Unconventional Fungi at Keston

Purple Jellydisc, Ascocoryne sarcoides. Keston Common, 15 October 2013

Of course, there are lots of fungi that are not at all like the conventional toadstools or mushrooms.  This one, that looks like miniature small intestines, grows on dead stumps and logs. 

Black Bulgar, Bulgaria inquinans, on a felled Beech.  Keston Common, 15 October 2013

In fact, lots of fungi grow on dead wood.  Their mycelium is active inside the trunks, logs and branches, eating them away, and what we see is only a small part of the whole.  This Black Bulgar grows on fallen oak or beech.  In this case, it was on a beech trunk that had been felled as a precaution because it was infected by another fungus, the Giant Polypore, Meripilus giganteus, that causes a weakening white rot.  Such trees are felled by park managers so that they don't drop branches on passers-by. 

Lenzites betulinus,  Birch Mazegill.  Keston Common, 15 October 2013

But most  go for the dead wood.  This one is on a Silver Birch stump.  There are several species with this general appearance, small bracket fungi with a zoned appearance, but this one is particularly pretty; and not very common, apparently.

Pale Stagshorn,  Calocera pallidospathulata.  Keston Common,15 October 2013

This is another saprophyte, an eater of dead wood.  Those blunt spikes are about 1 1/2 cm tall.  There are several similar species, in varying sizes and shades of yellow.