Monday, June 14, 2010

Kinglake NP and Wandong SF

I'd spent wonderful hours in Wandong State Forest over the last couple of years, first going there because it best satisfied my two criteria for weekend visits: (1) close to public transport, and (2) quite wet. I'd been through Kinglake a couple of times, including one memorable weekend when I jumped the fence at Toorourrong reservoir, and followed the bluestone canal for a kilometre, finding both fungi and wombats.

Last year's fires hit both places hard. Kinglake particularly, and I hadn't really prepared myself for the destruction. It wasn't so much the damage, actually, I guess most of that's been cleared (although not all). It was the building-site quality of the streets.



Kinglake NP was almost entirely closed. Only one walk was open, and I followed it until the monotony of burned trunks and underfoot moss became too much. There were lots of fungi, but only really three species of mushrooms.


These were absolutely everywhere, but sadly I can't find out what they are.


This large fellow could be an Entoloma species, although it could be the introduced Hebeloma crustuliniforme, or Poison Pie (the former is apparently uncommon).


I wish this were Mycena nivalis, because I've been searhing for one of them for quite some time now. However, it looks like either at Panaeolus, or a Hygrocybe species.



No idea, really. But pretty, huh? This bracket fungi seemed very common on the burned stumps.


Wow. I'm not even sure these are fungi. My books have nothing like it in them.

My next stop was Wandong State Forest, a place I used to know very well, but which is almost unrecognisable. All of the small houses that lined the forest trails into the park have disappeared, and the pine plantations have been raised, perhaps after being burned. About the only constant was the dirtbikes.


Phew, I'm back on solid ground. These are Psathyrella pennata.


Xerula australis, which looks even taller in person. I call them "long tall sallys", a sure indication that I've been walking alone in the bush too long.


Galerina unicolor, a rather poisonous species.


The Wandong view out to the cleared pine plantations.


Psilocybe coprophilia - not a great specimen, but I loved the fact it was growing out of dung that was perched on a fallen branch.


Um ...


Er ...


Brick tops again, Hypholoma sublateritium


Podoscypha petalodes!

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