A Walk Around Knockholt, Part 2

Scarlet elfcup, Sarcoscypha coccinia.  18 February 2012, 11.37 am.

This is part two of my notes of a walk by the Orpington Field Club on Saturday 18th February. To recap briefly: we followed public footpaths around Knockholt; all these photos were taken with an Ixus 100; I am showing them in chronological order to give a sense of the walk.

The Scarlet Elfcup above was probably the star of the day. We saw two specimens in different parts of the wood; this was the first. It is small, but vivid, and is normally regarded as a better poster child for fungi than the more common black, brown and yellow jellies and the various brackets and crusts that can be seen in this season.

Further on we passed a couple of giant redwoods, certainly not native. They look imposing among our trees, though nowhere near the height and bulk they achieve in the USA. A fallen branch gave me the opportunity to see the scaly leaves and the ripening cones, which look like a bunch of lips.

Leaves and cones of a Wellingtonia, Sequoiadendron giganteum. 18 February 2012, 12.02 pm.

The walk leader pointed us to a clump of Velvet Shank, a pretty fungus that can withstand being frozen solid, unlike most soft mushrooms. It was near here that we found the second Scarlet Elfcup.

Velvet Shank, Flammulina velutipes, in Vavasseur's Wood. 18 February 2012, 12.04 pm.

Soon afterwards, we stopped for lunch in Vavasseur's Wood, named after a 19th century silk merchant. While the others sat on logs and at a picnic table, I nosed around and photographed this tree streaked with the orange alga Trentepohlia, which is quite common. It's by itself here, but Trentepohlias can also combine with fungi to form various lichens. We had a quick burst of sunshine just in time for me to capture this vivid shade, which is caused by carotenoids, chemicals from the same group as those that colour carrots.

Trentepohlia on a tree trunk in Vavasseur's Wood.  18 February 2012, 12.13 pm.

There were some primroses in flower, too, but I didn't get a decent photo.  I did find this common puffball, still full of powdery spores that puffed out, at a touch to the papery top, in greenish clouds that floated off in the breeze. It was sheltered under a tree, so probably escaped the snow.

Common Puffball, Lycoperdon perlatum.  18 February 2012, 12.20 pm.

Then I found this skull, which used to belong to a Roe Deer (that's my best guess, anyway). It's in quite good shape, and I passed it on to the Field Club for our collection.

Skull of a Roe Deer, Capreolus capreolus, found in Vavasseur's Wood, Knockholt.  18 February 2012, 12.31 pm.

While I was mooching around, I heard a series of crashes as a branch fell from a nearby tree. It seemed to be sprinkled with small, shallow, white cones, which when I got closer turned out to be the undersides of small fungus brackets, perhaps Turkeytail again (there's a photo in Part 1), this time a new growth.

Small brackets, perhaps a fresh growth of Turkeytail, Trametes versicolor. 18 February 2012, 12.33 pm.

So my lunch period was quite productive! Afterwards, we left the woods and walked down Blueberry Lane to a path over some hilly fields full of sheep. This was delightfully pastoral, though we had to negotiate several high and awkward stiles to follow the path.  At first the sheep just ran away, but after a few minutes they would at least stand still and look at us.

Sheep in the fields near Knockholt, 18 February 2012, 1.17 pm.

Sheep in the fields near Knockholt, 18 February 2012, 1.18 pm.

And now we were nearly back to the churchyard from the opposite direction. I saw a Green Woodpecker flying low in a neighbouring field, and picked up some pheasant feathers as we walked along. We came past the rear of a large house, which I see from the map is called Court Lodge and, from web sources, appears to be a childrens' home. At the end of the long lawn is this classically-inspired folly.

[Photo removed at the request of the householder.]

At this point it was getting darker and starting to rain; the walk had been timed perfectly. We passed though a garden with several exotic trees, including one which looked like an evergreen willow, then back through the churchyard and away. A very pleasant and interesting walk.

A Walk Around Knockholt, Part 1

Orpington Field Club members in the churchyard at Knockholt, with snowdrops. 18 February 2012, 10.05 am.

