Quiet Architects of Decay - Fungi and Slime Mould in Coed-Y-Canddo Wood
The woodland floor, soaked by persistent rain, had once again performed its familiar magic trick — transforming from mud and leaf litter into something far more intriguing. Even on a dull, wet day, Coed-Y-Canddo refuses to disappoint. What appears, at first glance, to be little more than fallen timber and decay is, in reality, a quietly bustling world of recyclers, colonisers, and microscopic specialists. Turkey Tail brackets traced the contours of ageing wood like delicate topographic maps, their concentric bands glowing softly against the damp bark. Nearby, Birch Polypores emerged from pale trunks with quiet confidence — solid, sculptural, almost architectural. Each fruiting body tells the same story: decay is not destruction, but redistribution. Matter reorganised. Energy repurposed. Then, inevitably, the woodland’s stranger residents revealed themselves. Black Bulgar pressed through the timber in glossy, obsidian folds, its tar-like sheen catching what little light filtered thr...
