Turkey-tail or cabbage?

Early sunshine was quickly followed by gathering cloud and light rain. But we just about caught the fine weather on our walk at the Wildlife Trust's Old Sulehay Reserve. This is located on the limestone west of Peterborough and is well out of reach of any floods, although some stretches of the woodland tracks were still very muddy.

Being the middle of winter there wasn't a great deal of wildlife around - surprisingly few birds, probably because all of the berries now seem to have been eaten. However I was impressed by this fine specimen of the many-zoned polypore Trametes versicolor, growing from the top of a cut birch stump.

It was one of several, and as the stumps were scarcely visible the fungi initially looked like a crop of cabbages! This very common species can have a wide range of concentrically-zoned colours; this is a particularly bright specimen with lush tones of lime-green, ochre and copper. The flattened shape and colouration inspire the alternative colloquial name of turkey-tail, which seems quite appropriate for the time of year!