Fungi in Singapore

Fungi Fun

2011-10-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

Lovely mushrooms sprouting on the grounds of the Hortpark last week. My Sony HX100V was the best point-and-shoot camera that I have used to date in capturing photos of fungi.

Mushrooms by the side of Jalan Kemaman

2011-09-08T00:32:00.000-07:00

The last thing I expected to see were these mushrooms in the hot sun by the roadside where I had parked my car. I was glad no one had destroyed them and had let them be for the duration of their brief lives.

Fungi in the Dairy Farm Nature Park

2011-06-21T03:04:00.000-07:00

For the record, these fungi were seen on Sun 19 Jun 2011 at the Dairy Farm Nature Reserve along the road leading to the Wallace Education Centre as well as along the Wallace Trail.

Fungi at the Dairy Farm Nature Park

2011-03-19T00:36:00.000-07:00

For the record, fungi seen on Sun 13 Mar 2011 along the Wallace Trail and other parts of the Dairy Farm Nature Park in Singapore. I am not an expert on fungi, just one who likes to seek them out always hoping to see fungi that are not common and better still, have not seen before.

A slug feasting on the skirt-like netting of the Stinkhorn fungus. I took a video of it but did not stay long to see if the slug survived.

Fungi at the Singapore Botanic Garden

2011-01-16T03:59:00.000-08:00

At the Rainforest Walk at the Singapore Botanic Garden, we saw this beautiful golden mushroom. It was not easy to spot but we did!

Can you pinpoint the mushroom in this photo?

Stinkhorn fungus at the Singapore Botanic Garden

2011-01-11T07:13:00.000-08:00

This stinkhorn fungus was standing at the foot of a tall tree attracting my attention. It lived up to its name with several flies hovering around it. The stink did not bother me because I only wanted to take photos of it. In this set, I wanted to show how intricate nature's handiwork is in all forms of life, big or small.

Fungi - MacRitchie Reservoir Nature Trail

2011-01-03T02:24:00.000-08:00

Click on the photo to see more photos taken during a walk along the first 500 meters of the MacRitchie Reservoir Nature Trail in Singapore.

Stinkhorn fungus

2010-09-15T02:35:00.000-07:00

Chomp chomp! Some creature must have feasted on this stinkhorn fungus before it kicked the bucket elsewhere.

Changi Coastal Walk

2010-08-29T03:32:00.000-07:00

From the West Coast to the East. I spotted this mushroom growth along the Changi Coastal Walk. They have thick stems and I do not think that I have seen them before.

West Coast Park loner

2010-08-26T06:26:00.000-07:00

Only one mushroom in the grass, round and smooth and waiting for friends to appear.

Singapore Bortanic Gardens, Hortpark

2010-07-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

Singapore Botanic Gardens - Aunties on an outing.

Hortpark

West Coast Park mushrooms

2010-07-25T02:13:00.000-07:00

Two things that attracted me to these fungi - the pink spotw on the mushroom caps and the globules of sticky-looking substance on them.

Team-bonding games.

Mum and kids.

Hortpark surprises

2010-07-21T21:06:00.000-07:00

The camera was not up to par when I tried to photograph these spindly mushrooms. I noticed that the stems had an interesting texture and wanted to do a close-up of them. Unfortunately, none of my attempts were successful.

Hortpark mushroom ring

2010-07-06T01:40:00.000-07:00

What a delightful encounter, as always!

Bukit TImah Nature Reserve Fungi #3

2010-04-28T18:56:00.000-07:00

Fungi that are growing at eye level are a lot easier to photograph. The light is better, the angles that I can shoot from are more varied and it is less taxing on my back and knees. Maybe these are fairy cups planted for midnight parties for characters out of Midsummer Night's Dream.

After the party

2010-04-28T07:08:00.000-07:00

Ughhhhm, my head feels terrible and I feel sick.

Oh, it's morning already. Where am I?

Hmmm, check out my hair, is it all right?

I can't seem to walk straight, I need a little help here.

That's what fighting can do to your face.

Okay, here comes the police to check us out, steady everyone.

Run baby run, these fellas want to have us for lunch.

