With the grey, wet weather we’ve been having to start the year, it might not always feel easy to motivate yourself to get out for a walk in the wild. Well, allow us to provide some inspiration! Right now is the PERFECT time to discover some truly fascinating species of fungi, from vibrant reds and luscious yellows, to Jelly Ears and Witches’ Butter. So before spring sets in and we all get distracted by flowers, get up, get out and enjoy the fungus among us! 

Scarlet Elf Cup

Absolute jewels of the woodland floor! As their name suggests, the Scarlet Elf Cup (Sarcoscypha austriaca) is a bright red, cup-shaped fungus which can be found on fallen twigs and branches in shady, damp places from early winter until early spring. Surprisingly easy to walk past unless you're paying attention to the woodland floor, they're so vibrant in colour that after you've found your first, you'll wonder how you never noticed them before!

In European folklore, it was said that wood elves drank morning dew from these delightful cups! To reproduce, Scarlet Elf Cups fire their spores from pores on their caps and are one of several fungi whose fruiting bodies have been noted to make a "puffing" sound - an audible manifestation of spore-discharge where thousands of asci (sac-like structures which protect the spores) simultaneously explode to release a cloud of spores! If you blow on a mature Elf Cup and immediately put your ear to it, you may even hear these little pops for yourself!

Whilst Scarlet Elf Cups are more common, the Ruby Elf Cup is very similar in appearance - in fact there's no physical difference between the two! You can only tell them apart by microscopy (tiny fine hairs are the difference).

Jelly Ear

If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? The answer, of course, is a resounding "yes" - for the trees themselves have ears! Jelly Ear (Auricularia auricula-judae) are so called because they take a similar shape to a human ear - they even feel velvety like human skin!

Jelly Ear fungus hangs down in groups from branches, and in the damp and shady conditions it loves, you can discover huge and dramatic patches. Some 50 years ago, you would have only found it growing on Elder trees, but it has spread its range and can now be found growing on as many as 16 different species of tree, although still much less commonly than on Elder.

Turkey Tail

Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) is a very colourful bracket fungus that grows throughout the year. Its circular caps can be seen growing in tiers on trees and dead wood. Colours are variable mixes of brown, yellow, grey, purple, green and black, but the outer margin is always pale - either cream or white. The distinctive shape of Turkey Tail is how it acquired its common name, said to resemble a turkey’s tail feathers.

Turkey Tail is very common and can be found throughout the UK. Explore any woodland close to you and you’ll find it or another example of bracket fungi. Brackets, also known as shelf fungi or polypore fungi, are a group of fungi which produce shelf - or bracket - shaped fruiting bodies called ‘conks’. These fungi grow on the trunks and branches of both dead and living trees. They are usually hard and leathery, and their parasitic activity may kill living trees. Turkey Tail itself can be found on dead wood in deciduous woodlands, mainly to be seen on hardwood such as Beech or Oak

Yellow Brain

This very conspicuous golden-yellow ‘jelly fungus’ is found throughout Britain and mainly seen during the months of winter when the fruiting bodies appear on dead branches of deciduous trees. Although Yellow Brain (Tremella mesenterica) is gelatinous to the touch when damp, during dry weather it turns orange and shrivels and is quite unnoticeable. Although at first glance appearing to be attached directly to the twig, it is in fact growing from the surface of a wood-rotting crust fungus that has already colonised the wood. 

In European legend, Yellow Brain was a foreboding sign if it appeared on the gate or door of a family home, since it was said that a witch had cast a spell upon the inhabitants! This led to the fungus gaining the common name of "Witches' Butter", but it is not to confused with White or Black Witches' Butter (as described below)! For your peace of mind, should you find yourself with Yellow Brain on your gate or door, simply pierce the fungus with straight pins until it goes away, thus removing the witches' spell!

Black Witches' Butter 

Black Witches' Butter (Exidia glandulosa) is a gelatinous fungus commonly found on dead hardwood trees, particularly oaks. It was once thought to be able to counteract witchcraft if the fruitbodies were thrown onto a blazing fire!

Whilst it can be found all year round, winter is a wonderful time to look for this species and other jelly fungus, since there are no leaves or plant species to obscure them from view. 

Candlesnuff

The fruiting body of the Candlesnuff (Xylaria hypoxylon) fungus is simple, erect and stick-like. It is black and hairy at the base of the stem and powdery white at the tip. The stem can become flattened and branched in a fork like an antler, hence its other common name of 'Stag's Horn'. It grows in groups on dead and rotting wood, and can be found on stumps and branches of all sorts of trees.

Growing to a height of 6cm, Candlesnuff can be found year-round but it fruits especially during the autumn and winter months. It earned its common name because the white tip and black base is thought to resemble a snuffed candle wick. A very common fungus to find across the United Kingdom, a trip to any woodland can reveal large patches of Candlesnuff adorning fallen branches - it’s well worth keeping an eye out for!

Velvet Shank

With its glossy, golden-orange caps, the Velvet Shank (Flammulina velutipes) is quite commonly seen growing in clusters on stumps of decaying hard wood. It is also known as the 'Winter Mushroom' as it can can be seen throughout the winter months, right into early spring. The Latin name, Flammulina, refers to the bright orange, flame-like colour of the cap.

The velvet shank relies on dead wood, but the importance of this habitat for wildlife is often overlooked: to keep a place 'neat', mature and ageing trees may be removed and fallen dead wood cleared away. By keeping dead wood in your garden, you can encourage all kinds of fungi to grow, in turn, attracting the wildlife that depends upon it.