The Orpington Field Club have events arranged for most weekends this year. This one was a walk through fields and woods, following public footpaths, around Knockholt, a village high on the North Downs. I have shown the times of each photo to give the structure of the walk.

I was not expecting to see much botany. We have just had a few cold days and nights, down to under -8C where I live, and some snow, which I expected would kill off anything left from last year and discourage new growth. But there were a few interesting plants, and in general, more to see than I expected.

Rain was forecast, so I took only my small camera, an Ixus 100; it's easier to protect from the wet than a big SLR with a macro lens. It's normally a good camera, but it's less so in poor light conditions, such as in the woods on a cloudy day. Still ...

We started at about 10 am and looked round the churchyard.  Close to the gate was a wooden seat that was so covered with lichens that it must not have been sat on for a long time. The seat itself was just as thickly covered as this back piece.  (I have switched the first two photos around in time so as to put a wide view at the top of this post; I will keep the rest in time order.)

Flavoparmelia caperata on a seat in Knockholt churchyard, covered with lichens. 18 February 2012, 10.02 am.

The churchyard was full of snowdrops. There were thousands in the nearby woods, too; I have never seen so many in one place.

Snowdrops in the churchyard at Knockholt. 18 February 2012, 10.05 am.

We walked along the road, past a few early Lesser Celandines and some daisies (which seem to flower, if sometimes in small numbers, all year round) and struck off across the fields, at one point coming onto the North Downs Way.  I was in a small group ahead of the others, who were finding Male Ferns and Broad Buckler Ferns.

The North Downs Way near Knockholt.  18 February 2012, 10.36 am.

It was good to get past this track into the woods and out of the cold wind.  We started to see a few fungi on felled trees; the usual small brackets, past their best, and a piece of Lumpy Bracket, Trametes gibbosa, which we failed to identify at the time. We passed along the edge of a wood where Douglas Firs were planted.  The coarse texture of their bark made for some fanciful shapes.

Bark of a Douglas Fir, Pseudotsuga species.  18 February 2012, 10.56 am.

To one side of the path was a large, dead bracket fungus with a very photogenic texture and appearance.  Where a piece has come away, or been broken off, you can see striations which are the tubes which led to the pores in the lower surface.

Bracket fungus, old and dead. 18 February 2012, 11.04 am.

There were green things, too. Grasses everywhere, of course, but not in flower.  The trees were covered in mosses, and there were some patches of this liverwort, filmier and flimsier than a moss, which I would expect in damper places.

Metzgeria furcata, a liverwort, on a tree trunk. 18 February 2012, 11.06 am.

I am not really obsessed by fungi, but there are lots around, so it's a good opportunity to learn, and some of them are very photogenic. The small brackets form wonderful patterns. This Turkeytail is very common and makes some lovely shapes.

Turkeytail, Trametes versicolor. 18 February 2012, 11.14 am.

In another section of the woods were several Tutsan specimens; a yellow-flowered Hypericum which is often used as a garden plant. It does also occur as a native, so these are not necessarily garden escapes. These specimens had no flowers, only the dried remains of their black fruits, and the leaves were a bit bedraggled.

Some of the group examining a Tutsan, Hypericum androsaemum. 18 February 2012, 11.16 am.

Further in, I was intrigued by this rotting branch of what was probably a cherry or a close relative. The outer part of the branches had rotted away almost completely, leaving the inner part surrounded by unbroken bands of bark, which must have been particularly resistant to fungi and beetles.

Decaying branch of a Prunus species, with the bark still present in strips around the remains of the wood.
18 February 2012, 11.36 am.

And later we came upon a group of plants with the unlikely name of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Those who had been here before were expecting to see this, and indeed it is spreading though the woods and seems to be thriving. These specimens appear to have been nipped by the frost, and their flower-buds are only just visible among the old and new leaves; they are below and to the right of centre in this photo.  You can also see that these plants are competing with brambles and nettles, so they must be tough.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Trachystemon orientalis.  Flowerbuds look frostbitten.  18 February 2012, 11.28 am.

That's about half-way through my photos for this walk, so I will continue next time.