Time: a very slow two-hour wander
Place: Crane Park, Whitton
Gathered: a few sour cherries, three Jew’s Ear mushrooms, and a small handful of hedge garlic
This weekend I was at a friend’s party in the pleasant leafy suburb of Whitton. A group of us went to the local park to take some air in between rainstorms and food.
A few apple trees and a pear tree were apparent quite near the beginning of our walk; those fruits won’t be ripe for a while yet but the trees are fruiting very well. While taking shelter from yet another of the intermittent showers, I found some Jew’s Ear fungus (Auricularia auricula-judae), a treat at this point in the year as they are much easier to find in winter when there aren’t so many leaves on the trees. Later, nearer the riverbank, I found some young hedge garlic (Alliaria petiolata), a pungent member of the brassica family. At this time of year much of the hedge garlic in the London area is getting old and leggy and going to seed, and not tasting so nice. I do have some ideas incubating for the seed
The hedge garlic and the Jew’s Ear fungus ended up on homemade pizza later in the evening. Yum!
