For example, on 29th October there were as many of the edible “Slippery Jacks”. Suillus luteus, as one cared to pick (I found that you can freeze them for later, but not very successfully); and the poisonous Fly Agarics, Amanita muscaria, were equally abundant on the sandy soil under the Corsican pines in the King’s Forest at West Stow. However, what was unusual on that day was the abundance of Earth Stars. Geastrum triplex.
Often at this time of the year one can find two or three specimens in this part of the forest, but not necessarily every year. On this occasion we found a well-marked ring of 21 specimens and many more nearby. In addition we (a group from the U3A) found two other species of earth star, three G. sessile together with one G. corontaum. I always think of earth stars as puffballs on legs, their spores released by falling raindrops. Notes on the earth stars, puffballs and earth-balls in west Suffolk were published in the Transactions, 31 (1995) 57-59.
