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Trees woods and wildlife
Temperate rainforest
Also known as Atlantic or Celtic rainforest, this special habitat is incredibly rare. Its lush conditions are perfect for scarce plants, lichens and fungi, as well as a number of unusual animals.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Mosses
Ancient and damp, mosses are part of a group of plants known as bryophytes. There are over 1,000 in the UK, and some have global significance.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Grasses and sedges
Grasses and sedges are in different botanical families, but because of their similar appearance they are collectively known as graminoids (plants with a grass-like appearance).
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Trees woods and wildlife
Oakbug milkcap
Stinky and unimpressive. Oakbug milkcap is a dull-looking fungus that is easily missed in woodland among its more spectacular cousins. It is edible, though is not to everyone’s taste, and is said to have an oily smell, similar to bed bugs. Yum.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Chicken of the woods
Bright, bold and soft to the touch, chicken of the woods is easy to spot.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Candlesnuff fungus
Pallid, petite, a tumour-fighter. Candlesnuff fungi may be small but they are a medical force to be reckoned with.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Scarlet elf cup
Mystical and cheery, the scarlet elf cup grows on decaying sticks and branches in damp spots and beneath leaf litter on the woodland floor. Their bright pops of colour brighten up even the darkest winter day.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Penny bun
Weighty, fat and delicious with a cap like a crusty, well-baked bun. Penny buns, or ceps, are prized for their taste and benefits to woodland, tree and human health.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Common inkcap
Sticky and useful, inkcaps were used as a source of ink for important documents to guard against forgeries.
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Trees woods and wildlife
Yew
Ancient, morbid, toxic. The yew is one of the longest-lived native species in Europe. This has made it a symbol of death and doom, but it provides food and shelter for woodland animals.