Bukit Timah Nature Reserve #2

2010-04-26T06:59:00.000-07:00

When taking photos of a model, the photographer gives instructions to her to elicit the kind of feeling or mood that is desirable for that particular photo-shoot. When taking pictures of flowers and fungi, I wish sometimes that I could get them to do my bidding especially in photographing fungi because they are usually found away from the mainstream of people, sometimes hidden by leaves or the ground between me and the fungi could be mushy and wet. Since this is only wishful thinking, I have no choice most of the time but step on the mud, duck under branches and pray that I will not step on a snake or a creepy crawlie. These fungi look like they were just planted right where I wanted them to be. Actually, I had to brave swarms of mosquitoes, the mud and moving a little out of the trail to get these shots. No regrets for my 'models' were worth all the inconvenience I had to bear with.

Bukit Timah fungi #1

2010-04-26T06:37:00.000-07:00

A Sunday morning walk along one of the trails at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve to look for fungi turned out to be a fruitful one. We saw different types of fungi and had a field day photographing them. As part of the trail we took was also a cycling trail we had to be especially wary of folks on thundering down the slope on their two-wheelers.

Spindle Ginger

2010-04-25T06:33:00.000-07:00

A walk along Senapang Road in the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve this morning brought several rewards in the form of a variety of fungi growing on the rain-soaked logs and truncated tree trunks on either side of the trail. The prize 'catch' was the sighting of a bright red ginger that I recall seeing on the January issue of Gardenwise, the newsletter of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. We spotted three of these colourful 'spindles' but they did not have any flowers in the bracts and all three ginger plants were growing on slopes.

Fungi by the side of a road

2010-04-20T21:37:00.000-07:00

If you ever see someone photographing mushrooms by the side of a road, it is probably me. I was not alone and it was a blessing that I had a friend who was game enough to help me take good pictures of these fungi by holding the stem of one of them to give an idea of its actual size and who flattened the surrounding blades of grass around a baby mushroom so that I could get a good shot of it.

Fungi - Orange and black

2010-04-20T00:07:00.000-07:00

The fungi we found in the Dairy Farm Nature Park on Sunday looked like they were on the decline. There were only two types growing on the logs lining the trails.

Labrador Park fungi

2010-03-21T07:53:00.000-07:00

The heat was beating down on earth
Little parasols appeared
big ones and little ones
Mum and dad, siblings all
had a picnic in the park
they call Labrador.

Fungi in Bukit Timah Hill Reserve.

2010-01-17T00:56:00.000-08:00

These were hidden from view and perhaps that has helped its survival to this day. All photos were taken without flash and without the use of a tripod.
This was seen on the edge of the path leading to the Quarry pond near the Visitor Centre.

Singapore Botanic Gardens

2010-01-03T02:38:00.000-08:00

I wasn't looking for fungi this morning. Just passing through a bamboo grove in the Singapore Botanic Gardens and a bit of orange caught my eye. I knew it would be something worth investigating.

Fungi on Mt Ophir (Gunung Ledang)

2009-12-09T00:03:00.000-08:00

A short day-trip across the causeway to the national park of Mt Ophir or Gunung Ledang resulted in an unexpected haul of fungi photos. The easy trial around the foot of the mountain was dotted with interesting fungi. There were the common ones we see quite often in Singapore but we saw some that we had never seen before like the bright orange ones and the black frilly one growing on the buttress of root of a tree that I almost missed seeing.

Fungi in Labrador Park

2009-11-09T07:53:00.000-08:00

Bukit Batok Nature Reserve

2009-11-01T23:42:00.000-08:00

It was a cool Sunday morning because there were thunderstorms the night before. The air in the nature reserve was fresh and the greenery sparkled with droplets of leftover rain. The soil was soggy and the wood was damp. Here are the fungi we spotted in order of appearance:

Using only an autofocus camera, it was difficult to capture anything white without making it look flat and lifeless. I tried my best by adjusting the white balance and got a nice shot from below the fungus.

Similarly, the yellow colour did not show up at all when I went completely auto. I had to play around with the white balance setting again.

It was difficult to make this fungus stand out from the complicated background. I put those leaves behind it to see what effect could be obtained.

Next to the solitary fungus was this family of mushrooms waiting to be given the same attention I gave to their neighbours.

