cepwise

Fungafam, I had a great evening at #mycologyodyssey Engaging talks from @darren_le_baron and @mycosymbiote on a wide breadth of material - as broad as discussing panspermia and anthropology and mycoeducation (the latter of which both have done amazing work in) - but of course a focus on fungi, and most specifically truffles! Super interesting to learn about some of the bioactive chemical constituents of truffles and potential medicinal effects (as ever, more science is needing to be done to further understand) and why it may make sense for mushrooms to end up evolving into truffles - I mean just think about it, Fungafam! Why waste a load of energy and material building a stipe simply to gain height for spores to spread, when you could be a truffle and spend all your energy on making the reproductive parts of a fruiting body, and just get an animal to do the work of spreading spores for you? And that's not even considering how much more efficient a truffle's water retention is compared with an open cap above ground mushroom! Also, we know the study of fungi is underrepresented in science - and that we only have discovered a tiny proportion of fungal species. But just think... how many hidden truffle species there must be waiting to be found under the ground! Even in the desert (see water retention comment). Fascinating! Wonderful to meet @aenshent too, and thanks again to her for the wonderful giveaway that made it possible for me and @the_bearded_gastromad to attend. Forgot to take a photo with him, so you will have to use your imagination 😆 It was also great to see my chum @mycopunks - although we also forgot to take a photo together, so you'll have to use your imagination, again 😆 ✌️ #ukfungi #fungi #fungilove #fungiphile #fungiphotography #mushrooms #forest #forestfloor #woodland #foraging #ukforaging #forage #funginfluencer #funginfluence #mycelium #mycophile #mushroomsofinstagram #mycologyodyssey #growmushrooms #truffles #mycoeducation #winner

Fungi: Web of Life Such an incredible day out at the IMAX premiere of this triumph of a film by @merlin.sheldrake and narrated by @bjork The film itself is a MUST see - both visually glorious and super interesting - and I highly recommend the massive screen 3D @imax expereimce because it just brings everything so much more alive! I've never seen agar plates look cooler, and the mushroom time-lapse footage was epic. Merlin was brilliant; a wonderful advocate for all things fungi and his passion is inspiring. After the screening, he delivered a fabulous Q&A session, including a response to a Cepwise posed question on the importance of educating the youth regarding fungi! He also generously signed books before and after the screening. Of course, another highlight was that I also got to spend the afternoon with one of my lovely followers; my giveaway winner @thefungusamongus_uk in this giveaway won a ticket to the screening with me! She is an excellent, interesting, and talented human being - although a little shy hence the sticker on that photo 😊. I bought a mushroom themed hoodie from her (epic - great quality, cotton, thin, excellent fit!) but then she was also very naughty and gifted me several of her wonderful books - one of which is limited edition - and a brilliant cep T-shirt also of her own design! Please drop her a follow, and check out her website, which is linked from her profile - all kinds of fungi clothes and books and stuff on there! #ukfungi #fungi #fungilove #fungiphile #fungiphotography #mushrooms #forest #forestfloor #woodland #afungusamongus #fungiweboflife #bfiimax #imax #bjork #merlinsheldrake #mushroommerch

Pale Oyster (posh name: pleurotus pulmonarius) Edible and good. They smell deliciously mushroomy. As thr name suggests, paler than pleurotus ostreatus. Pale brown/grey caps. Strongly decurrent gills. Grow directly from wood. Prefer to grow in the warm - so you are more likely to find these in summer but they do grow year round ✌️ #ukfungi #fungi #funginfluencer #funginfluence #fungiphile #fungiphotography #mushroom #mushrooms #mushroomsofinstagram #mycelium #mycophile #foraging #ukforaging #wildmushrooms #pleurotuspulmonarius #paleoyster

Chocolate Tube Slime mould in my garden one day after appearing - now properly chocolate brown ✌️ #notfungi #slimemold #slimemould #stemonitissplendens #chocolatetubeslimemold

