I've mentioned before in previous posts that I enjoy walking around cemeteries looking for fungi as not only are they peaceful places with a good mixture of trees, usually yews, pines and broadleaf but as the grass is not usually treated with weedkillers etc there is usually lots of sphagnum moss and this is a wonderful habitat for fungi.
On a very cold morning recently I visited one of my local cemeteries to see what might be seen. The friend accompanying me pointed out a specific grave of interest and by sheer luck nearby, adjacent to this, I noticed some very small black bumps amongst the moss. These bumps in fact were a small group of young Hairy Earthtongue.
I have previously encountered Geoglossum cookeianum (post written November 2016), which I discovered in Norfolk and tends to grow in coastal regions.
So it was with great pleasure that I came across Trichoglossum hirsutum in the cemetery.
These were young examples some only just appearing in the moss and others only 3 cm tall. This fungus looks like a spindle with a club-shaped head.
Characteristics: black, between 3-7 cm tall. The head which is club-shaped (0.8 cm wide) is flattened and this tapers to a stalk which is velvety in texture. Usually in small groups in grass and sphagnum moss, which is wet. Acid soil. This is seen occasionally in later summer to autumn. Not edible.
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| Showing mature example |
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| Showing velvety stem |
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| Showing perspective |
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