False blood

Nearly six hours of driving today, including negotiating the Dartford Crossing at rush hour - not my ideal day at all. But Chris and I managed to get all the survey work done very efficiently, despite the hazards presented by dense brambles and barbed wire fences. 

On our route we came across this rather magnificent Beefsteak Fungus, growing on an oak tree. The sap looks convincingly like blood - presumably one of the reasons it was given its name. Though this species is very tasty we felt we couldn't destroy it. This close-up image shows all the separate tubes, which arise free from each other and only fuse at maturity.