Fungi everywhere!

Just as the trees and flowers start to die back, and the summer birds set off for warmer climates, fungi start to fruit.

They love the dampness of October, and now’s the time to get out and see what’s been growing beneath our feet all year.

This trug of fungi were found in a couple of hours at Broadwater Warren on an RSPB walk led by fungus expert Martin Allison. Some were edible but most weren’t – it’s definitely worth going out with someone who has really good knowledge!

Did you know that the mushrooms and toadstools we see are only a small part of the whole organism? Many spread for metres, or even kilometres, beneath the soil, connecting trees, plants and other fungi in an incredible network.

Take a look at our iNaturalist project page to see what others have been spotting across the village – just click on the Observations button and you’ll see lots of beautiful fungi and where they were found.

There’s more information about identifying fungi at Sussex Wildlife Trust’s website.

And a wonderful book about fungi is Merlin Sheldrake’s Entangled Life. You’ll never look at a toadstool the same way again!