Mushroom

Auricula-Judea Jew’s Ear

This is one of the mushrooms that can be found at all times of the year, it is much prized in Chinese cookery and can be a useful addition to soups and stews.
Found almost exclusively on dead or dying Alder trees it can also be found on Beech. The ear-shaped fruit body is 2-8cm across, hard in dry weather but otherwise rubbery. These can be collected, dried and stored for further use.

Cantharellus infundibuliformis Winter Chanterelle or Yellow Leg

The season for Winter Chanterelles is from September to late November
They grow in mixed woodland with fallen trees and branches, under leaf litter, often where there is moss, and especially near Sweet Chestnut. The caps are 2-5cm across, stem 5-8cm high and 0.4-0.9cm thick.
The brown cap that is quite small and fluted with a hollow yellow stem (Which gives the Winter Chanterelle its alternative name of Yellow Legs)

Lepista nuda Wood Blewit

The Wood Blewit grows from October to December often on open ground or dappled shade with both coniferous and broad-leafed trees. Can also occur on golf courses and allotments. The cap is 6-12cm across the stem 5-9cm high and 1.5-2.5cm thick. The main identification feature is the purple-lilac cap and stem.

Lepista saeva Field blewit

The Field Blewit also grows from October to December in open fields, pastures and marshes, often after the first frosts. The buff coloured cap is 6-10cm across, and the purple striated stem 3-6cm high and 1.5-2.5cm thick.