Popular fungi (including lichens) View all fungi »
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Pink waxcap (Hygrocybe calyptriformis)
The attractive pink waxcap (Hygrocybe calyptriformis) has a pinkish-lilac conical cap with fine striations and a slightly greasy appearance…
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Coral tooth (Hericium coralloides)
The coral tooth fungus (Hericium coralloides) has been described as our most beautiful species of fungus. It is a member of the group called…
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Beefsteak fungus (Fistulina hepatica)
As the common name suggests, beefsteak fungus is remarkably similar in appearance to raw meat. In the past it was often cooked and eaten as…
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Pig’s ear (Gomphus clavatus)
Pig's ear fungus (Gomphus clavatus) derives its name from the funnel-shaped and folded fruiting body, which resembles a pig’s ear in…
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Boreal felt lichen (Erioderma pedicellatum)
Known as the “panda bear” of lichens because of its extreme rarity, the boreal felt lichen is a ‘leafy’ species that grows on the branches…
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Golden-gilled bolete (Phylloporus pelletieri)
The golden-gilled bolete is an unusual member of the Boletales, as the underside of the cap bears gill-like structures (known as ‘lamellae’)…
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Honey mushroom (Armillaria ostoyae)
The honey mushroom (Armillaria ostoyae) is the largest living organism in the world, although only a small percentage of its growth is…
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Lichen (Ramalina maciformis)
A rock-dwelling lichen adapted to desert environments, Ramalina maciformis grows in four main forms. The first, and typical form of this…
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Nail fungus (Poronia punctata)
This rare fungus, found on the dung of ponies and horses, takes its name from the resemblance of the fruiting bodies to nails. The stalk of…
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Death cap (Amanita phalloides)
This is one of the most poisonous European toadstools. All parts of the fungus are deadly, and it should never be eaten. The cap is…
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Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria)
The fly agaric is an attractive, vibrantly coloured toadstool, which is familiar and instantly recognisable. It has a bright red cap, which…
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Mealy tooth (Hydnellum ferrugineum)
The mealy tooth fungus belongs to the stipitate hydnoid fungi group, also known as the 'tooth fungi'. Members of this group release their…
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Stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus)
Its terrible foetid smell as well as an unmistakable appearance makes the stinkhorn one of the most easily recognised species of fungi…
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Weather earthstar (Geastrum corollinum)
Unlike other fungi, earthstars can move! With a strong tendency to absorb and lose water, their outer layers uncurl when it rains. The fruit…
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Reindeer lichen (Cladonia mediterranea)
This member of the Cladonia (reindeer lichen) genus is whitish-grey in colour and grows in low, bushy clumps. The familiar common name of…
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Lichen (Bacidia incompta)
The lichen Bacidia incompta does not have a common name. The Generic part of the scientific name, Bacidia means 'rod-shaped' and refers to…
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Date waxcap (Hygrocybe spadicea)
Waxcaps are a group of fungi that have thick gills, watery flesh and a waxy texture. This waxcap has a brown, chestnut or coffee-coloured…
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Artist’s fungus (Ganoderma applanatum)
Artist’s fungus (Ganoderma applanatum) forms bracket-like fruit bodies that are reddish brown in colour. The hard waxy crust has a knobbly…
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Lichen (Caloplaca citrina)
Information on Caloplaca citrina is currently being researched and written and will appear here shortly.…
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Oak polypore (Piptoporus quercinus)
This fungus causes a brown rot of the heartwood of mature or dead oak trees. The stemless bracket-like fruit bodies (the visible part of the…
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Purple-red hygrophorus (Hygrophorus purpurascens)
The purple-red hygrophorus produces large white mushrooms, which are heavily marked with wine-red spots. The cap is broad and rounded; the…
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Lichen (Lobaria sachalinensis)
This lichen has a lobed, leafy appearance; it is a dark greenish colour and may produce reddish fruiting bodies when fertile.…
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Devil's bolete (Boletus satanus)
The Devil's bolete (or boletus) appears as a large toadstool, usually around the base of beech and oak trees. It shares the characteristics…
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Field mushroom (Agaricus campestris)
This widespread species is a close relative of the species of mushroom that is typically sold in shops (Agaricus bisporus). The field…
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Olive earthtongue (Microglossum olivaceum)
