As we come to the end of the mushroom season in the UK, it’s good to reflect on the strange beauty (and often, downright wierdness) that the fungal kingdom often displays. Members of the Geastraceae family (Earthstars) are distinctive fungi; in outward appearance their fruiting bodies are not unlike those of the more familar Puffballs, but are a rarer, and more spectacular, find in the UK.
The rarest and most striking Earthstar of all is the Pepperpot, Myriostoma coliforme, which is the only member of the family to have multiple holes in its spore-sac, giving rise to its common name. The force of raindrops falling on the spongy spore-sac causes clouds of spores to be ejected from the holes and dispersed.
Although this species has a global distribution, it is rare in most of Europe, and was thought to be extinct in mainland Britain – until it was found in Suffolk in 2006. It is still classified as Critically Endangered in the UK, and its future has to be considered uncertain; but it’s good to think that the species is probably still around, patiently extending its mycelia somewhere beneath the grass, waiting.
INTO THE EREMOZOIC 
No Pepperpot fungi have been recorded/seen at this private and secret site for the past 4 years and it is feared this site may be ‘depleted’ or hopefully, just dormant waiting for a few dead branches to fall and become covered in soil enabling the mycelium to move in and ‘come to life’ again – but I am not hopeful.
However, the good news is that a more bountiful site was discovered in 2010 – again in Suffolk, and has been flourishing ever since – the bad news is that the site is adjacent to a country road regularly used by school buses and supermarket delivery vans and due to erosion is in a very precarious position. Monitoring takes place weekly, yet despite very few people knowing the whereabouts of this site, already mature fruiting bodies have been stolen and only a few weeks ago (as of 13/08/2016) I noticed 2 ‘eggs’ have been dug out and removed – this is particularly annoying as the ‘eggs’ were connected by a type of umbilical cord to the underground mycelium network, so will now just shrivel up and die.