Just Peachy 13th November 2021

For once my post is not about birds but about my new found enthusiasm for all things of a fungus nature and one mushroom in particular that I saw today.

On a dull day, both weatherwise and for birding I rang Peter to see if he fancied going in search of fungi, my new passion in life.Now in late autumn they too will soon be over for this year and winter will set in, so I am determined to make the most of the opportunity to see as many species as I can before the season closes.

It transpired that Peter had things to do at home in the morning but a little later he sent me a text asking if I would like to go and see an example of a remarkably attractive fungus called a Wrinkled Peach. As its name implies it is wrinkled across the top of its cap and peach coloured. This was a new one for me and so we arranged to meet at 2pm near Standlake.The opportunity to see such a rare and unusually eye catching mushroom was too good to resist and if we did see it would definitely be a cause for mild celebration.

I got to the site before Peter and parking the car set off for the location of the mushroom, which necessitated a long and not unpleasant walk along a narrow track that wound its way through mixed deciduous hedgerows growing unchecked on either side. Not another soul was to be seen or was indeed encountered and my only company on the walk was a party of Long tailed Tits, threading their way through the branches of the small hedgerow trees, calling insistently to each other in high pitched tones as if anxious not to be the one left behind by the flock.

Wrinkled Peach is one of those species of mushroom or toadstool that can bring an involuntary gasp of delight at their subtle beauty, especially after one has spent many hours and days wandering over leaf litter in damp woods trying to distinguish in what way one slimy brown toadstool sprouting from rotting leaves or wood stump is different to any other. Once in a while you come across a species that really stands out amongst the hundreds of nondescript little brown jobs that have gone before and are the usual fare when looking for fungi. When something such as a Wrinkled Peach reveals itself it makes all the previous effort seem that much more worthwhile.

Their distinctive colouring and forms are eminently photographable and make them immediately identifiable. As I mentioned, the name Wrinkled Peach accurately describes its appearance  although it has alternative  and equally appropriate names such as Rosy Veincap, Netted Rhodotus and Apricot Fungus. 

The cap of the mature mushroom can be a delicate shade of salmon pink or rosy peach in colour and has a tough, rubbery upper skin covered in wrinkles that can show almost as a vein like network.The gills which are found under the cap are a lighter shade of pink and the whole mushroom is supported by a curved, sometimes off centre thickish stem which is also pale pink.It is thought the stem is curved to compensate for the fact that the mushroom often grows from the side of a fallen cylindrical trunk of elm, which requires a sideways and outwards direction before extending upwards.

The onset of Dutch Elm disease in the second half of the twentieth century undoubtedly facilitated the Wrinkled Peach increasing, as they feed on rotting elm and for a couple of decades they multiplied although still remaining uncommon. Now most dead elm is cleared away and fallen dead elms are harder to find, resulting in one writer, Pat O'Reilly, stating 'Now there are far fewer elm trees in Britain and Europe, the beautiful Rhodotus Palmatus (Wrinkled Peach) is becoming an even rarer sight than it was 100 years ago'. He went on to add that it is 'a strong contender for the title 'Most Beautiful British Mushroom.'

The species is now on the Global Fungi Red List  and considered an endangered species across much of Europe and should not be disturbed.Thankfully it is foul tasting and thus inedible which helps in it being left alone by foragers.

Following the instructions Peter gave me on where to find the mushroom I drew a blank. I walked up and down the track checking every fallen elm sapling, of which there were a number but there was nothing remotely resembling the image of a Wrinkled Peach that I had uploaded onto my phone.

Where was it? 

Frustrated and fed up staring at dead and rotting trunks of small elms, either fallen aslant into a stream that ran parallel with the track or lying haphazardly by the track, I stood dumbfounded and disappointed. Peter joined me and we repeated the process but again with no success. We made one last walk, determined not to be thwarted and finally we found a tiny example of the mushroom, that I have to confess was singularly underwhelmimg and did not look nearly as exotic and colourful as the images on my phone but it would have to do.

We walked back along the woodland track, a Chiffchaff called in alarm and a Goldcrest fussed its way through the leaves and twigs above us. Now with 'our eye in' we spotted another type of fungus, clustered on another wet and very dead tree stem overhanging the stream. Rich dark honey coloured with white gills underneath, stacked like pies, one above the other, they were Velvet Shank, another new fungus for us to enjoy. Frankly with around fifteen thousand fungi species in Britain, virtually everything we find is a new and thrilling discovery at the moment.

We duly photographed them and moved on, congratulating ourselves on having found the Wrinkled Peach but personally any feeling of triumph rang hollow as the example we found was so small, pale and insignificant. Very disappointing.

The hedgerows here have much elm intermixed with elder and hawthorn but as the elms reach a certain age they become diseased, die and fall so there are both living and dead examples in the hedgerow and as we turned a corner Peter exclaimed 'What's this? and there on a fallen elm trunk was - yes - six superb examples of a Wrinkled Peach. I could hardly believe it! This was more like it, as they were full size, well coloured and virtually in pristine condition. Having just about given up on seeing a proper specimen, it was inevitable that the usual surge of adrenalin kicked in at this unexpected and most welcome discovery. You just cannot beat the feeling although it never lasts long enough!.

Both of us plan to go back over the coming days to keep an eye on the fungi as they mature and complete their cycle.