The 23rd of August, 2013, from Orbost, Isle of Skye, on a day of occasional drizzle we wended our way down to Loch Bharcasaig, meeting on the way this fungal chappy.
Spotted and identified by Steve as Yellow Brain fungus (Tremella mesenterica), but also known as Golden Jelly fungus, Yellow Trembler, and Witch's Butter. It is most commonly found on dead branches still attached to deciduous trees yet extracts nutrients not from the tree but from the mycelia of Peniophora fungi. It is classified in my book "Mushrooms and other Fungi of Great Britain and Europe" by Roger Phillips as inedible but in Wikipedia as edible but bland and flavourless, with a gelatinous-to-rubbery consistency. Apparently Yellow Brain fungus can be confused with Dacrymyces chrysospermum, which it resembles, though the latter grows on conifer wood.
Is this Clavaria fumosa (also known as Smoky Clavaria and Smoky Spindles)?
Identified on iSpot as Dung Roundhead (Stropharia semiglobata). The hemispherical cap accounts for the designation semiglobata. It grows on animal dung and freshly manured grassland. This is a common and widespread mushroom, though we did only see the one. It is generally regarded as non-edible, though categorizations vary from edible to potentially moderately poisonous. The following information was found on the website schoolshealthandsafety.co.uk : "These fungi are often grown quite deliberately as the effects after eating are similar to LSD, the drug which can have pleasant effects of well being and relaxation. Also undesired effects can occur after eating the fungi or drinking the liquid after cooking. ..... Effects: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, panic and confusion, delirium and hallucinations".
And these are it gills.
Spotted by Linda.
First image; Nolanea hirtipes perhaps?
Second
Third
I might actually have an ID of my own for this: Snowy Waxcap (Hygrocybe virginea or Hygrocibe nivea). Categorized as common (unlike other waxcaps); odour and taste not distinctive; edible - good.
We now passed into the forest on the western side of Loch Bharcasaig. At this point we split up, some of us venturing into the forest.
There are no purple mushrooms in my book.
Is this a fungus living on a mushroom?
A bracket fungus, presumably having turned black as it aged.
Hedgehog mushroom (Hydnum repandun); also known as Sweet Tooth mushroom. Identified by Steve who also asserted that it was edible, so I collected some of the more neat looking ones in my plastic bag; there were plenty around.
Its name is derived from the "spines" that replace gills on the underside of the cap.
The terrain proved to be difficult, with lots of humps, holes, slopes, and slippery vegetation covering traps of dead logs and branches, ideal for turning or breaking ankles. One also lost sight of the path very easily, though eventually we all managed to find one another again, apart from Bruce, for whom we searched up and down the path, without success. As time passed, given the slightly hazardous nature of the ground, the possibility floated into view that Bruce might have encountered some problem in the depths of the forest and had become immobilized or lost, or both. Some of us resorted to shouting his name (not I; I've never been much of a shouter), but there was no response. Then Linda spotted something and with my binoculars I espied a figure moving very slowly behind the trees, a dark silhouette against the lake, down towards which the forest descended. This was immediately reminiscent of the infamous scene in Deliverance, and sent a cold chill down one's spine.
There on the shore of the lake was Bruce, while a few yards away Phil was bent down on the ground, apparently in a position of grovelling obeisance. To understand the sinister implications of this you will need to read the previous posting of 8th November which relates how Phil mysteriously disappeared after splitting off from the party and heading towards a bog, but then reappeared some time later at the car park. The rumour has grown up that Phil may have been taken over by aliens during this incident, either by physical replacement using an identical body in a pod waiting for him in the bog, as in the Invasion of the Body Snatchers (in which case Phil's body is now sinking down into the bog at a rate of around 1 cm per week, partly preserved by the acidity of the peat), or, more likely, through direct mind transfer (some Tibetan lamas have been known, at the moment of their death, to relocate their mind into the body of another human, thereby continuing to live in the physical world; whether Phil was fully or partially absorbed into the mind of the alien or was totally obliterated is open to debate). What seems to have happened now is that Bruce has also been taken over, this time clearly by an alien of significantly higher status than Phil's, which probably came to prepare the way in advance for his master.
