UK Fungus Day 2024 takes place on Saturday 5^th October this year (find out more here), but we think it’s worth celebrating these stunning beauties for the whole of October! Woodlands are great environments to visit to discover some for yourself, and you can admire the wonderful trees at the same time. Here are two fungi and two trees to look out for this month.

The Fly Agaric is the ruby red fairy-tale toadstool of children’s stories, including the well-known Alice in Wonderland. This fungi grows near to birch trees and conifers for a few precious weeks in October/November. The pretty white spots that dapple this fungi’s cap are the remnants of the skin that originally covered the toadstool when it first emerged from the earth. It’s unlikely that you’ll find a new and pristine Fly Agaric unless you’re very lucky – they are usually quickly nibbled by animals! But don’t be tempted to sample it yourself, as it’s toxic to humans.

At 2–10cms in diameter, King Alfred’s Cakes appear as black clumps growing on dead wood – especially on Ash and Beech trees. Their name comes from the story of King Alfred who, while hiding from the Vikings in a peasant woman’s house, fell asleep when he was supposed to be keeping an eye on the woman’s cakes baking by the fire. The fungi are said to resemble the charred remains of those cakes. Another name for it is cramp balls, since it is said that they will cure a stitch or cramp if they are carried by the sufferer. Ancient people also used them as firelighters – a technique that goes all the way back to the Stone Age.

In autumn, the fertilised female flowers of the Hazel tree develop into clusters of hazelnuts. You will often find groups of Hazel trees in an area called a copse. If the trees have multiple stems growing from stools that have been cut at ground level, you will know that they have been coppiced. This is a technique carried out by a woodland worker called a coppicer, who cuts back the trees to encourage new growth. The new stems can be used for hurdles, fencing and decoration, as well as for furniture. The hazelnuts are food for a variety of wildlife, including Bank Voles, Wood Mice, Dormice, Squirrels, Woodpeckers, Nuthatches and Jays.

The Sweet Chestnut belongs to the same family as the Oak and Beech, and has smooth grey-purple bark with vertical fissures. Its glossy, dark green and pointed leaves are very large, at 16–28cm in length, with serrated edges. After its female flowers have been pollinated by insects, they develop into fruit that look similar to conkers, although they are smaller and grow in clusters. The cases of these fruit are much spikier than the Horse Chestnut’s, and contain several fruit within each. 

This text is an adapted extract from The Secret Life of a Woodland Habitat: Life Through the Seasons by Chloé Valerie Harmsworth (see more about her book here). You can read more about the fungi found on our reserves in her Fantastical Fungi blog and listen to her speak about this on the Environment Matters podcast. Another brilliant blog that gives further detail about the world of fungi can be found here.