The family of fungi known collectively as 'earthtongues' are aptly named. The shape of the upper part of the fungus, called the head…
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Sandy stiltball (Battarrea phalloides)
This strange fungus has a small, rounded head borne on a shaggy ochre-brown stalk. The head is a mass of spores, which have a warty…
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Lichen (Buellia subalbula)
Buellia subalbula is a species of lichen with a distinctive white, cracked thallus (the main lichen body) which often appears slightly…
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King Alfred's cakes (Daldinia concentrica)
King Alfred's cakes, also known as 'cramp balls' is a hard, inedible ball-shaped fungus. The visible part of the fungus, the fruit-body is…
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Violet crown-cup (Sarcosphaera coronaria)
The violet crown-cup fungus produces striking, flask-shaped fruiting bodies. These are initially submerged in the soil and then break…
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Lichen (Psora decipiens)
Information on the lichen is currently being researched and written and will appear here shortly.…
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Ridged tooth (Hydnellum scrobiculatum)
The ridged tooth fungus belongs to the stipitate hydnoid fungi group. Members of this group are also known as 'tooth fungi' (fungi that…
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Scrambled-egg lichen (Fulgensia fulgens)
As the common name suggests, scrambled-egg lichen has a thin, crust-like egg-yellow thallus (body), which consists of smaller rosettes and…
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Grey tooth (Phellodon melaleucus)
The grey tooth fungus belongs to a group known as the stipitate hydnoid fungi. These fungi share some morphological characters, but are not…
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Lichen (Fulgensia fulgida)
Information on Fulgensia fulgida is currently being researched and written and will appear here shortly.…
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Orange-fruited elm-lichen (Caloplaca luteoalba)
Orange-fruited elm-lichen is called a 'crustose' lichen from its crust-like texture. Its main body is light grey, and the fruiting bodies…
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Crater lichen (Diploschistes ocellatus)
Diploschistes ocellatus is a widespread lichen species that grows on calcareous rocks and soils. Its numerous thalli are powdery pale grey…
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Hat-thrower fungus (Pilobolus crystallinus)
Information on the hat-thrower fungus is currently being researched and written and will appear here shortly.…
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Lichen (Opegrapha paraxanthodes)
This lichen grows in a crust-like fashion; the thallus is thin and pale greenish-yellow in colour with a cracked surface. The Latin name of…
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Scaly tooth (Sarcodon imbricatus)
The scaly tooth fungus is a member of the stipitate hydnoid fungi group. These fungi share some morphological characters, but are not a…
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Zoned tooth (Hydnellum concrescens)
The zoned tooth fungus belongs to the stipitate hydnoid fungi group, also known as the 'tooth fungi'. Members of this group share some…
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Lichen (Teloschistes chrysopthalmus)
This lichen is a 'fruticose' or 'shrubby' species; it is composed of branching lobes that form small orange tufts, which are almost…
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Fused tooth (Phellodon confluens)
The fused tooth fungus belongs to the stipitate hydnoid fungi group. These fungi share some morphological characters, but are not naturally…
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Francis' lichen (Zamenhofia rosei)
Francis' lichen is a yellowish-green scattered crust, and the fruits are orange-brown but have never been recorded in Britain. The algal…
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Lichen (Caloplaca aractina)
Caloplaca aractina is a 'crustose' lichen; one with a crusty-like appearance. The body of the lichen (its thallus) is an oily dark brown to…
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River jelly lichen (Collema dichotomum)
This curious species resembles seaweed more than the lichens that most of us are familiar with. It has a gelatinous appearance, is…
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Velvet tooth (Hydnellum spongiosipes)
The velvet tooth fungus belongs to the stipitate hydnoid fungi group. These are a group of 'tooth fungi' (fungi that release their spores…
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Lichen (Gloeoheppia turgida)
A rock-dwelling species, Gloeoheppia turgida is a ‘squamulose’ lichen, meaning that the main body (thallus) is entirely covered in minute…
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Scaly breck lichen (Squamarina lentigera)
This rare lichen is circular in shape, and white to pale grey-brown in colour.…
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Golden hair lichen (Teloschistes flavicans)
The golden-hair lichen (Teloschistes flavicans) is a striking 'fruticose' or 'shrubby' tufted lichen, which is a bright orange colour with…
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Lichen (Calicium corynellum)
This species is commonly called a 'pin-head' lichen as the fruiting bodies (the structures that produce the lichen's spores) are shaped…
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