On a walk: Bracket fungus

On a walk this morning we found this bracket fungus:

Bracket fungus view 1I always carry a compact camera with me ‘just in case’ I see something interesting. This morning, my wife and I had a walk down to, and along, the river Waveney – We live in the Norfolk Broads area and this river is just a 10 minute stroll away.

This bracket fungus was lying in the long grass to the side of the path – you usually see them attached to standing trees of fallen branches. This seemed to be growing out of the grass. When we tried to lift it it was attached to something under the grass so I suspect there was an old piece of wood lying there. Because it was unusual to see a bracket fungus growing ‘out of the grass’ I took a few photos of it with the camera.

This first view above is just a simple view of the fungus in the grass along with a few nettles and other weeds. This second view shows the context: the path alongside the river is raised above the surrounding land, as is the river (there are pumping stations all around the Norfolk Broads pumping water from the lower level marshes and fields into the higher rivers). This shows the marshes at Aldeby in the background.

Bracket fungus view 2This 3rd image is not quite right:

Bracket fungus view 3In my efforts not to get my trousers wet from the rain-soaked grass as I crouched down, I could not see the viewfinder properly, hence the grass partially obscuring the view. It does though show the path along by the river although the camera is too low to show the river.

I found this to be an interesting observation.