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Pseudoacacia…The Flower Jam of the Black Locust.
Also in an airy Grove near the edge of Plantation Wood, we happen upon Robinia pseudoacacia, the False Acacia, or ‘Black Locust’ as it is known in its native Missouri, US. They are They are strange, atmospheric sight, pinnate leaves rustling in the light and trunks covered in the tree equivalent of weals. The False…
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Giant Sequoia – A Gentle Goliath
On our first Tree ID foray into Plantation Wood Phil and I happen upon a Wellingtonia, or Giant Sequoia, Sequoiadendron gigantum. The vast tree tilts skyward, and my fingers push into the thick shaggy burgundy fibres of the bark. Normally they grow about 50m tall, but in their native valley of Sierra Nevada in California,…
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Freaky & Fearsome Fungi!
I bring to you all the creepiest mushrooms in time for Halloween…as if the mycological world isn’t odd enough already! 1) Dissolving into Black Goo : Ink Caps First prize for disgusting mess goes to the Ink Cap family (Coprinus sps). Some, like the Shaggy Ink Cap (Coprinus comatus) are good to eat when young…
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A Coastal Cornucopia
Don’t miss an opportunity to taste these seaside wild plants below if you are on holiday! I found lots of SEA BUCKTHORN bushes (Hippophae rhamnoides) when I hopped behind the sand dunes on Sand Bay dog beach in Weston-super -Mare. Myself and my 6 year old son lost no time cramming the wickedly tangy, sherberty…
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Gypsy elixir… Nettle seed
Even the country folk of us, who enjoy a nettle tea or soup, often don’t realise that common Nettle (Urtica dioica/urens) SEEDS are a nutritious and tasty meal. Ths female seeds are chock full of essential fatty acids, protein, Vitamin C and energy rich oil. You can taste this when you eat them, it is…
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Mycelial Meanderings with Phil McAustin
With a flourish of Phil’s pocket magnifying lens, a suckered tentacle stares back at me, an iridescent grey white. It looks like it should be coiling around a shipwreck, not oozing out of a fallen beech near National Trust Ashridge Monument. I’m here with Phil McAustin, mycologist and wood specialist, on a thankfully sunny Wednesday…
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