Decaying. There were so many clusters of dead and decaying mushrooms on stumps, they chances of them being honey fungus are quite high, as those seen living are usually honey fungus.

At the base of living and dead trees, stumps and roots of broadleaves and conifers

Edible only after thorough cooking; some people are intolerant to it

• ▸ Honey-coloured to olive-brown caps growing in dense clusters at the base of trees
• ▸ White to cream decurrent gills
• ▸ Zigzag ring or ring zone on the upper stem
• ▸ Dark, dense scales in the middle of the cap

A weakly parasitic fungus whose black, bootlace-like rhizomorphs spread through the soil and can kill trees — the mycelium of a single colony can rank among the largest living organisms on Earth.