More Flammulina Velutipes from the grain only block ✌️ #ukfungi #fungi #funginfluencer #funginfluence #fungiphile #fungiphotography #mushroom #mushrooms #mushroomsofinstagram #mycelium #mycophile #flammulinavelutipes #velvetshank #growmushrooms #grainblock

SO excited, Fungafam 😱 I found 3 mushroom eggs Beautiful, and intact, AND next to a decaying mushroom specimen so also we have a good idea what they might be... I suspect Fly Agaric (posh name: amanita muscaria) because that faded cap reminds me of grimey old decaying red amanita muscaria caps and it had white volval fragments on it and the stem is white... but it may be another kind of amanita... I NEED TO KNOW So, I left 2 in situ, undisturbed - and will be returning to check on them (and hoping dogs/wildlife don't destroy them!)... and I took one home to try and hatch it myself! I carefully dug around the egg to remove a sod of earth around and underneath the egg to try to leave mycelium intact, and then I've put it in my greenhouse Fingers crossed! 🤞 ✌️ #ukfungi #fungi #funginfluencer #funginfluence #fungiphile #fungiphotography #mushroom #mushrooms #mushroomsofinstagram #mycelium #mycophile #amanitaegg #amanitaeggs #amanitamuscaria #flyagaric #experiment #hatchingmushroomeggs

Not super sure what this is - but I suspect because of the very recent rain after a period of very dry weather that this is a slime mould; they are fast to act after rain My best guess is this is very early very tiny Wolf's Milk Slime Mould (posh name: lycogala epidendrum) It doesn't look like a nectria species of fungus, despite being a similar size What do you think fungafam? ✌️ #notfungi #slimemold #slimemould #lycogalaepidendrum #wolfsmilkslimemould

Slime mould/mold doesn't mess about! After the heavy rain yesterday this Chocolate Tube Slime Mould popped up overnight in my garden, and I spotted it this morning white and bright 3 hours later and it is already in the process of transforming to present the chocolate brown sporangia after which it is named ✌️ #notfungi #slimemold #slimemould #chocolatetubeslimemold #stemonitissplendens

Good Morning, Fungafam - and what do I wake up to today? Well, my usual mega mushroom bacon sandwich of course - BUT, also a surprise. Slime Mould in my garden! It rained heavily (but briefly) yesterday and the fungal/microbial world has been aching for it. So, immediately we see a burst of life - and slime moulds act fast! Not fungi, but this chocolate tube slime mould (posh name: stemonitis splendens) is a colony of plasmodium that coalesce together and initially is white - but as they mature they form brown sporangia arranged in tubes - hence the common name. You can see the very typical morphology here of tube like structures coming out of what appears to be hair like structures attached at the base and to the substrate ✌️ #not fungi #gardenslimemold #stemonitissplendens #chocolatetubeslimemold #slimemold #slimemould

Spindle Shank (posh name: gymnopus fusipes) Inedible These are popping all over the woods right now. When young as you can see in photo one they really do look like fat copper nails. As they mature the round caps become flattened but retain an inrolled margin, and vary in size from about 3 to 7 cm. The upper surface of the caps can often be observed to have brown spots. The gills are widely spaced and are tan brown, but darken with age. The stems are light near the apex, darker further down, and often have longitudinal grooves/splitting They grow directly out of wood; living roots, dead stumps, etc ✌️ #ukfungi #fungi #funginfluencer #funginfluence #fungiphile #fungiphotography #mushroom #mushrooms #mushroomsofinstagram #mycelium #mycophile #gymnopusfusipes #spindleshank

Hoof Fungus (posh name: fomes fomentarius) Inedible ✌️ #ukfungi #fungi #funginfluencer #funginfluence #fungiphile #fungiphotography #mushroom #mushrooms #mushroomsofinstagram #mycelium #mycophile #fomesfomentarius #hooffungus

King Alfred's Cakes (posh name: daldinia concentrica) Inedible ✌️ #ukfungi #fungi #funginfluencer #funginfluence #fungiphile #fungiphotography #mushroom #mushrooms #mushroomsofinstagram #mycelium #mycophile #kingalfredscakes #daldiniaconcentrica