Name that fungus!

[GarethSouthgatesWaistcoat]

Is anyone good at toadstool ID?

I've tried a couple of apps but they keep detecting much wider fungi.

This is in my lawn beneath a tall stagshorn/ sumac tree. It's possible the tree is on its way out so there could be some rotting root system under the lawn.

I'd have thought it was a common species. The caps average 1cm-2cm wide.

The brown bits are fallen leaves 😂

Bright yellow on rotten wood often means sulphur tuft, but that's larger, and has dark spores which fall on to the caps below. The other obvious yellow ones are waxcaps, but they grow singly not in clumps.

Other important things in fungus id are the colour of the spores, and the way the gills attach (or don't) to the stem.

... So a photograph of the underneath would be useful, and one of a fruiting body sliced neatly in half so you see how the gills attach.

Thanks Mere! I couldn't get a photo of underneath as they're so tightly packed. I'll cut one off (wearing gloves) and slice some cross sections so the gills can be seen. I'll try and remember to do it tomorrow

A couple more pics. The underside is a pale, lemony yellow and the gills a pale, delicate brown.

They've grown a tiny bit bigger over the last few days. 1.5cm-3cm.

Honey fungus? Very bad for trees.

Looks too delicate for honey fungus, and honey fungus usually has a ring on the stem - check the younger specimens.

I'm always puzzled by honey fungus - yes, it does kill trees and bushes in gardens, but on the other hand it's in the top 10 of species most frequently encountered on british Mycological Soc fungus forays - so if it's that common in the wild, why do we have any woodland?

The largest terrestrial organism is a honey fungus (different species from ours but same genus) - it's in Oregon and is 3.4 miles across.

Fascinating! I hope it's not honey fungus but it resembles some of the photos on google
Your post is reassuring nevertheless. I was admiring how pretty it looked

There are shallow tree roots in the lawn so it would make sense. We raised the crown of the tree a couple of years ago - it's likely been there decades - and it responded well. Parts of it do seem to be dying back however. It's a strange specimen as it sort of has two trunks.

I'll try and remember to check for rings on the stalks tomorrow.

It's nor honey fungus, doesn't have any of the characteristics, sulphur tuft is the most likely candidate. First Nature will give you a decent key if you search.

Thanks! I'm reading up now. Sulphur tuft looks likely - I never would've found it without you

The chaps at Wild food uk are really good - we went on one of their mushroom walks a couple of years ago and it really opened our eyes to how much variety of fungus you walk straight past without noticing.

www.wildfooduk.com/mushroom-guide/