Ascomycetes in Colour

Book excerpt: Ascomycetes in Colour illustrates and describes 700 species of fungi from the ascomycota. These fungi are mainly cups, discs and spheres which grow on, or just beneath the surface of their host. Their shapes, sizes, colours and textures vary greatly and together they represent an intricate and beautiful part of the fungus kingdom, which is just waiting to be explored. They can be found throughout the year growing on a wide range of substrates, including decaying wood and leaves, herbaceous stems, grasses, sedges, rushes, ferns, dung and burnt ground. All of the species have been found and photographed in habitats such as woodland, grassland, heath land, coastal sand dunes, marshes, banks of streams and edges of ponds in mainland Britain.