Mid Yorkshire Fungus Group visit to Austwick Hall

First Wednesday morning of the month - so it's time for a Mid Yorkshire Fungus Group trip. - On 4 Sept 2019 to Austwick Hall by invitation of Michael Pearson.  The woodland is situated on a steep limestone slope, just above Austwick. It has a few tall Giant Redwoods and beech amongst sycamore and ash and some other conifers. We hear the primary school children in the distance below, outside at playtime in the morning - just returned after the summer holidays.- 

There are fifteen people all together including Archie and Ron and Jane.

One of the first that we found ??

On some thin branches/twigs on the ground that were old and had lost their bark were two fungi - both new to me. -  The translucent white jelly is not the normal one - this one has white bits in it. The  black one in the lower part of the picture with dots on it is a Eutypa - but the ones we saw last month at Keighley and the month before at Bolton Strid were on Oak so they were a different species. This one is  on sycamore so is Eutypa maura

Exidea nucleata (Myxarium nucleatum) Crystal Brain Fungus

and Eutypa maura

magnified below

Exidea nucleata (Myxarium nucleatum) 

Eutypa maura

Eutypa maura

Archie then tried to get me to identify the thin branch/twigs by looking at the xylem and rays..No, No.. another time maybe.

This is probably Crepidotus mollis

This is probably Crepidotus mollis - pity I did not know how to test it when I found this.  Later that morning Archie showed us how to stretch a Crepidotus mollis cap...

Crepidotus mollis

Crepidotus mollis is a fan-shaped fungus. It has a cap cuticle (skin) that readily peels away from the flesh. The skin is rubbery and transparent and can be stretched to at least double its length before it tears.

What are they all looking at here?

Ahh..

It's a pale tussock moth

Mycena haematopus

Taken form Wikipedia: Known as: bleeding fairy helmet, the burgundydrop bonnet, or the bleeding Mycena,:  The fruit bodies of M. haematopus have caps that are up to 4 cm (1.6 in) wide, whitish gills, and a thin, fragile reddish-brown stem with thick coarse hairs at the base. They are characterized by their reddish color, the scalloped cap edges, and the dark red latex they "bleed" when cut or broken. Both the fruit bodies and the mycelia are weakly bioluminescent.

Mycena haematopus

Debriefing