Judy Woods

Sunday 9th November 2025

Leader: Andy Woodall

Seventeen of us gathered on Station Road, Wyke for the annual fungi walk. Judy Woods is the local name given to a collection of contiguous woodlands and is the largest piece of continuous broadleaf woodland in the the greater Bradford area. It is also high quality, semi-ancient woodland dominated by beech with a few oaks and birches and a selection of other native species. Beech, oak and birch are all promising species for a rich fungus flora as they all have ectomycorrhizal relationships with many toadstools. However, November can be a little sparse for ground dwelling fungi depending on the weather over the last few days, weeks or even months. After a slow start to the autumn fungi there was a dramatic ‘flowering’ of fruitbodies in October which was waning by early November. We still managed to record nearly seventy species by looking carefully at the many fallen and standing dead trees which also proved a useful resource for seating whilst having lunch. The weather was better than forecast and there was no rain all day until we were setting off home by car or bus.

Among the many species were some huge Clouded Funnels (Clitocybe nebularis) in a long line. Normally this is one of the later agarics to appear but I have been seeing them all season. 

A definite late season species was the Olive Oysterling (Sarcomyxa serotina) which was fruiting exceptionally well on one beech log. It’s a rather beautiful pleurotoid fungus though the scientific name translates as the Slimy-fleshed Latecomer! 

Another good species appearing on the beech logs was the Resinous Bracket which had beautiful amber coloured guttation droplets. I initially thought it was the unusual Benzoin Bracket but noted it was growing on beech rather than conifer wood and lacked a really strong smell. I realised it was the even more unusual Ischnoderma resinosum. The droplets are a way of getting rid of excessive water and waste metabolites from the fungi decaying the wood.

There are often times when you need to know the species of tree or other plant that a fungi is growing on or by, so the BBG members have a head start over many other field mycologists. It is a privilege to go out with such knowledgeable botanists.

Text by Andy Woodall

Photographs by Nyree and Susan