PowerSwitch

Something very strange is going on with the fungi (stranger than normal). And not just fungi - blackberries are early, apples and plums are ripening early. But today I saw a display of fungi in Sussex like nothing I have ever seen at the start of August before. Start of September maybe, but people have been finding Liberty Caps ("magic mushrooms") since the start of last week, and these don't usually turn up until the weather starts getting seriously colder in the 2nd or 3rd week of October. I found several species today that I don't normally find until the end of September.

I have no theory as to why. I guess climate must have something to do with it, but there is no obvious mechanism (because the effect is the wrong way round!)

http://www.geoffdann.co.uk/?p=2041

Fungi grow towards a water supply, so maybe the excessively dry April May and June has dried the ground so no the surface layers are wetter, so the fungi do their stuff.

woodburner wrote:Fungi grow towards a water supply, so maybe the excessively dry April May and June has dried the ground so no the surface layers are wetter, so the fungi do their stuff.

I have seen plenty of wet Augusts not accompanied by loads of usually-autumn fungi. Certainly the recent wet weather has something to do with it, but it is not the whole story.

Hot, dry spell followed by a cooler, wet spell? Maybe they thing that autumn has come already. It certainly feels like it to me.

Maybe time to go see if the Ceps are out

cubes wrote:Maybe time to go see if the Ceps are out

They are out. Loads of people posting photos of them from most of the UK. Not NW England, but most other places. I've seen at least 30 in the last 2 days.

UndercoverElephant wrote:Something very strange is going on with the fungi (stranger than normal). And not just fungi - blackberries are early, apples and plums are ripening early. But today I saw a display of fungi in Sussex like nothing I have ever seen at the start of August before. Start of September maybe, but people have been finding Liberty Caps ("magic mushrooms") since the start of last week, and these don't usually turn up until the weather starts getting seriously colder in the 2nd or 3rd week of October. I found several species today that I don't normally find until the end of September.

I have no theory as to why. I guess climate must have something to do with it, but there is no obvious mechanism (because the effect is the wrong way round!)

http://www.geoffdann.co.uk/?p=2041

You should see my garden - fungi everywhere on the lawn, in ring like formations.

I also have a couple of small plum trees that had next to nothing on them last year in September / October bursting with fruit now.

A for blackberries - they are everywhere and fully ripened, although these have been doing this for a few years now.

Btw, what are Ceps mentioned in the posts above?

Ceps are a popular edible fungi.

Otherwise known as Porcini.

Is it a temperature thing UE? These days (and nights) are noticeably colder this year.

emordnilap wrote:Is it a temperature thing UE? These days (and nights) are noticeably colder this year.

Temperature probably playing a part, yes. Something else is going on though. We've had plenty of wet, miserable starts to August before. The fungi do not usually do this. Something very unusual is happening.

Liberty Caps just do not fruit at the start of August. It doesn't happen. Except it is happening. You suggest temperature, but this species doesn't usually fruit until we get to that point in mid-October when you start thinking about whacking the central heating up. Nights close to freezing.

Like many species, they could well know something we don't.

I know nothing about cereal growing, but we walked through several fields today near wales, and they looked terrible. Drooping, dark dusty mold stuff on the ears.

Solar cycle 24 peaked at about 80 in 2014 against the prediction here of 140 in 2011 or 12. Their prediction for cycle 25 of 80 in 2024/25 could therefore be much lower and later which brings us into the realms of Dalton and Maunder minima.

Allowing for the 1 deg C warming that we have produced we could just see a slowing of the warming trend instead or only a little cooling as the Dalton minimum was caused by about a 1 deg C cooling of the planet.

Maybe the mushrooms are seeing a slow down or cooling in the sun that the majority of us haven't noticed yet. I had noticed the lack of summer recently as I have spent more time inside rather than out in the sunshine. It isn't burning as much a some years either.

fuzzy wrote:I know nothing about cereal growing, but we walked through several fields today near wales, and they looked terrible. Drooping, dark dusty mold stuff on the ears.

That is caused by ripe/semi ripe grain being wet for too long and it will reduce the quality and quantity of the harvest. If that is repeated over the parts of Europe where the intense heat is causing a drop in yields as well we could be in for expensive bread and animal feed late in the year.

(Edited once - to make sense, Ken)