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Blog
Foraging in February: mushrooms, nettles and early flowers
Even in February, green shoots and early spring flowers are starting to appear. And they’re growing quickly. Here are some spring plants and winter fungi to look out for.
Helen Keating • 22 Feb 2018
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Trees woods and wildlife
Deadwood
Dead and decaying wood is one of any woodland's most important microhabitats. Learn more about why we need more of it, as well as the rare and endangered beetles, colourful fungi and other threatened wildlife that relies on it.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Bank vole
Stout but speedy, the bank vole skitters around woodland and dense vegetation looking for blackberries, nuts and fungi. It uses its large ears to listen out for its many predators, such as the fox and kestrel.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Temperate rainforest
Also known as Atlantic or Celtic rainforest, this special habitat is incredibly rare. Its lush conditions are perfect for scarce plants, lichens and fungi, as well as a number of unusual animals.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Beechwood sickener
Toxic, brittle, red-capped. Beechwood sickener is only found in beech woodland and help beech trees take up nutrients from the soil.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Chanterelle
Prized ingredient. Forager’s favourite. Succulent and delicate in flavour, chanterelle is used by chefs the world over.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Yellow brain
A frilly sign of a witch’s curse, yellow brain is a parasitic jelly fungus that looks a little like a brain and feeds on fungi that feed on dead wood.
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Trees woods and wildlife
King Alfred’s cakes
Tiny fungi with an embarrassing story, King Alfred’s cakes are named after the king’s poor baking skills.
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Blog
What is a fairy ring and what causes them?
Find out why fungi grow in circular shapes and where you can see them, plus discover more about fairy ring folklore.
Hannah Vickers • 26 Aug 2019
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Trees woods and wildlife
Phytophthora austrocedri
Phytophthora austrocedri is a pathogen that infects and kills native juniper trees. Junipers are one of our rarest native trees and an attack from this fungi-like species is a devastating blow to some of the UK’s populations.