Donkey Lane Community Orchard Fungi in the Orchard

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Fungi are neither plants nor animals, but they are a very important part of any ecosystem. They are the organisms which cause decay and decomposition, if they did not exist all the dead material would simply pile up in places like the Orchard. They also play a vital role in the nutrient cycle in nature.

We used to think fungi were more like plants because they don’t move around much, but now after studying their genetics it seems they are closer to animals. In any case, they are a large group of organisms that we aren’t usually aware of until they form their fruiting bodies which we call toadstools, mushrooms or moulds. Just seeing these is as if we only saw the apples in the Orchard, without noticing the trees which are there throughout the year.

They cannot make their own carbohydrates to eat so they need to get these from plants, either living or dead ones. Many grow closely entwined with plant roots, especially those of trees or grasses, and others live in the decaying leaf litter of forests. Recently it has been realised that fungi are a precious ally in the fight against climate change. Fungal/root networks (mycorrhiza) in the soil form a global carbon sink, that is, they absorb more carbon from the atmosphere than they release. And they keep it there. We are still discovering new things about fungi and apparently, so far we have only described about 5% of the species on earth. *

Fungi grow in a variety of habitats and they are always present in soil and dead wood. However, it is mostly in late summer and autumn that they fruit, sending up their stalked toadstools out of the earth, or bursting out of a dead or decaying tree. After a dry summer, if we get a wet spell that is when a ‘flush’ will appear and so early autumn is a good time to look for them. There are other species which appear in spring, but on the whole they cannot withstand frosts so there is an in-between period when you won’t see many. Some fungi are associated with one particular host whereas other can grow on a range of plants.

Mature woodland and old pastures are both excellent places for seeing fungi, and although the Orchard doesn’t fall into either of these categories it does have plenty of living and dead plant material of one sort or another. To date we have recorded 13 named species and we have seen a few others not yet identified. Perhaps amongst the most noticeable ones are King Alfred’s Cakes and the Jelly Ear. King Alfred’s Cakes are rounded brown lumps on fallen logs, they darken as they age and look burnt, hence the name. I expect everyone knows the story of the King who took his eyes off the fire and let the cakes burn. This fungus typically grows on fallen ash and birch, and in the Orchard we saw it on the large ash logs which we are using as seats.

The Jelly Ear looks rubbery, like a cluster of brown/pink ears, especially noticeable if the light is shining through it. It is usually associated with the elder tree and indeed in the Orchard it grows on both living trees and fallen logs of elder.

One of the prettier common fungi is the Turkeytail, which appears throughout the year. It is best seen when young as it forms overlapping tiers, each bracket with a velvety surface and concentric zones of different colours. It is common on dead stumps and logs of any species, and is one of the important decay fungi for breaking down dead wood. Fresh fungi develop each year while the old ones decay unless as my old book has it, they are gathered and dried for decorative purposes in the house!

Some large Bracket fungi have appeared on a couple of our older apple trees, these are perennial meaning that they remain on the tree throughout the year, becoming quite woody. Some brackets persist for many years, and one of them used to be prized as tinder (something we don’t have a need for these days) as well as being used to dress wounds.

Other fungi which we have seen are the Yellow Brain (or Witches Butter), the Crystal Brain, and the Scurfy Twiglet. As you can tell their common names reflect their appearance. Also, the little Candlesnuff fungus with its pale powdery antler-like sticks coming up from dead wood. We also found the Velvet Foot or Winter Fungus, so called because it is one of the few that can be found even in a severe winter. Other named fungi recorded were the Elder Whitewash, Nettle Rash, and the Coral Spot.

For the names of the fungi, I have used those used by i-Record, the UK site where we share our observations. Several of the names in the books I used have been changed since publication.

Christine Davis 10 Mar 2024


Bibliography

British Fungi Book 1. E. A. Ellis, 1976

Collins guide to mushrooms and toadstools. Morten Lange and F. B. Hora, 1978

Food for free. Richard Mabey, 2007

A guide to finding fungi in Berks, Bucks and Oxon. Peter Creed, 2009


*There is an IMAX movie narrated by Bjork, called ‘Fungi: Web of Life’, presented by Merlin Sheldrake who is a great advocate of fungi. There is a 2-minute trailer for the film on YouTube, well worth a look.

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