It had been about six weeks since I had visited Sassafras Gully at Springwood. It was time for a return visit. This year, Sassafras Gully has been a place I have regularly visited to check out the fungi growing there and it has been very interesting to see the changes.
Hygrocybe anomola var ianthinmarginata
The highlight of my visit this time was seeing a magnificent display of Hygrophoraceae. This family of fungi includes Hygrocybes – which are often particularly colourful. Some of the ones I found on the visit are quite rare and critically endangered and are thus protected species.
Hygrocybe miniata
Hygrocybe miniata
Porpolomopsis lewelliniae
Hygrocybe irrigata
Hygrocybe cantharellus
Hygrocybe graminicolor
Hygrocybe graminicolor
Hygrocybe aurantipes
Hygrocybe erythrocrenata
Hygrocybe anomola var ianthinmarginata
Hygrocybe anomola var ianthinmarginata
Most of these spectacular fungi would be missed by the casual visitor walking along the track. Some of the ones I found were located right on the track itself and it was amazing they hadn’t been trampled. To see them you need to walk slowing and be observant. I often only found some of the most interesting fungi when I noticed a bright red one growing and then set up my camera to photograph it. Photographing fungi in dark rainforest often involves getting down low, setting up the camera on a tripod and then taking a long exposure to get sufficient depth of field or even a series of photos with dissent focus points and then “stacking” or blending them on the computer. While the camera is taking a long exposure you tend to look around. And you are low on the ground. That is when you often spot other hard to see fungi.
While I was photographing the fungi, I couldn’t help hearing some most amazing bird calls. They sounded like very strange birds – perhaps the calls were made by lyre birds?
On the day I walked down from Faulconbridge along the Victory Track to join the Sassafras Gully Track, and then I continued to Glenbrook Creek, and then along to Perch Ponds and back to Springwood via Magdala Creek. This is a very nice walk of about 11 kms.
More photos with identification are on my website here.