Frog Squeak

Common frog - Rana temporaria

The common frog, Rana temporaria, is found all across the UK. I had seen a few shortly after arriving in Norwich in September 2014, but none since; the winter months are too cold for them and they tend to hibernate. Now, with the onset of Spring, the frogs are beginning to emerge again, ready to begin the reproductive phase of their life cycle. 

They can differ in appearance quite drastically and so can be easily confused with other species. I'm not so hot with my amphibian identification and had studied a few different descriptions and raked my memory of my frog encounter before coming across this useful tip. I knew this was a frog straight away because of its bulging eyes, slimy streamlined body and large back legs. For those who might confuse toads and frogs remember those distinguishing features, and that toads tend to look dry and bumpy and tend to walk instead of hop.

I always get excited when I come across animals I  didn't expect to see and inevitably try to pick them up (terrible habit, I agree). When I tried to grab this frog, mid-leap, I got quite the surprise!

Excuse my chuckle. I had never come across a frog that squeaks! Common frogs occasionally squeak to startle predators. Though I did not intend to harm the frog it definitely startled me.

Currently, chytridiomycosis (a disease caused by a species of fungus) is causing a global decline in amphibian numbers. The pathogen uses flagella to move through aquatic environments and infect new hosts through the skin. Because amphibians have such delicate and porous skin and live semi-aquatic lives, they are prime targets and are the worst affected. 

It is great to see these frogs still on the UEA campus. I hope they are not too badly affected.

Giant Polypore

Giant polypore - Meripilus giganteus 

The Giant Polypore is a common bracket fungus that can grow rather large. I stumbled across one in the UEA forest which was easily 2ft across!

It is not known to be particularly tasty and is often confused with the more palatable Hen of the Woods bracket, which looks rather similar. However, I would be curious to harvest a little and try a few different recipes.. There is a lot of it after all!

They often grow at the foot of large trees, commonly the beech tree, and can digest the cellulose and lignin causing potential weaknesses in the structure and stability of the tree.

King Alfred's Cakes

Sadly, this is not a post about cakes.

King Alfred's cake - Daldinia concentrica 

Whilst walking through the trees lining the lake on the UEA Campus I spotted a black clump clinging to a dead tree trunk. Fungus! But what kind I had no clue..

So began the legend of King Alfred. Apparently, King Alfred was asked to look after some cakes in the oven and make sure they wouldn’t burn. He failed. The resultant black lumps of goodness resembled the fungus clinging to trees and were so nicknamed.
Carried around in men’s pockets, it was also believed to cure cramps and so were called cramp balls.

Any outdoorsy people will be glad to know it was additionally called coal balls for it’s fire starting magic. Because of it’s dense nature, once dried, the inner flesh will catch sparks from flint and burn slowly.

Camping time?

One last thing… Though they are so aptly named, don’t eat these burnt buns!