Another Walk to check on the Waterfowl..

Today the sun shone and what a difference it makes. The ground was frozen in the park and slippy under foot. 

Another Walk in the Park!

My local park is Cherry Hinton and the nearest place to walk. 

Off to the Woods on New Year's Day with my Macro Lens - Hardwick Wood

The inedible fungus Daldinia concentrica is known by several common names, including King Alfred's cake, cramp balls, and coal fungus.  I have never seen this fungi before.  King Alfred’s cakes are named after the king’s poor baking skills. I remembered this story from my Junior days but never imagine I would see King Alfred's cakes!

This fungi does rot away quickly but can remain on deadwood for years and is probably why I found it in this ancient wood.

Gills/spores: inside, the flesh is hard and a cross-section shows concentric zones of grey and black. Spores are released from the outer surface of the fungus through perithecia (small beak-like holes), leaving a darker area on the surrounding wood. Cells inside the fruit body eject the spores beyond the edge of the stroma, leaving a black spore print up to 3cm wide around the fungus.

Cap: round or cushion-shaped, 2–10 cm across and formally referred to as stroma. Matt, pinkish-brown when young, becoming black and shiny with a ‘burnt’ appearance as they age. The outer shell cracks easily. 

Specimens from the Woods on New Year Year's Day