Fungi, they come in al shapes and sizes. Purple, blue, orange, yellow, golden… it’s amazing how much color grows under our feet. And not just in the fall, you can find them the whole year! But first, you need to recognise them. So get down into the dirt with me and discover these freaky (shaped) fungi.

Silver Leaf / Paarse Korstwam.

(Chondrostereum purpureum)

You probably don’t even notice it when you walk past a tree. But get closer and you discover these amazing colours and patterns. Ohh and those drops are not water it’s sweat. Yep mushrooms sweat.

Emerald Elfcup / Kopergroenbekerzwam.

This beautiful emerald cup fungi is a saprophyte, which means they help dissolve dead wood. Rare? Not really, I found these in the Amsterdamse Bos. But you have to look for it, ‘cause they are tiny.

Coral / Koraal.

You don’t have to put on your diving gear to encounter corals. They come in many variations. White, grey, orange, yellow and translucent. They are not all from the same family.

The yellow one below is a Geel Hoorntje (calocera cornea) and the white one is called Geweizwam in Dutch and Candlestick Fungus in English (Xylariaceae).

Dragon eggs / Aardappelbovist.

You’d think you’ve discovered a dragon egg if you these in the woods. The are between 3cm up to the biggest I’ve ever seen 15cm in diameter. Aren’t those scales amazing looking? Their beauty doesn’t last long, they burst open and dissolve into weird goo.

Stinkhorn / Stinkzwam.

(Phallus impudicus)

Not a sequel to America Pie where some doofus dipped his [insert eggplant emoji] in Nutella. It’s called the Phallus impudicus so I’m not the first one to make this comparison. It’s more common name is Stinkzwam (in Dutch) and Stinkhorn (in English). Yes, it actually stinks, and it’s fascinating!

It grows out of a ‘devils egg’ and breaks through with the white ‘tooth’ on its head. The spores are in the slime head and the odour attracts flies. They grow rapidly (10cm in an hour!!!) and get up to 30cm in hight. Without the slime you can see it’s ‘karkas’ which I also think looks beautiful.

Jelly Drops / Paarse knoopzwam.

(Ascocoryne sarcoides)

To me this one looks like a brain. It’s name is derived from the Greek word for ‘fleshy’ and in English is also known als ‘Jelly Drops’. It starts of more gelatine and intertwined, and then flattens out.

Saddle fungi / Kluifzwam.

(Helvella crispa)

Funny how names of fungus vary per language. We (the Dutch) named it after a bone, and the English call these the Saddle Fungi. Names of fungus are often very logical; it’s the color (e.g. purple), what it looks like (saddle) or attribute (stinky) and what it grows on (bark, birch).

Now, back to this beauty, can we take a moment to appreciate the stem. Like it was designed bij Gaudi.

Cups, cups & cups.

Whenever I ‘stumble upon’ one of these cups, it’s pure joy. They are TINY! So not something you can spot when roaming around the woods. Usually I’m already in the dirt, photographing another mushroom when I find one of these. Like all the others the come in various colours.

And some extra love for the ‘rode kelkzwam’ or the better name ‘Elfcup’. This one you can find more easily due to it’s colourful appearance. Usually on a fallen piece of dead wood. The can be 1 mm or up to 1 cm. I haven’t seen bigger ones.