Monday 16 November
On our dog-walk yesterday I came across some Yellow Brain fungus (Tremella mesenterica). It was quite striking, despite its small size, due to its bright orange-yellow colour which glowed in the afternoon sun.
I have read a little more about this fascinating fungus. First, it feeds on other fungus. It eats fungus from the Peniphora genus, rosy crust fungus (Peniophora incarnate) is a common gastronomic victim. That in itself is quite something.
Its Latin name ‘mesenterica’ comes from the ancient Greek meaning middle intestine. Yes, I know, the ‘latin’ name derives from a ‘greek’ word. Who knew?
But what I am interested in most is the European wide belief that if this little fella grows on a house gate post or door frame, it means that a witch has cast a curse on those that live there. Piercing it a number of times with straight needles will remove the curse. Or, if you live in Sweden, you need to burn it.
We are building up a load of lovely walks in our local area. And as we walk more so we learn more about where we live.
The Bald Birder 