Another exciting discovery has been made at Great Dixter Gardens when a fungus called Cobalt Crust (Terana caerula), which is very uncommon and has spectacular vivid colours of rich glowing purple on black, was found in the gardens.
There are only 341 records for Terana caerulea for the whole of the British Isles since the species was first described by Lamark in 1779 and the fungus was found on a sweet chestnut support while student gardener Agnes Ladjevardi was pruning a clematis.
It is one of the Resupinate Fungi which are fungi found in warm damp hardwood forests on branches of deciduous trees or the underside of fallen logs. This was an exciting discovery for the Sussex Fungus Group and a first for all of Sussex.
Ever since Great Dixter’s Biodiversity Audit in 2019, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the gardeners at Dixter have been more aware of the diversity of wildlife in the gardens, and there have been several incidents of rare and exciting bees and insects being identified.
[Editor’s note: Opening times at Great Dixter Gardens and Nursery in Northiam will depend on how the Covid-19 pandemic develops, but it is usually open between the end of March and the end of November, and visits to the gardens only again may become possible with advanced bookings. The nursery is open but check times.]
Image Credits: Fergus Garrett , Gillian Roder .