Mousepee Pinkgill

After a much better night's sleep I felt re-invigorated, so headed off early before the forecast rain arrived, to hunt for fungi at Ring Haw NR. Lots of good species showing including abundant clumps of Velvetshank on some felled sycamore trunks, and several Fly Agaric associated with birches. Interestingly, most of these had been kicked over or part eaten - not human activity as I was in some very inaccessible areas of woodland, that required me to clamber through brambles and over fallen logs. Both foxes and deer will eat the fruiting bodies - maybe they enjoy getting high!

However, my most exciting discovery was a solitary, rather battered specimen of Mousepee Pinkgill - that really is its common name! This small fungus is quite local and is associated with nutrient-poor grassland. When it's fresh its supposed to smell strongly of mouse urine, though I couldn't detect this on this rather old specimen. The spores are pinkish, which you can just detect on the gills and it turns the most amazing shade of turquoise blue if the flesh is damaged. You can just see this at the top of the stipe and it is shown more strongly in my extra of the base. Finding a species that I've never seen before always makes it a good day - and I'll be able to recognise it much more quickly in future.