PINK FUNGI

Eric spotted these pink fungi on a log by our tool shed.

 

I asked Simon, our expert, and he revealed that they are not fungi but slime moulds.

At one stage of their 4-phase life they just become slime, hence the name.  But here they have formed into sporangia, which produce spores to start the next generation.

Simon says:  

"They are Slime Moulds and if you squish one it will be either orange / pink inside or grey, I think one has the common name Wolfs Milk though I wouldn’t recommend it with your Coco Pops! J  Google should help with more info now you have a name"

and directs us to a page on the  First Nature  website which has some interesting info about these curious organisms

They are single celled creatures that group together and move in their quest for food which is bacteria, yeasts and other decay organisms.   Read more about them on the    woodlands.co.uk     website

https://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/flora-and-fauna/the-mysterious-world-of-the-slime-mould/

 

VIEW

From the viewpoint at Filnore Woods

Oldbury power station by the river.  

On the skyline above Thornbury's tudor church tower you can see the clump of pine trees on May Hill, planted in 1887 for Queen Victoria's golden jubilee.

In the sky you can see . . . . . . .clouds.

 

CRABS

I think this is the last of the 'autumn fruits' postings.  In the section of Filnore Woods which we call 'The Old Plantation' there are a number of non-native trees planted 30 years ago by Northavon District Council.  Some of these trees are apples - more or less crabby.  

Once on the ground they are merrily munched by creatures from squirrels to wasps and from slugs to fallow deer.

If you have an apple tree at home, leave some of the windfalls for blackbirds and thrushes, to see them through the colder months.  You may even get some of our winter visiting thrushes, fieldfares and redwings.

 APPLES

A LONG POST

We have 20 numbered posts to help guide you round Filnore Woods.   Unfortunately some of them have been targeted by encroaching vegetation, decay, wind or fire.

Posts 1 to 4 are OK and post 5, leading down to the footbridge, has just been rescued from oblivion by our volunteers.

Post 6 has been used by someone lazy as fuel for a bonfire .. .. ..

.. .. ..  and we assume post 8 went the same way.

Post 7 disappeared a while ago so we have painted the number on a nearby, smooth-barked beech tree.

Post 9 disappears and re-appears on a regular basis after being replaced in its hole several times.  It's back again now but for a back-up we shall paint the number on the oak tree (below left), but the bark is not so smooth.

Post 10 on an even younger oak.  The paper label is wearing out so we must get painting.

         

Post 11 rotted off so the end will be sawn off and a shorter post reinstated.

Post 12 is fine, and the next sign pointing the way to posts 13 -20.

 Let me know if you see any other posts in need of attention.

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BEECH

Autumn beech colour

 It looks better than my photo shows.   

Check it out and other autumn colours by visiting Filnore Woods.

VElVET SHANK FUNGUS

Another fungus showing up at Filnore Woods:  down by the footbridge there is a small dead elm tree.  At the base of the trunk there is a cluster of orangey flame-coloured toadstools growing out of the wood.  This is one of the few toadstools that can withstand frost.

These are the brightly coloured fruiting bodies of the Velvet Shank Fungus, a specialist at consuming dead elms.

I broke a couple off to show the pale gills underneath and the stem which is covered in black fur, like velvet.  This is what gives it the 'velvet shank' name.

The scientific name is Flammulina velutipes, which is Latin for 'little flame with velvet feet'.

 

GUELDER ROSE

Guelder Rose is one of our native viburnums, Viburnum opulus.  Inconspicuous for most of the year, this shrub with its maple-like leaves produces brilliant red berries and striking autumn foliage colour.