Mushroom Staircase for #ForestFriday Let's focus on another special feature of woodland spaces today - mushrooms! #EastCoastKin #ECK #photography #mushrooms #MereSandsWood #Lancashire #trees #nature #naturephotography #fungi #fungifriends (iPhone camera)

Look at the size of these! Like dinner plates! They remind me of stairs going up the tree trunk, a bit like the steep, single step ones in Dutch homes that are a little intimidating at first. Image shows a large tree trunk with gnarly, deep brown bark which dominates the frame. On the right hand side, about a quarter of the image, is a vertical stripe of the leaf-filled forest beyond. The tree trunk has a deep grove up the middle from which are growing two huge mushrooms that fan out in layers, a bit like a ra-ra skirt of you remember those. Each mushroom is a chestnut colour but looks dusty with a white edge on the bottom layer. On the left of the frame, some green oak leaves appear in view. At least I think they're oak leaves! Took the photograph in Mere Sands Wood close to the Lancashire-Merseyside border. It's a stunning wood with a large lake (or large to me) and meadows for butterflies, dragonflies and insects.