Logscape

Wet all day and I was forced to busy myself with not very entertaining but necessary indoor chores apart from taking the rubbish bags down to the road. En route I stopped to look at this Salix stump which has been colonised by the common saprophytic fungus Xylaria hypoxylon known in the vernacular as candlesnuff or carbon antlers. The spiky black fruiting bodies (measuring just about 1 cm) are tipped with ashy spores giving them the appearance of recently extinguished wicks. It is in fact supposed to be slightly luminescent but you need specialised equipment to see it glow.

In the recent Planet Earth II episode on jungle habitats the function of fungal bioluminescence is revealed and you can see the  extraordinary footage here (second image). The whole series is magnificent - watch it if you can.