Cobalt Crust Fungus ....north Cumbria

Using a piece of wood with cobalt crust on it, my mother decided to have a go at propagating this beautiful fungus.

 The original piece of wood, with cobalt crust on it, was found in south Wales and was brought home to north Cumbria.

She explained how she did it: I took a length of undamaged wood (a thin branch) and cut it into three shorter lengths. I then drilled a few holes into each length. A few scraps of blue-stained fungus infected wood, were then put into each hole and the holes were filled with melted beeswax to seal them. The logs were kept outside in the damp and in the shade. In the autumn one of the logs began to show a bluish spot or two which have now spread into an unmistakable patch of cobalt crust!

This was beautiful to see and given the rarity of this fungus quite exciting! It is uncommon in England and Wales and very rare in Scotland and Ireland.

The new cobalt crust ....and below. 

Cobalt crust distribution Click for link