A whole lot of mushrooms that are similar to the first set we saw.

Finally, these commonly seen fungi caught our eyes.

2009-10-14T07:59:00.000-07:00

Under the shadow of the Chalice Vine, what did I find?

Fungi in Hortpark

2009-10-02T08:40:00.000-07:00

On a hot day, the last thing I was looking for was fungi. Life is like that - when you look, you may not find what you are looking for and sometimes things turn up before your eyes just when you least expect them to do so.

Fungi on Batam Island

2009-10-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Three types, never seen before.

Someone changed his mind about eating this

Fungi - Dairy Farm Nature Park

2009-09-13T02:07:00.000-07:00

Today is a week since we visited this park to photograph fungi.The wet and dampness last Sunday has, over the week, given way to dryer weather. As expected, the same fungi we saw have withered. Those that are still holding out are not as fresh as before. The pink ones we encountered last Sunday have disappeared and this time the fungi we found were mostly those with stalks. We saw some that were new to us - those that were more jelly-like and looked almost edible but DON'T eat them just because they look harmless! Last week we did not venture into the Wallace Trail as it was in the later afternoon when we started our walk. This morning we walked the full length of the trail. Most of the fungi was found along this walk.

This time, I used the Canon 400D, initially experimenting with the macro lens 50 - 100mm and subsequently using the zoom 250 lens which I like because it is lighter and much more responsive. I did not use the flash even in low lighting conditions. Instead, I tried the various settings that allowed me to control either the aperture or the shutter speed. My greatest problem is the focusing. I used the autofocus all the time and some of the photos had subject that was sharp only at the edges. I think I should try playing around with the manual focus the next time. Overall, I enjoyed using the DSLR and the Canon IXUS is now my husband's toy.

Stamps with Fungi pictures

2009-09-11T00:13:00.000-07:00

These are just some of the stamps that my husband and son surprised me with one day many years ago. These paintings show fungi from the artists' viewpoint that are of course different from what you see in real life. Art takes the beauty of fungi out of their natural habitat enabling us to be aware of their existence and to appreciate that nature comes in many forms, some truly remarkable.

Dairy Farm Nature Park - Fungi destruction

2009-09-08T03:00:00.000-07:00

It was the first day that the Dairy Farm Nature Park was publicised in the papers. We found quite a few variety of fungi and were happy that our fungi-hunting trip was so fruitful. What marred our walk was finding evidence of ignorance among those who went to the park. A short distance from the entrance, we came upon this tree stump supporting several black fungi. They looked like they must have been there for a long time. After taking several photos we realised that two of the fungi about the size of a small palm, have been broken at the neck by someone whom I would just classify as a moron. Openness is always a double-edged sword. While we are given the opportunity to access nature's wonders, we cannot prevent destruction like this...

and this...

and these...

People need to be educated on how they should behave when they take walks in nature parks. It is great to see some three-generation families enjoying an outing at our nature parks but I also so a lady who was holding on to a plant that she had plucked thinking that it was okay to just take a small token from the park for cultivation in her garden. I also overhead an old man telling his grandson that one of the orange fungus they saw was a Lingzhi fungus saying that it was good for health. I hope people don't go around mistaking some of these fungi as those having medicinal value and take them home for consumption. It is best to consider any fungi in the park as poisonous and leave them alone.

Fungi Hunting - How to look for fungi

2009-09-06T18:46:00.000-07:00

When you walk along nature trails such as this one at the Dairy Farm Nature Park, look closely at the vegetation around especially at tree stumps, logs, fallen trees and dead leaves. Some fungi grow on the soil but most that I found were on decaying wood. There were times when I spotted fungi growing on truncated tree trunks high above the ground. This is when you need a zoom lens to get the photo that you want.

Fungi at the entrance to the Dairy Farm Park.

Fungi like these camouflaged themselves by blending in with the texture of the wood.

A tree stump that supported rich fungi growth.

You will not be able to see anything unless you take a closer look.

Surprise! A nice colony of dainty fungi.

See if you can spot them here.

Some fungi like to hide beneath fallen tree trunks.

I almost missed seeing them.

These are quite close to the trek but many people missed them.

Sometimes, you have to walk away from the beaten track to see these.

Lots of potential here!

