The Herald of Winter

What's in a name? The British Mycological Society decided a few years ago that it could engage more young people in the study of fungi if they had common names. This is a bit hard to get used to for an old schooler like me but it does make sense, and they seem to be catching on fast. I'm just relieved that most of the few that had common names already have retained them. This one is such a fungus, belonging to the Hygrophorus group (now called Woodwaxes). It's one of my favourites, and I have to own up to being a bit of a cheat, as I brought it back yesterday and photographed it today ay home. It is supposed to fruit after the first frosts, hence its name. It's been the first time I've had a day at home for over a week, and before that we were away for a week, so there was a job I really needed to get one with, namely selecting and downloading images for a slideshow I'm putting together for Fungi Night in a couple of weeks - hard work, but quite enjoyable.