Wealden Times | WT213 | November 2019 | Gift supplement inside
Wealden Times - The lifestyle magazine for the Weald
Wealden Times - The lifestyle magazine for the Weald
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Garden<br />
Bottom left: Powdery mildew on courgettes. Top right:<br />
Many zoned polypore fungus in the wood. Middle right:<br />
Cep and truffles at Menton market. Photo taken by<br />
Caroline Brennan. Bottom right: Amanita muscaria<br />
access to carbohydrate stores, the mycorrhizal fungus<br />
will benefit the trees/plants to absorb minerals and water<br />
with its absorbent mycelium (a network of fine white<br />
filaments) expanding the root system of the host plants.<br />
Some fungi are species specific like Fly Agaric (Amanita<br />
muscaria) which is associated with silver birch (Betula<br />
pendula). This fungi is the stuff of fairy tales and children’s<br />
books with its bright red cap. I have to say that I don’t think<br />
that I have ever seen one, neither have I spotted the bright<br />
orange/yellow Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus)<br />
which, unlike the Fly Agaric which is definitely not, is<br />
edible. That’s probably because Fly Agaric fungi tend to be<br />
found in mixed woodlands and heaths growing on a light,<br />
well-drained soil amongst birch and evergreens, such as<br />
spruce and pines, rather than on our heavy <strong>Wealden</strong> clay.<br />
Wandering around the dried out woods near home<br />
earlier in the week in the forlorn hope of spotting some<br />
handsome fungi I met a runner who was holidaying<br />
from lovely Derbyshire. He was telling me that it has<br />
been a very wet summer for them unlike us in the<br />
parched South East and that there is plenty of Chicken<br />
of the Woods on their oak trees up there. He also said<br />
that their trees had made noticeable growth spurts.<br />
And a couple of days later, walking this time in Dulwich<br />
Park in London (oh, there are some spectacular trees in<br />
that park. Particularly wondrous is a giant Turkey Oak,<br />
Quercus cerris, with its branches coming down around<br />
it just like a massive skirt), we spotted a fenced off area<br />
where the information board boasted pictures of this<br />
particular bracket fungus. I wondered if they would<br />
have minded us cutting off a bit of one to fry up with<br />
a little garlic, oil and butter when we got home…<br />
“Fly Agaric fungi tend to be<br />
found in mixed woodlands<br />
and heaths growing on a light,<br />
well-drained soil amongst<br />
birch and evergreens”<br />
wealdentimes.co.uk<br />
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