ELFIN SADDLE FUNGI (Helvella lacunosa)

 

Elfin Saddle fungi  (Helvella lacunosa) 

22^nd November 2021 – Dalton Crags.

A strange looking mushroom I found amongst the leaf litter on the floor beneath a Beech tree in Woodland making up part of Dalton Crags, Burton In Kendal, Cumbria (or old Westmorland). The mushroom was about 6cm tall and of a slate grey colour and so unusual appearance with humps and bumps, yet somehow it had something appealing about it that made you want to check it out more. According to the references it is not that rare, but a first for me.  First discovered in 1783 by a Swedish naturalist Adam Afzelius who christened it “Helvella lacunosa” .  Helvella means “aromic herb” and lacunosa means “having holes”. 

"At first to me, it looked so strange in fact ugly - yet search deeper (look more than once) and you really do see a new found beauty". - The old adage "Never judge a book by its cover"

YELLOW BIRDSNEST ( Hypopitys monotropa)

 

This was first found beneath the woodland within Dalton Crags (finder: Jo Miller April 2021). A strange sort of plant with no colour as such.  It is very rare and the details have been given to County Recorder.  The plant lacks chlorophyll so you do not see any colour it is more transparent to a light yellow. The flower spikes are seen nodding, but will become erect when later in fruit.  

Note the difference in profiles. This is long after fruiting and now rotting down on 22nd November 2021. It looks strange with its "orange segments" and its little "blow hole".

The early day posture remind me so much of the epipactis orchids eg: the nodding its head in shame!  it would never do that, yet! after a while it lifts its head in full glory for all to see it's magnificence.

I missed the Yellow Birds Nest lifting of it's head and it must have been such a special sight by looking here at what we are seeing now...

Wild Radish - Raphanus raphanistrum

 

This past couple of weeks (October 19th 2021) I have been doing bird migration counts on a high elevation field set aside with last years "Bird Seed" plants.  I just could not but notice one particular beauty which stood out amongst the clover and others. And what a cracker for helping with the Linnet feed. 

After checking references I soon found out it was a member of the Brassica family and its known by the name "Wild Radish" or Raphanus raphanistrum. Most of the tall plants had white flowers whilst others had lilac flowers, but both had small black veins running the length of the petals

Perrenial Sow Thistle (Sonchus arvensis)

 

This shows a line of Perrenial Sow Thistle (Sonchus arvensis) which has been resurrected after the seed laying dorment for sometime. The area is about 12ft in width and runs for a couple of hundred yards. Earlier in 2021 the line had been dug to over one metre to lay a new water pipe (blue plastic) and then the trench and surrounding area was back filled with the original soil.