Looking for all the world like a half-chewed wine gum (and about the same size in this case), this extraordinary-looking fungus is supposed to be just as edible, though I’ve no idea what it tastes like nor do I particularly wish to know. I took this photo on the 3rd November in pouring rain in the middle of the typically spectacular Forest of Dean.

Yellow Brain has a tendency to dessicate and become very hard and shrivelled under dry conditions, but rain will usually serve to revitalise it sufficiently so that it can continue with its production of spores which occur all over its outer surface.

I’ve photographed scores of different species of fungi over the years, many of them in Autumn, but today I was hoping to catch sight of the very rare (in Britain) Scarlet Splash Fungus, a kind of redder-looking version of Yellow Brain. I was also hoping to photograph the equally fascinating shiny, tan-coloured Leafy Brown Fungus, but sadly, I saw neither this time around.