An unexpected surprise

(5 photos, click to zoom) – A break from the Mycena blues with some other colourful fungi finds this week and a rare Green Hooded Orchid – flowering very early!

Firstly, I discovered these delicate little Slime Moulds under the log I was sitting on while taking the Mycena images in the previous posts. They really deserve a better name, they’re quite pretty.

I’m not sure how I spotted this lovely green fungi a metre or two off the track after visiting the Mycena patch.

What I almost didn’t notice, perched atop a thin grass like stem right next to the green fungi, this little orchid took me by total surprise! I’ve only ever seen one other of these in another area of the forest, they are very hard to spot.

Given it’s still winter here – though a reasonably mild one, I wouldn’t have thought they would be flowering yet.

Inspired by my finds, I spent another hour trapesing through the bush searching, hoping. Though it is a pretty area and still some dampness, I only found one other good fungi find … a purple one, a little past it’s best but still stunning and intense in colour.

Thanks for visiting, have a colourful week with some pleasant surprises!