Autumn Bounty
Autumn in Dinefwr 2025
The landscape in Dinefwr has been particularly beautiful this year, and visitors will have noticed the remarkable impact that the long, hot, and dry summer has had on Nature. The harvest was bountiful - trees and bushes have been laden with fruit, nuts, and berries.
But, for me, it has been the world of Fungi where this was most obvious. I have never see such diversity and quantity of fungi - and there have been some very surprising finds.
The picture to the left is of Porpolomopsis calyptriformis, commonly known as the pink wax cap or ballerina waxcap. The species is uncommon in Britain but more common in western areas, particularly Wales, thriving in unimproved grasslands, meadows, and churchyards. It is considered a rare and vulnerable species and is on the IUCN Red List.
A Season of Mellow Fruitfulness
A stunning season of abundance.
Below are examples of the incredible diversity of fungi in Dinefwr this year.
Take particular note of the purple coloured fungi. These are Laccaria amethystina, commonly known as the amethyst deceiver, or amethyst laccaria. It is a small brightly coloured mushroom.Because its bright amethyst coloration fades with age and weathering, it becomes difficult to identify hence the name 'deceiver'. My experience is that the colour faded to brown over just a couple of days and the only examples I found in Dinefwr were in a patch about a metre-squared.
One of the last images below (you cannot miss it) is also worthy of note - the picture of the jelly-like substance. It is Exidia recisa, commonly called amber jelly fungus; weird and rather ugly?
