeed, the dirt bikers who often frequent this site ensure that much of the ground surface has a regular shave which prevents life from gaining a foothold. There are, however, islands of trees which have sprung up alongside the regular scramble routes and provide oases of sanctuary for a beleaguered Mother Nature. Upon closer inspection the trees reveal themselves as that most intrepid of pioneer trees the Birch, interspersed with the odd Pine. Good news for us fungi fanciers as both these species of trees have a wide diversity of mycorrhizal fungi associated with them. Thankfully, today I had managed to visit the site at a time when all was quiet and not a maniacal motorcyclist was manifest. This left me free to photograph the fungi unmolested and fill my basket with Orange Birch Boletes (1st pic), a substantial and tasty mushroom. Enjoy!

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Despite rumours to the contrary, the Fungipunk is alive and kicking and still actively crawling around the fields and woodlands of South Wales looking for magnificent mushroomy treats to snap and collect. It's true, and I can prove it....... The fact I haven't posted in a while is because I feel the whole tumblr experience has gone downhill lately. Every 4th or 5th post on my timeline is an ad for some shitty app that I don't want or need and it just pisses me off. Now we have videos which start themselves, like it was too much bloody trouble to press play when I fancied watching a video FFS. Add that to the fact that the tumblr app itself crashes far too often and it becomes a chore to use, rather than the pleasure it used to be. Having said that, there are still some quality blogs on here that I enjoy looking at which keep drawing me back. So, because of this I thought it was time to post a few new pics in the hope that somebody somewhere has missed me and my mushrooms. It's all kicking off in mushroom land about now, a great time to get inspired and maybe take your first steps down the mycelium highway. The world of fungi can be daunting at first but from small acorns mighty Oaks grow and fungi hunting is the hobby that just keeps giving. It's cheap, you don't need specialist equipment, (at the most you need a basket, stick, ID book and a cheap camera) and fungi occur virtually everywhere so you don't have to travel vast distances. Don't worry if you don't know the names of mushrooms, is not important; you can call them all Brian if it helps, they won't mind. You will learn the names in time. A word of caution though before you consume any of the fungi you find, you must be 100% certain of ID. An epic fail in this department could lead to an agonising death. Until you become confident in mushroom ID just stick to photographing them. See you out there....

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Locally, it wasn't a great year for Morels or St. George's mushrooms but thankfully there were a few to be found. There could be a number of reasons for the poor season; some cite the dry spring which prevented the fungi from getting the moisture they needed to produce fruiting bodies in any numbers. Others still, believe it was just one of those years, after all, fungi do not have to produce mushrooms every year in order to survive. Sometimes, for reasons best known to themselves, they choose to save on resources and produce very few fruiting bodies. New theories suggest that fungi only produce large numbers of fruiting bodies when they feel their survival somehow threatened. At such times the instinct to reproduce and set spore leads to an increase in mushrooms and therefore an increase in spore production, which, when all said and done, is the sole purpose of mushrooms. This could go some way to explaining why mushrooms are often found next to paths and tracks in woodlands. Perhaps soil compaction in these sites forms in impassable barrier which forces fungi to seek nutrients in pastures new. Or maybe the fungi here in South Wales was so embarrassed by the fact that the Tory party was able to form a majority government on just over 37% of the vote cast, that they all decided they just couldn't be arsed. For the first time in a long time Wales have forsaken its socialist values and turned blue. We should hang our heads in shame that we played an active part in re-electing these inbred fuckwits. These tosspots who get so hard watching defenceless animals being torn apart, that the first thing they will do is repeal the fox hunting ban. God Save The Queen, blood sports for all.....bastards. The left has failed to mobilise and those who failed to vote can have no complaints, you are complicit in your apathy. We shall reap what we sow Britain, so prepare to reap the whirlwind. As you sit in the gutter surrounded by your own shit because you cannot afford to rent a place to live, as you watch your children die because you can no longer afford health care, which was once free, then weep. Weep because you brought it all on yourselves, because you were too fucking lazy to go to your local polling booth and mark an X on a ballot paper. You may not do politics but politics sure as hell does you, and it's coming to get you. So, weep and be damned and never say you were given no choice.

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A sunny sojourn to the South Wales seaside. I saw a hesitant Hermit Crab who refused to pop his head over the parapet for the money shot and wonderfully wacky Welsh Winkles, jewels of the rock pools. All in all a marvellous day!

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Greetings to all my followers old and new, your patience is appreciated! Well, it's that time of year again when the Spring fungi and flowers begin to put on their display. Today I was lucky enough to find a Morel, actually there was one and a half as the slugs had managed to eat the top off one! Morels are always a welcome find for me because they are not all that common around these parts. These guys are so difficult to spot, those that are round and about often go undetected. For the most part the lovely Spring flowers are not hard to spot, which is somewhat the point. Here we have (from top to bottom): Colts-foot - at first glance it looks like a Dandelion but closer inspection reveals a flower of wonderful complexity; flowers within a flower. Valued for its medicinal and culinary properties, they taste a bit like mango. English Scurvy Grass: a common coastal plant which is just coming into flower. Simple but beautiful with a fragrance which is quite unexpected. The leaves have a strong mustard flavour. Toothwort: a parasitic plant which often chooses Hazel as it's host plant (sometimes Elm), it is an Ancient Woodland Indicator species. I can't tell you if these guys are edible so let's just enjoy their beauty for its own sake. Splendid!

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This handsome chap is my ferret, Bueller, who enjoyed posing for the camera yesterday at a friends studio (Charlene Morton at Manor House Photography Studio, why not like her on Facebook). It was great to see him enjoying himself so much exploring every nook and cranny. Well pleased with the results, thanks Charlie.

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Here is a photo of Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus), a parasite often found on Oak, Beech, Sweet Chestnut and Yew. It is a tasty edible and one of my favourites. However, some caution should be exercised because it has been shown to cause gastric upsets in some. If eating for the first time only consume a small amount and allow time for any potential reaction, around 30 mins. Don't worry too much, symptoms are usually mild and you are unlikely to die! It is recommend you never consume COTW that has been found on Yew (as this one was) because of the toxic nature of the host tree. A good reason to get familiar with tree species when fungi hunting

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The same gravestones in wintertime.