A fungus on a fungus on a fungus

I’m off to the woods to find a fungus that grows on a fungus. I’m heading to Yarner Heath on the eastern edge of Dartmoor to see if I can find some Common Earthballs, Scleroderma citrinum. Here’s one:

They are a common autumn fungus. They grow in profusion in leaf litter in woodlands and heaths. I’m looking for a special fungus which grows on this fungus. It’s called Pseudoboletus parasiticus.

Here’s when I found it previously:

I highly recommend stroking a wild mushroom

And here it is now:

Someone’s dislodged this one, so I pick it up and have a look:

Further on, near the edge of Yarner Wood I find even larger ones sprouting out of the sides of two large Earthballs.

There’s a complex and still mysterious relationship between the two species. Just how parasitic is the Parasitic Bolete?

Fungus upon fungus

Later I spot even more in Pullabrook Wood.

This one has white mould growing on it.

There’s a fungus growing on a fungus growing on a fungus. We haven’t even begun to start understanding the complexity of the natural world.