the FUNgi guy

🔥RESIDENTIAL TRUFFLE HUNTING!🔥 Although the weather has been proper blazin' squad, me and my mate @launderjesper took a punt to try and track down a summer truffle or two from a communal lawn in his local village. 🐕 Although his beautiful dog 'Blue' has an incredible nose, it was these two smug humans who eventually did the successful sniffing - we were proper buzzin innit.  👃💪 Tuber aestivum is that one people on Masterchef are always shaving onto dishes to try and progress to the next round (at £1 per gram you'd be gutted if you didn't get through). . Although we don't all live darn sarf with the optimum soil conditions (calcareous), this gourmet find is still a fine example of just how accessible fungi can be with a little knowledge and perseverance. Up the Urban fungi! Up the pong! #summertruffle #tuberaestivum #beatthedog #justdoityourself #alternativetrufflehuntersfilm @welcome_to_mushroom_hour @truffleandmushroomhunter @fascinatedbyfungi

🐙The Octopus Stinkhorn! 🐙 Alas, although this may not be the real deal, I am secretly pleased with it as a companion for now. It’s another model I made thanks to the support of the NWFG to help make my teaching workshops a little more engaging. What I didn’t realise is that I really needed a ‘scream factor’ but boy, did these ‘Devil’s fingers’ deliver one. All three classes at my school absolutely bobbed themselves when the old stinker hatched out in front of their very eyes. After that came the mutterings , gigglings and all round spoilings with declarations of ‘fake hands’ and the like. I pretended I didn't hear them. 😏 Me and the stinker have travelled around workshops together quite a bit now, and I think we’d both agree that a highlight was last week’s ‘RHS Bridgewater’ walk. When the egg erupted, the lovely volunteer staff member who was innocently watching on, practically fell back into the bushes she jumped so much. A proper recoil. Brilliant.*  😆 If I have one disappointment it’s that the fart spray I ordered to make the gloop even more realistic and revolting, was absolutely rubbish. Even with a name like ‘toxic bomb’ it smelt of almost nothing. Fart gas. They don’t make it like they used to. 😠 I've since read that the spore dispersal might come from the flies eating then poo distributing the spores elsewhere, as opposed to the sticky feet theory.  🤔 As I am yet to find this fungus myself, those pictures at the end were kindly provided by Max from @allthingsfungi . If you see him, compliment him on his outstanding photography and then if you’re any kind of friend of mine, poke him in the eye for finding it before me.** *No RHS volunteers were harmed during the revealing of my tentacles. **If not a poke, then perhaps just accidentally stand on the back of his heel as he walks by. #octopusstinkhorn #devilsfingers #clathrusarcheri #bringbackproperfartgas

Car Park Truffle! I've been fruitlessly swirling a digit around earthy holes for years, thanks to the 'Truffle Whisperer' himself - @launderjesper . Never have I unearthed a Truffle of my own volition. Today I did. In a high school car park. It was a Red Truffle (Tuber rufum) and it smells of smoked almonds. No, it's not edible. And no, I do not care that I cannot put it in my mouth. If I could put it somewhere, I would put it in a frame and mount it on the downstairs toilet wall (if I had a downstairs toilet) But a maggot crawled out and that would not be a popular living bathroom decoration, fictional wall or not. If you want tips on finding your own diddy stink nuggets, check out Jesper's recent posts and be prepared to GET DOWN ON IT! #carparktruffles #weirdointheschoolcarpark #tuberrufarum #diddystinknuggets (I realise I once posted an April fool of me appearing to find the highly sought after delicious Summer truffle in a local Leisure centre car park). Truth is stranger than fiction.

