London National Park City Ranger Kaamilah shares her experiences searching for fungi and taking fungi photographs in Epping Forest. This article is first published in Epping Forest Heritage Trust’s Autumn/Winter issue of ‘Trust in the Forest’ magazine.
I step from hard tarmac onto damp earth that slips beneath my boots and edge my way through brambles. The temperature seems to shift, the sounds change, there is a scent of life and decay and a sense of things to be discovered. I have my camera on my shoulder as I have become accustomed to carry on every walk, especially as we slip into autumn. I know there is fungi to be found.
My focus on photographing fungi began during lockdown in 2020 as a way to stay creative during a time of little work and lots of forest walks. I work as a photographic studio assistant and freelance retoucher but have always loved being out in nature and have taken photos for as long as I can remember on all sorts of cameras. I ended up with so many photos I put on an exhibition last autumn at Humphry’s Cafe next to Highams Park lake, in collaboration with London Fungus Network. Needless to say, I have a much larger collection of photos now.
Frosty Bonnet (Mycena adscendens) Photo © Kaamilah Nahaboo
Fungi play an important role in the forest. I use the term ‘fungi’ because it’s not just about mushrooms with a cap and stalk. There are puffballs and earthballs, stinkhorns, brackets, cup fungi, slime moulds and many more in an almost never-ending array of colours, shapes and sizes. The number of species is in the millions (it ranges from different sources) but only around 150,000 have been described. You may have heard the term “wood wide web” to describe the network of mycelium that stretches through the ground, entwining with tree and plant roots, sharing water, sugars and nutrients. Every step you take on Epping Forest ground will have masses of mycelium underfoot. This is where the fungi live year round (or within wood), until conditions are right and the fruiting bodies grow.
The classic toadstool, so iconic it has its own emoji, is the Amanita muscaria, commonly known as Fly Agaric. These appear in the forest around mid October and are always a joy to behold, easily standing out with their bright red caps. The white spots on top are remnants of the volval sac they grow in. A couple of the more unusual and interesting ones I’ve found recently have been Mutinus caninus (Dog Stinkhorn) in large numbers and Hericium erinaceus (Lion’s Mane/Bearded Tooth). The latter is a rare species, protected not only by Epping Forest’s byelaws, but is one of four fungi to have legal protection under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in the UK as a whole. With a decline in ancient woodland, there are fewer suitable habitats for certain fungi such as this one, which rely on spreading spores to reproduce. They are an important symbol of the complex ecology within the forest and a reminder of the vital need to protect our natural spaces.
Elfin Saddle, Helvella lacunosa. These are spore shooters, so lack gills or pores like other mushroom caps. Photo © Kaamilah Nahaboo
Next time you go for a walk, I recommend you slow down and take a closer look. Not always down at the ground, but above too, on tree trunks and branches and in their hollows. You don’t need fancy camera equipment; a mobile phone will do. Maybe with a clip on macro lens, or a loupe or magnifying glass to see the details. A compact mirror can be useful to view the underside of mushroom caps as this is an important feature when checking the ID. Then go home and spend the dark evenings learning about your finds. Your walks will never be the same again.
Kaamilah is a London National Park City ranger, part of a movement to help make cities greener, healthier and wilder.
Instagram: @mushroom.millah
Featured photo: Hericium erinaceus (Lion’s Mane/Bearded Tooth), a rare species, protected not only by Epping Forest’s byelaws, but is one of four fungi to have legal protection under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in the UK as a whole. Photo © Kaamilah Nahaboo