Colours that blend. Easy to walk past them if you do not consciously seek them out.

The colours call out for attention - the right kind please.

A most interesting type of fungi. No one noticed. We missed it on the way into the park but saw it on the way out.

Fungi Hunting

2009-09-06T08:46:00.000-07:00

Sunday was fungi-hunting day seeing that we did two trails - a short one along the exercise stations starting at the far end of the carpark in front of the Visitor centre of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve in the morning and a longer one at the new Dairy Farm Nature Park in the late afternoon. This post will feature the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve walk. The next few days could perhaps be the best time to look for fungi because of the cool weather brought about by the rains in the last two days. The wet and dampness in the parks and nature reserves are excellent conditions for fungi growth and the variety we encountered was amazing! The colours and textures were fascinating. We saw pink and orange mushrooms other than the usual white and brown ones and even found one with a slug feeding on it. There was also a black and yellow insect on a pretty pink mushroom. I guess it was also having lunch when we saw it. As long as the weather maintains its coolness for the next few days, fungi-hunting activities would be rewarding.

At the end of our walk, we saw a mushroom that has been broken off from the log it was growing on. Later in the day, there were even more such evidence of idiotic behaviour at the Dairy Farm Nature Walk. It is such a pity that when the National Parks Board opened up a prime piece of nature to the public, people could not have the decency to just leave nature alone. They had to poke and probe fungi that looked like they had survived many years in the wild and destroy what nature meant for them to appreciate and admire.

West Coast Park fungi

2009-09-04T09:14:00.000-07:00

After a long spell of not seeing any fungi, I spotted these beneath some shrubs in West Coast Park. So where can you find fungi in our parks? There are no designated lots for fungi to bloom. I never consciously went fungi hunting because you may not always find fungi even if you make an effort to look out for them. I just keep my eyes open especially when the weather is wet and things around are damp in the park. I pay attention to fallen tree trunks, decaying logs, tree stumps, tree trunks and branches as I walk along a trail or strolling along the garden paths looking for flowers. If conditions are right and you look at places that are dark, shaded and damp, you might be rewarded with the less common type of fungi. Everytime I come across a fungi that I do not see very often or have not seen before, I count it as one of my blessings.

Singapore Botanic Gardens

2009-03-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

Sunset

Earth Trail Fungi

2009-03-09T23:27:00.000-07:00

The conditions must have been excellent for so many different types of fungi to bloom along the Earth Trail below the elevated walkway linking the Hortpark to Telok Blangah Hill. I have seen most these fungi before except for the yellow jelly-like ones.

So white in the shade of a MacArthur Palm

2008-11-13T07:24:00.000-08:00

Nature's receptables

2008-10-30T09:25:00.000-07:00

I would put pearls here.

Rubies and sapphires.

Very small fish here.

Made for holding emeralds.

Soap bubbles.

These are meant for freshwater pearls.

Tiny wildflowers hanging over the rim.

Visiting friends

2008-10-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

Telepathic message: Hey Mable, over here!

Ooh, what a surprise! Pleased to meet you and your family!Here's the wife, she just got a new hat, getting used to it. Say Hello to Aunty Mable, Junior. This is my brother Fergie and his family. His head has become a satellite dish. My daughter who is going to Modelling school soon. Twins run in the family you know. Thank you for visiting us Mable.

2008-10-26T22:06:00.000-07:00

Orange is the colour of the sun. See how we bring sunshine
to the darkness of the fungi world.

And the winner is...

2008-10-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

Oooh, see Hamilton rounding the bend, such style!

Darn, I forgot to bring my binoculars.

This is more fun than watching cars zipping by.

Yes Junior, careful you don't drop onto the racing track.

Yay! It's Alonso, Hurray!

Tbe best seats to watch the F1 Grand Prix are right here.

2008-10-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

Stinkhorn fungus

2008-10-23T08:30:00.000-07:00

I hope my relatives are here on time for my wedding.It's so tiring looking out for them in the heat of the day.

Family of Stinkhorn fungi

2008-10-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

Oh dear! I think we are lost. We will be late

for your Aunty's wedding for sure.

Let's wear our hats for the picnic at the park

2008-10-21T08:17:00.000-07:00