The worshipful acolyte maintains his abject posture, obviously pleased to greet what could be the commander of an Earth invasion force who loses no times in gathering data on which the campaign of conquest will be based. Could it be that the aliens are using the U3A as a cover and springboard for infiltrating the human race? Is this the real reason why Phil and Judy (who will undoubtedly also have succumbed by now) spent the first three weeks of December in Australia?! And who will be the next to disappear, on 23rd January at Coral Beaches - do turn up to this event if you wish to experience first hand how the aliens' plans are progressing. We might even see some basking sharks, in thermal underwear.
For a while I did think I might be putting myself at some risk by revealing this deadly conspiracy but then I remembered that hardly anyone reads this blog. It has also come to mind recently that I have no recollection of Phil being on the walk, so what is he doing in these images? Clearly he had been tasked with welcoming the commander when he arrived on Skye but had to avoid the ritual greeting being observed by humans. So the aliens have the power of invisibility, but my Canon 7D camera is able to image them anyway. I'm sure this capability is somewhere in the Canon instruction manual but there are so many thousands of settings for the camera and I've only had it for 2.5 years, so it's not surprising I haven't found the "invisible alien imaging button" yet. Anyhow, it doesn't altogether compensate for the many failings of the 7D.
And back to mushrooms. These are probably puffball mushrooms of some sort but they don't correspond exactly to any of the images on Google, none of which have these golf ball-like indentations. But mushrooms seem to change their appearance from one day to the next, so it's no surprise.
Steve suggested that these are the same, but they look kind of different to me.
And here's one that would bring a nice bit of colour (and a bit more) to your salads. It has been identified on iSpot as Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria). iSpot also suggested that this specimen had developed an orange hue through ageing and that most of its white spots (scales) had been washed away - that what fooled me as these mushrooms are usually very easy to identify. Fly agaric is of course psychotropic, hallucinogenic, and poisonous. According to my "Mushrooms and other Fungi of Great Britain and Europe" by Roger Phillips: the cap of Fly agaric has, since medieval times, been broken up in platefuls of milk to stupefy flies, hence the name; it is apparently used by Lapps - they got the idea from their reindeer who get high on this flashy looking fungus. It has also been suggested by a Dead Sea Scrolls expert that early Christianity arose from a cult-based use of fly agaric, so without this wee mushroom the world might be a different place.
Looks like a lemon. Spotted by Steve. Given the ID Gomphidius, with G. glutinosus (also know as Slimy Spike-Cap) likely given the "picea (?) and the yellow base" - thanks to iSpot. My book gives the information: glutinous veil connecting stem and cap margin; habitat with conifers; rare (well done Steve); edible but not recommended. According to Wikipedia: "Opinions differ on the suitability of this mushroom for the table; some guides hold it in high regard while others view it with caution".
The gills are surrounded by a translucent membrane.
Looking good together.
Moss carpet.
The Loch Bharcasig Monster.
Reminds me of the Blob, in the Steve McQueen movie of the same name. Spotted by Steve (not McQueen). Identified on iSpot as Leafy Brain (Tremella foliacea). According to Wikipedia: "widespread, particularly in north temperate regions, and parasitic on other species of fungi (Stereum spp.) .... This species is said to be edible but is not much valued". Also known as Jelly Leaf and Brown Witch's Butter.
Another one for the salad?
After the walk Linda, Steve and I stopped off at Struan to check out the outdoor clothing shop and the cafe-bookshop, where we drank coffee while peering across Loch Bracadale to Macleod's Tables. There was an excellent mushroom book there but someone else got to it just before Steve and mentioned to us that she had often eaten hedgehog mushrooms and found them to have a lemony flavour. When I cooked mine later at home I detected a subtle nutty flavour and a slightly chewy texture, which matched up with descriptions on the internet.
This proved to be the final Skye U3A nature event of 2013.
