Wild Plants and Fungi that Mark the Start of Autumn

One of the most well-known signs that autumn is on the way is the humble Bramble Rubus fruticosus agg and its famous fruit, the blackberry. This prickly shrub can be a problem plant as it spreads quickly and outcompetes others,  however it does provide an important component of scrub and edge habitats, with it’s fruits and flowers feeding many creatures as well as structure for homes. It can be found in multiple locations from woodlands to waste grounds and from verges to hedgerows.

Interestingly, while you might think a blackberry is just a blackberry, there’s actually been more than 400 microspecies identified in Britain! Each different microspecies has a slightly different fruiting time, size, texture and taste.

Read more here.

Autumn means fungi! As the seasons start changing, more fungi start fruiting. While you can find some species all year round, autumn is the prime time for finding flourishing fungi. From the pretty Ballerina Waxcap Porpolomopsis calyptriformis to the fitting colours of the Olive Earthtongue Microglossum olivaceum, once you start looking you’ll spot fungi all over, from woodlands to grasslands and from dunes to your garden.

The start of September also marks the launch of our annual Waxcap Watch survey, to encourage people to get out in the field (and the woods and the meadows) and hunt for some of our most beautiful, colourful and varied fungi – the waxcaps. This citizen science survey is so important because it helps us protect them as well as the fragments of ancient grasslands  that they call home. You don’t need any ID skills, just a smartphone or access to a computer.

Take part in Waxcap Watch here.

Finally, we mentioned above the changing colours of the falling leaves on the trees, but our wild plants also produce some beautiful autumnal displays.

As we move into autumn, look out for;

• Ivy Hedera helix, while some Ivy species are evergreen some do change leaf colour throughout the season with warm yellows right through to deep dark reds. Ivy also produces pretty autumn flowers from September to November which are essential to invertebrates at this time of year.
• Lords and Ladies Arum maculatum showcases stunning autumn colours with the toxic, but beautiful red berries it produces.
• Bracken Pteridium aquilinum is another one that often changes colour as it dies back, look out for it’s bright yellows and warm earthy browns.
• Bramble Rubus fruticosus agg, we mentioned this wild plant for its famous berries above, but the leaves of many microspecies of Bramble also turn with the seasons showcasing shades of orange, right through to the dark reds shown in the photo below.