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This autumn, help us find Britain’s most colourful and important fungi – waxcaps.
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Amanita muscaria
Fly Agaric can be found in woodlands and along woodland edges. They often reoccur in the same place over multiple years and are widespread throughout Britain and Ireland.
The name Fly Agaric refers to the fungus having been used as an insecticide.
If the white spots wash off the Fly agaric cap, it can be mistaken for red Russula species such as the Beechwood sickener Russula nobilis. There are also other Amanita species which look similar to the Fly Agaric but lack the distinctive red cap (e.g. The Blusher, Amanita rubescens)
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Armillaria species
The term Honey fungus actually refers to several closely related species, all within the Armillaria group. The two most common Honey fungus species are Armillaria mellea and Armillaria gallica, however there are a total of seven Honey fungus species found in the UK. These fungi are often well known by gardeners, as they can cause severe disease in trees and shrubs.
As well as producing fruit bodies, Honey fungus forms distinctive bootlace-like structures called “rhizomorphs”. The tough leathery rhizomorphs are formed of bunches of fungal hyphae (root-like threads), and can commonly be seen underneath the bark of trees which have been infected with Honey fungus. Rhizomorphs vary from pale yellow and red, becoming brown or even black as they age.
Honey fungus grows in dense clusters on dead or dying wood, and can be found in woodlands, gardens, and parks.
The different species of Honey fungus can be easily confused with each other.
Armillaria mellea are bioluminescent, their gills glow in the dark! The glow from Honey fungus is very weak however, and is usually too faint to be seen by the naked eye in a woodland environment.
This autumn, help Plantlife find Britain’s most colourful and important fungi – waxcaps.
Laccaria amethystina
Often occurring in large, crowded groups and usually found growing amongst leaf litter in coniferous or deciduous woods, commonly with Beech, Silver Birch or Oak.
The name ‘amethyst’ refers to the purple colouring of the young mushrooms and Laccaria means ‘lacquered’, referring to the shiny appearance of the fresh caps.
Laetiporus sulphureus
This fungus is a common find in woodlands across the UK. They are found mainly on deciduous trees, for example oak, sweet chestnut and beech. Often they are quite high up on the tree trunk, so its worth casting your eyes upwards!
The flesh of this bracket fungus has a texture similar to cooked chicken, hence the common name!
The Giant polypore (Meripilus gigantus) can form similar bracket structures. However, the underside of Giant polypore turns black when damaged, which cannot be seen in Chicken of the Woods.
Chicken of the Woods, photo taken by John Bury
Daldinia concentrica
Find this fungus growing on dead or dying wood, particularly Ash and Beech.
There are many other fungi which produce tough black crusts on deadwood, however most of these produce much smaller fruit bodies than King Alfred’s Cakes.
The common name of this fungus refers to its appearance resembling burnt cakes! As the story goes, a woman giving shelter to Alfred asked him to watch her cakes cooking. He let the cakes burn, and tried to hide the evidence by scattering them in the woodland.
This fungus also makes a great firelighter! The fruit bodies can smoulder for a long time when lit, so may also have been used to transport a flame when on the move.
Hypholoma fasciculare
This fungus grows in dense clusters on dead or dying wood, and can be found on deciduous or conifer trees.
The Brick Tuft (Hypholoma lateritium) is very similar, but typically has a darker reddish cap, and its gills are more yellow rather than the green-ish tinge of Sulphur tuft gills.
Sulphur tufts are bioluminescent, that is they glow in the dark! They don’t glow strongly, so the effect is best seen using a long camera exposure, or by shining the fruit bodies with a UV light.
Sulphur tuft pictured at our Ryewater Farm Nature Reserve
Mentha aquatica
Water Mint can grow up to 90cm tall. It has pretty, pale purple flower heads and hairy leaves and stems. The leaves can be between 2cm and 6cm and grow in whorls around the stem.
Peppermint shares a resemblance, but has darker flowers, leaves and often has a purple stem.
This pretty, aromatic plant is common all over the UK. You can find it growing in wet meadows, fens and marshes, streams, ponds, riversides and damp woodlands.
It is said that Water Mints pleasant scent was used during the medieval era, to make their dining halls smell fresh.
Reportedly the plants were laid on the floor so that guests would step on them upon entering, and release the sweet smell of mint.
Hyacinthoides non-scripta
Ajuga reptans
Primula Veris
Succisa pratensis
Devil’s-bit Scabious is part of the Globulariaceae family which includes similar looking relatives such as Small Scabious Scabiosa columbaria and Field Scabious Knautia arvensis.
They all have similar looking rounded composite flower heads, made up of many tiny flowers. They are usually blue in colour, though can sometimes be purple. You can tell Devil’s-bit from it’s relatives as it has long oval leaves.
Devil’s-bit Scabious is a perennial plant that grows up to 100cm.
This plant prefers damp environments and can be found in marshes, wet heathlands, fens and woodlands.
It is a common plant that is found all over the UK.
Viola arvensis
Field Pansy is a delicate flower from the Violet family, and is the wild relative of the Garden Pansy. It’s a small low-growing perennial which can be easily confused with the Wild Pansy, however it has much smaller flowers. It is self-fertile and attracts butterflies such as the Queen of Spain Fritillary which will lay its eggs on the plant.
The flowers of Field Pansy are solitary and 15mm across. They have creamy yellow petals which are sometimes bluish-violet. Its sepals are pointed, and often longer than or the same length as the petals. Its stipules look like lobed leaves, and the leaves are oblong in shape. The plant grows up to 20cm tall.
While Field Pansy can be found throughout the UK, it is more common in the East half of the UK and SE Ireland. It’s most commonly found in dry arable field margins and waste spaces.
Silene latifolia
White Campion is a common wildflower of grassland and waste ground. Its cheerful white flowers can be seen from spring to autumn.
The clear white flowers of the White Campion have five petals, each deeply notched and almost divided into two and its opposite, oval leaves and stems are hairy. In places where it grows with Red Campion, the two may hybridise to produce pinky white blooms.
White Campion grows on waste ground, disturbed roadside verges, hedgerows and well-drained arable field margins. It is in flower from May to October. It’s common throughout the British Isles, but has declined slightly at the western edge of its range.
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