Are you going? I'm going. You should think about going (if you think you can go). @britishwildfoodfestival Here's some of the muscle: Lisa @eduliswildfood Emma @wild.pickle Craig @edible.leeds & @4wildseasons Andrea @andrea_pickleandbrew Colin @foresthorizons Andy @theotherandyhamilton #i 'lldothefungi @launderjesper #nodeepdivingmeonthesciencebits

Worst pictures ever of the best fungus ever? You're welcome. More balls on stalks. This time, it's the SANDY STILTBALL! 🤯 I appreciate it's very hard to imagine getting excited about some foot long crispy sticks protruding out from the ground, but if EVER you fancied getting excited about crispy stick potrusions, I urge you to try it now. Better pics of when they look proper resplendent from funghiitaliani.it 📷 👉 Why so special? 🌟 This is one of only FOUR species of fungi awarded legal protection in the UK - it's illegal to pick them! ❌️ I never imagined i'd get to meet these giant orange microphones, but my visit to mate @launderjesper the mushroom whisperer in Bucks made my Stiltball dreams come true, after a tip off from a friend of his who just discovered this new site. 🟠 This bonkers fungus (Batterea phalloides) grows out of an egg sack and then proceeds to form a woody, shaggy stipe topped with a spherical cinnamon sponge of spores. 🟠 Although sites for this species are in double figures, it will always be a fairytale fungus for me due to all the years of reading of its obscurity and tales that accompany it. Suffolk Wildlife Trusts even nicknamed a particularly fruitful  embankment in Norfolk (and protected site) 'Roadside nature reserve no.162' 🟠 These sandy sticks are known to fruit in spring aswell as autumn, and can hang around for a couple of years, so there's potential to spot them all year round. So what are you waiting for? If your darn sarf get scanning your embankments. RIGHT NOW.* (I believe the driver on the A12 in Suffolk who spotted a collection whilst waiting at traffic lights, pulled over before throwing an air punch.**) *Please drive responsibly **Good job he had a sunroof And that it was open #sandystiltball #battareaphalloides #excitingcrispystickprotrusions  #sunroofairpunch

...when the only reason you get to meet two very special (and one more unbelievably special) fungi is because: a) They are southern species and, 2) Your good mate is one of the country's finest mycologists, lives in a southern place and has found em. Introducing the Winter Stalkball! (Tulostoma brumale) After years of peeping at pics of this in books, it was quite the moment to meet this uncommon crusty beacon face to face. What I didn't realise is just how dinky they are. About the size of minaiture microphone for kids, or an actual size punchbag for the Borrowers. Grows on sandy soils such as dunes, but also historically found in the lime rich mortar in brick walls. Nearly always with moss. And in this case, in the mossy, sandy embankment of a pub car park.** Great to hang out with special myco friends. And human ones like @launderjesper and @grabbinglifebythepoles , too. 😏 Wait till you see Part 2! It's marginally better than this one with worse pictures. ** Who scrats around a pub embankment in the winter? Jesper Launder, that's who. #winterstalkball #tulustomabrumale #borrowerspunchbag

Fantastic beasts and where to find them! Well I've seen Morels popping up in some places but this takes all the biscuits! The Morchella family are well known for requiring alkaline soil - think chalk/limestone. So brownfield sites, with their lime and ash enriched cement can be the ideal habitat at times. I guess this chunky number was happy with the lime in the mortar and got on with business as usual. Fungi are always breaking the rules - this one's really sticking it to the man. Swipe for a video 📷👉 I made in case anyone thinks I've got photoshop skills. I ain't. Happy hunting, everyone. #Morel #morelinthewall #loveyourlime

Suprise! It's the Chlorine Pancake. Ready to be suprised? You'd better be. Because there are a couple of suprising things about this and it should come as no surprise that I'm about to share those suprises. Suprising things: 1) I found this in a gravelly edged industrial park around the corner from me. 📷 👉 2) It's actually a member of the Morchellaceae family, the same as the Morel. 3) Give it a squeeze and it smells of bleach. 4) It's thick fleshed but very crumbly. 5) It has magic eye properties - Stare into its centre for 60 seconds and an image of your first pet grinning will appear before you.* Not suprising things: 1) I found it in spring (for it is a spring fungus) Although widespread, it's only an occasional find, and noteably worth keeping a peeper peeled for, as it's an indicator species that Morels may be in the vicinity. Better known as the Bleach Cup/Morel cup (Disciotis venosa) and not unlike my forehead after a family camping trip, it has a tan brown, wrinkly upper surface. Note: Spring has sprung. *This may not be entirely true, but I was worried my suprising list wasn't all that endearing (or suprising). #bleachcup #suprisesuprise #suprisingnotsuprising #notthatsuprisingbleachcupfacts

