Fantastic fungi of Rye Harbour

admin
, 10 October 2024
Fantastic fungi of Rye Harbour
Meadow Puffball © Matt Rich

By Sarah Watson

Events Officer, Rye Harbour Nature Reserve

One of our rangers mentioned that the nature reserve’s fungi could be better recorded. Being a fungiphile, this was my cue to investigate the fields around Camber Castle, where I found a multitude of grassland mushrooms.

Grassland fungi absorb nutrients by connecting with species like grasses and mosses, or they feed on decaying material. Most of the fungus is the ‘mycelium’, fine strands underground or in the material it’s feeding on. The parts above ground, sometimes called mushrooms, are the fruiting bodies.

Here are a few of my fungal finds. Look down to notice these fascinating fruiting bodies at your feet popping up on grassland now...

Yellow Fieldcap

This delicate little mushroom is one of the shortest-lived of all! Starting off like a bright yellow egg on a stick, within a matter of hours, the glossy, slimy cap opens up like a tiny parasol and fades to a whitish colour. Especially likes old cow pats, so you’re likely to find it on grazed fields.

Yellow Fieldcap
Yellow Fieldcap © Jean-Pol Grandmont, Wikimedia

Shaggy Inkcap

Also known as the lawyers wig, with a tall, white scaly-looking cap, this mushroom soon turns black as it liquifies by digesting itself, dripping inky goo. That’s one way to spread your spores. Usually found in grassy places, often in groups.

Shaggy Inkcap
Shaggy Inkcap © Neil Fletcher

Grey Puffball

A small spherical fungus attached to the ground by a few threads. It can break free when mature and roll in the wind. The white outer skin peels off revealing a greyish inner skin which bursts, puffing out brown spores. Check out sheep-grazed places where it sometimes fruits in small groups.

Grey Puffball
Grey Puffball © Sarah Watson

Meadow Muffin Mushroom

Also known as the ‘dung demon’, this cute little mushroom with a shiny brown cap, grows on the dung of grazing herbivores. I found it on rabbit and sheep poo. Look for it on fresh dung.

Meadow Muffin mushroom
Meadow Muffin mushroom © Justin Paulin, Wikimedia

Fairy Ring Champignon

The cap of this common, fawn-coloured mushroom has a distinctive central hump (or umbo). Its superpower is that it can dry out, but rehydrate again in wet weather, continuing to spread its spores. Often seen growing in grassland in ‘fairy rings’, perhaps as dinner tables for the fairies?

Fairy Ring Champignon
Fairy Ring Champignon © Sarah Watson

A note on foraging

Some fungi are edible, some are toxic and some can be fatal. They can be difficult to identify and even experts are cautious. We ask that you do not forage for fungi on our nature reserves.

The British Mycological Society has produced a useful code of conduct here.

Leave a comment

Comments

  • Rita Cox:

    Fungi are fascinating, but a bit scary. Thank you for the sheet of information, I know now what the fairy rings on my lawn are.

    02 Oct 2025 14:56:00

Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782651543.47910 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1782651543.50460.0254Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782651543.50470.0001Server address: 216.73.216.31
1782651543.50480Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782651543.50480Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/fantastic-fungi-of-rye-harbour
    [s] => fantastic-fungi-of-rye-harbour
    [1] => fantastic-fungi-of-rye-harbour
)
1782651543.50510.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782651543.50630.0012 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782651543.50830.002 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1782651543.50890.0006INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1782651543.5110.0021 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22382842
1782651543.51160.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22382842
1782651543.51230.0007 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-06-28 12:59:00' AND saleTo>'2026-06-28 12:59:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782651543.51370.0014 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='fantastic-fungi-of-rye-harbour')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-28 12:59:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782651543.51670.003 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782651543.51740.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3536 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-28 12:59:00'
1782651543.51860.0012 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782651543.51930.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782651543.520.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=73 LIMIT 1
1782651543.52050.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=70 LIMIT 1
1782651543.52120.0007Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782651543.52140.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782651543.52230.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-28 12:59:00' AND postSlug='fantastic-fungi-of-rye-harbour'
1782651543.54550.0231Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782651543.54610.0007 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782651543.54790.0018Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782651543.54810.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782651543.5490.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1782651543.55060.0015 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782651543.55370.0031 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782651543.55430.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782651543.55630.002Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782651543.55640 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782651543.55720.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782651543.55770.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782651543.56060.0029 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782651543.56160.001 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782651543.56240.0008 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782651543.56460.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782651543.56560.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782651543.56790.0023 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782651543.56840.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782651543.56870.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782651543.56940.0007Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782651543.56970.0003 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='fantastic-fungi-of-rye-harbour')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-28 12:59:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782651543.57180.0021 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782651543.57230.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782651543.57550.0032Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782651543.57620.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3536 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782651543.62850.0523 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782651543.62910.0007Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782651543.62930.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782651543.63030.001 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782651543.63120.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782651543.63210.001 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782651543.63450.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782651543.63520.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782651543.63760.0024 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782651543.6390.0014 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782651543.63980.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782651543.64040.0006 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782651543.64290.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782651543.64370.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782651543.64580.0021 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782651543.64980.004 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782651543.65070.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782651543.65120.0005 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782651543.65340.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782651543.6540.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782651543.6560.002 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782651543.65840.0025 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782651543.65920.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782651543.65970.0004 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782651543.66170.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782651543.66220.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782651543.66410.0019 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782651543.66550.0014Request time: 0.1899
1782651543.66550Process time: 0.1897
1782651543.66550Memory: 1.6324