Earth Star

A trip to Risley Moss this afternoon. A very gloomy day, and I wasn’t expecting much beyond a bit of a leg stretch.

First surprise, the Mini- Moss was open after weeks of closure. A ranger arrived and I asked her how things were going. They’ve been sorting out the drainage issues - although it looks pretty devastated there are new open water areas, and it’ll green up nicely next year. She stepped gingerly into the bog to collect some sphagnum moss - she has a children’s visit tomorrow and is collecting specimens to show them.

Further on I got to the area overlooking the main Moss. I had asked the ranger how things were going with the replacement for the tower hide, burnt down by arsonists years ago. The short answer is the area will be improved, but no new hide. The Moss is the site of a Second World War bomb factory, and the hide sat on top of where bomb waste was put, so no one wants to disturb the ground and the nasty chemicals lying down there.

As I looked over the Moss the ranger arrived, looking at the ground and showing signs of satisfaction at what was there. I asked what she was looking for. She explained that the children would be visiting this area, and would be especially interested in the colloquially named “dog sick (or vomit)” fungus (which is not a fungus but a slime mould) - see extra for confirmation it’s well named - and the earth stars. She demonstrated for me how earth stars worked by tapping one on the top, and like a little volcano it spewed forth a plume of black spores.

We are definitely in Fungus the Bogeyman territory here.