This beautiful fungi was sighted in March 2017, by our wildlife co-ordinators Andrew Curran and Brian Perry. It’s called the collared earth star fungi, as it ages, as it has done here, its colour changes from cream to dark brown and it detaches from the ground*. Raindrops falling on the spore-sac (the cream-coloured centre) causes spores to be released in a puff. Find out more about the fungus here.

A few years ago, Bert and Gill Brand carried out a detailed survey for Martineau Gardens. You can read their report here, which lists over 60 species identified here at Martineau Gardens. The names alone will provide a fascinating read – Jelly Ear, Smoky Bracket, Wet Rot to King Alfred’s cakes.

Pictured below, Scarlet Elf Cups, these brightly coloured fungi appear, every year without fail on a log in our car park and then fade away during the year.

* Please don’t pick the fungi at Martineau Gardens

 

Find out more about how we record the wildlife at Martineau Gardens here