Dead men’s fingers seen in Collingham.  We may think of fungi as an autumn phenomenon but they are present all year round… we often see St. George’s mushroom on the bluebell walk in Ox Close.  Here are two often overlooked summer fungi.  On the left is Dead Man’s Fingers Xylaria polymorpha which grows on dead wood and causes spalting;- the decorative black lines found in some wood.  On the right is the Fluted Bird’s Nest Cyathus striatus which tends to grow on soil with wood chip.  The “eggs” at the bottom of the nest are spore packets.  The cups have evolved so that raindrops shoot the spore packets up to a metre away.  They trail a sticky filament that catches on vegetation, ready for ingestion by herbivores and dispersal to new sites. Neither is very showy, but they are interesting!

The Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia) has been seen for the first time by Trust members on 12th July ’19. Comparing the various photos that have been taken since then, there appear to be two males and a female. It’s likely that they have spread from colonies near Bramham. The butterfly recorder for VC64 advises that he has a record of one seen on two or three occasions last year – so this year’s sightings are not the first for the wood.