Fluted Birdsnest Fungus, Cyathus striatusCoralroot fungus on woodchip … like diving into a minuscule ocean … Common Birdsnest Fungi on Woodchip … aren’t they beautiful? Only millimetres across. The yellow circles are the same fungi, not yet opened.A few feet above the fungi, a Sorbus doing its autumnal thing with leaves and fruits
Each cup is no bigger than your little fingernail. The cups grow on damp compost which the workers in Kew Gardens heap thickly under the trees. The “eggs” are called Peridioles, and they’re basically little bags of spores; they are splashed out of the cups by rain and the spores can then germinate. The family is the Nidulariaceae, which surprisingly is part of the Agaricales (normal-looking Basidiomycete mushrooms). species is the Common Bird’s Nest, Crucibulum laeve. One of the cups is still developing and is covered by a membrane. Yep, a different Bird’s Nest Fungus with a larger, greyer, frilly cup. This seems to be the Field Bird’s Nest, Cyathus olla.
The English seem unemotional … except for their passion for nature
