Two Fungi pics in the Image Gallery

heatherannej · #1 (**permalink**) 12-11-2008, 05:20 PM

I have posted two pics in the Image Gallery. I don't know whether I can add them to this message. If I fail, I'll check any comments in the Gallery.
Many thanks in anticipation.

heatherannej · #2 (**permalink**) 12-11-2008, 05:24 PM

So ... I did it!!
They were both taken in the wood close to the coastline above Hayburn Wyke (North York Moors). They are not too great - the wood was VERY dark.

The blue? one was about 1.25 inches across and the brown one 1.5 inches across, approx. Apologies ... I know that I should be making more accurate notes - I shall know in the future. Plus I forget to take profile shots.

So here's hoping :-)
Many thanks

Lancashire Lad · #3 (**permalink**) 12-11-2008, 05:45 PM

Hi heatherannej,

Welcome to WAB.

Well you have certainly sorted out the uploading of your pics without much problem.

I'm a fungi novice myself, so I can't be of much help, but I'm sure that some of the experts (and WAB has some very expert fungi people) will give their opinions in the not too distant future.

The only problem, as I'm sure you will be advised, is that a lot of fungi are almost impossible to fully identify from a pic.

Regards
Mike.

KeenTeen17 · #4 (**permalink**) 12-11-2008, 06:39 PM

I will take a wild guess on number 2 - Amethyst Deceiver.
this is what they look like for comparison

Chris Yeates · #5 (**permalink**) 12-11-2008, 08:00 PM

hi

I know Hayburn Wyke well (being a Scarborian by birth); as you have realised, it's always advisable to take multiple shots of a fungus: pick it (carefully, trying not to snap it at the base and not over-handling the stem) and get shots of the stem, gills, etc.)

That said, I think number #1 could well be the Tawny Grisette Amanita fulva

If #2 was really blue (and not amethyst-coloured) then it could be an Entoloma; some do have strong blue coloration when fresh, for example Entoloma euchroum, but from this photo I'm afraid I would not like to comment with any certainty . . .

best wishes

Chris

heatherannej · #6 (**permalink**) 12-11-2008, 09:30 PM

Many thanks for the information. My first digital camera has opened up new horizons for me and I am looking at Fungi etc in a new light - the sky's the limit!

I do appreciate that I must take note more of environment and take more pics. Some of my next listings are a bit better, I think. I doubt if I'll ever me an expert but I'm learning something fresh each time I discover a new fungus.

Is it really ok to 'pick' one though - just for taking a pic? I've seen loads of pics on the web where this has obviously been done but have been frightened to do it myself - for fear of a telling off by someone :-(

Will be back tomorrow some time. Thanks again.

Lancashire Lad · #7 (**permalink**) 12-11-2008, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by heatherannej

...Is it really ok to 'pick' one though - just for taking a pic? I've seen loads of pics on the web where this has obviously been done but have been frightened to do it myself - for fear of a telling off by someone...

I struggle with this concept too. - Being a wildflower fan, where it is frowned upon to pick anything (and more often than not illegal).

But with fungi, it is not illegal, and is the accepted practice. (Provided that you are not on a nature reserve etc, where they might have their own rules).

Many of the fungi will wither away within hours/days, so I suppose there is no harm done if one gets picked for ID, especially if there are several more around.

Good hunting.
Mike.

Chris Yeates · #8 (**permalink**) 12-11-2008, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by heatherannej

Is it really ok to 'pick' one though - just for taking a pic? I've seen loads of pics on the web where this has obviously been done but have been frightened to do it myself - for fear of a telling off by someone :-(

Do not worry Heatheranne . . .

what you see is the fungus 'fruit'; by the time it has got to the stage where you find it it will have dispersed countless (quite possibly millions of) spores - you don't damage a bramble bush by blackberrying! However, if you move branches to photograph something try to replace them as best as possible - if you respect the habitat you should not be harming the fungus at all - the 'business' part of the fungus is in the soil, litter, trunk, etc.

If I need to pick a fungus in the field to take a photographic record, at the end I pop it in the angle of a branch or twigs so that it can spread its spores even more widely.

If I find a fungus I cannot name without taking it home and doing the microscopical work on it I only take material home if there are several fruitbodies and I wouldn't take them all - although you often need several, because at the end - if it is a significant record - one should keep enough dried material to be housed in a collection (maybe even at Kew) for people to be able to check in the future.

I'm sure there will be more on this in future WAB discussions. If you have a digital camera takes lots of shots - experiment with different settings, flash etc. (something those of us who well remember the days of film were not always able to do then - film was, to an amateur, expensive in quantity, plus processing was environmentally very unfriendly).

Hope that helps

best

Chris

heatherannej · #9 (**permalink**) 13-11-2008, 08:36 AM

Thank you for all this advice. It is invaluable!! At the expense of delaying a good walk further, I can see my friend and I experimenting further with more shots - that will really please our husbands, I don't think :-)

As it is, they wonder why the pics (albeit not too professional) are in the holiday albums. ha ha. Anyway, I'll get on and post a couple more. I shrank them before I realised that the site will take good sizes - so many other forums restrict them.

Bye for now and thanks again.