Did you know fungi are everywhere? Be it in the soy sauce you add to your noodles, the yeast you use to make bread rise, the athlete’s foot lurking beneath socks, the chocolate in your cupboard or the toadstool in your garden – they’re all around us. Neither a plant nor animal, they make up their own kingdom in our ecosystem.

Extremely important to the wider ecosystem

This time of year you’ll start to notice mushrooms and toadstools more and more in our natural surroundings. They’re present all year round – some obvious, some not. But the rain we experience in autumn triggers the visible growth of many species, causing the fruiting bodies (reproductive part of the fungus) to grow up through earth and dead wood, to spread their spores on the wind. All shapes, sizes and colours, they are a sight to behold.

Not only are they fascinating to look at, but they’re also extremely important to wildlife and the wider ecosystem, providing food to many plants and animals. They use a thin branch-like hyphae network to reach into and absorb the plant and animal matter around them, which they break down to extract nutrients. They then recycle and return these important nutrients to the ecosystem, to be used by their neighbours. For this reason we tend to discourage foraging – aside from the fact that poisonous fungi can be mistaken for similar edible species by even a trained eye, they’re also essential to the survival of some plants and animals, so it’s best to treat them as you would wild flowers.

There are 12,000 species found in the UK, perhaps none more iconic than the fly agaric. This fairy tale-friendly toadstool can be found in woodland, commonly beside birch or pine, until the first frosts of winter. Usually red with white spots and gills, it is instantly recognisable and unavoidably intriguing. Rumoured to have been the inspiration for Lewis Caroll’s mind and body altering mushroom, the fly agaric does indeed have hallucinogenic properties and, although not usually deadly, should be considered highly toxic.

Best to stand and admire

Another intriguing specimen you may come across during woodland strolls is the Tricholomopsis rutilans, more commonly known as the plums and custard mushroom. Similarly shapen to fly agaric, this toadstool has a vibrant violet cap, with rich yellow gills beneath and is usually found in coniferous woodland on dead wood and tree stumps. Despite its tempting name, the mushroom is often regarded as poisonous and, in any case, you’d be disappointed if you expected it to taste like a bowl of delicious fruit swirled in thick creamy custard. Think more bitter, rotten wood. Best to stand and admire!

One more aptly named fungus, visible throughout the year, is the turkey tail. From the bracket family, it grows in layers on dead wood such as oak or beech. The fan shapes can be unassuming at first glance, but take a closer look and you’ll see intricate waves of colour running from the centre out, much like the rings found on the cut branches of a tree. Sometimes cream and brown, sometimes blue and green, each is different and so rewarding for the seeker.

The world of fungi is a vast and fascinating place and we’re blessed with many species to study in Gloucestershire, particularly in the autumn. Why not explore your local woodland and see what weird and wonderful mushrooms you can find.