“Oh you hoo” it’s only Ali Mac aka @the.fungi.guy coming to join us for the @britishwildfoodfestival We’re filled with pure joy that Ali is coming to do some fungi talks with us, this fungal legend is one of the funniest and most inspiring myco geeks there is… his talks are not to be missed! #mushrooms #mycology #fungi #fungus #talk #speaker #festival #wildfood #foraging #soexcited #cantwait #announcing #june #fest #shropshire #legend #viralpist

🎁 Look what I got given! I've been on the receiving end of some top drawer kindness this season, and here's another absolute belter. Regular attendee on my forays, mega nature nerd and allround super cool guy Gaz from @thebeardedbirders , hand made a mini me and presented it to the real sized me (me) at a fungi course this year. The care and detail speak for themselves - As ornaments come, it's an absolute banger! Some close ups if you swipe a digit. 📷 👉 He even managed to find an amazing pseudo scorpion (chomping on a springtail!) in a sheep's horn for the group to appreciate - not too shabby.  🦂 If I'm going to appreciate the Young family contributions, I think his good lady wife Sophie deserves a mention as on one foray this year, she discovered a flurry of twisted jobbies on a dead Birch Tree that I didn't have a clue about. A quick look through some books and I found out it was the 'Contorted Pipe Club', (Typhula contorta). A far less common version of the pipe club (and I've only found that, once!) 🌟 If bird love, beard love and allround nature nerdiness is your thing, scoot over to the @beardedbirders , they do some cracking stuff. I am full of gratitude to everyone who made the effort to join a foray, online course, commented, contributed or recognised me in the barbers this year. It all inflated my wellbeing no end. 🙏😊 #mimimushroomme @scbee3 #beardedisbest #contorteddreamscometrue #theyrecognisedmebymyvoice !

❄️ Apparently, Mariah Carey makes 5 Trillion dollars each year from her bohemoth festive anthem. ❄️ I've not checked the data for a while, but I think I made 7p on this one in 2022. Up 12% from the year before. So the stats show not only a meteoric rise, but that there is room for both mega hits in one space. Stick that in your Christmas pipe and warble it. #merrychristmasinnit #alliwantforchristmasisavelvetshank #mushroomchristmassong #mariahsfavouritefungalcompetitor

🌟NEW SCOUT BADGE! 🌟It’s official - you are a Morel hunter! If you can confidently tick any of the following check boxes, then you qualify for this badge, and by gum i’d say you deserve it. ✅️ Traipsed endless Ash woodlands ✅️ Traipsed endless woodchip car park margins ✅️ Got excited by spring ✅️ Got excited at a warm spring ✅️ Got disappointed by fruitless ash woodlands in a warm spring ✅️ Got excited to try again the next day. ✅️ Not found morels but tried very hard ✅️ Found morels and tried very hard not to celebrate more than the birth of your first child. ✅️ Stuck for a Christmas present for that weird friend of yours that's obsessed with fungi 4️⃣ This is the fourth badge in the series, and as usual i’ve had a limited run of 150 produced. Each of them comes with a signed and numbered backing card that can be framed and hung on a wall to improve that wall or put on any shelf to improve that shelf.* 🌱Made from recycled card, stamped with an eco-friendly stamp with vegan ink and compostable packet. Available from my little Etsy shop: The Fungarium. Link in Bio ☝️ I’ll be donating 10% of all profits to @josephine.ecoagric , who works tirelessly to empower vulnerable communities in Uganda through various initiatives. One of which is aiding families to grow their own oyster mushrooms for sustenance and as a source of revenue. Everyone’s continued donations mean that she now has a dedicated Mushroom growing centre. She’s an amazing woman who deserves our support. Link to donate also in my Bio. *But only shelves or walls belonging to you. You should know by now that your friends and relatives won’t enjoy this as a gift for their walls or shelves, and really don’t get this whole fascination with fungi thing. Unless they're fungi nerds, too. #fungiscoutbadge #morelscoutbadge #morelsmakemeveryhappywhenifindthem