Sunday, 22 February 2026

Weird, weird, weird yeast

20th February 2026 - whilst working with the local Wildlife Trust group working along the Old Railway Cutting, Andy M found this colourful but frankly quite weird, 'growth' on the end of a wild clematis branch. About 8-10cm long, it looked slimy, but was actually quite solid, and coloured all shades of orange and yellow.

A little searching of the internet suggests this is a mass of a basidiomycete yeast (Cryptococcus macerans) which forms this 'slime flux' by growing on sap exuded from the cut ends of trees.  Weird!!

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The Aims of Abington Naturewatch

At their meeting on 9 April 2005 the members approved this revised version of the aims of Abington Naturewatch:

  • To monitor and record the wildlife (fauna & flora) within the borders of the Abingtons;
  • To encourage protection of our wildlife, maintain its quality and foster its diversity;
  • To promote awareness of the richness, potential and problems of the natural environment of the Abingtons;
  • To cooperate in improving access to the local natural environment for the benefit of all Abington villagers.

Pat Daunt, Founder

The organisation is informal and communication is by email if possible; members are notified of events from time to time. Contact details are maintained by a small "project team". There is currently no membership fee as costs are covered by voluntary contributions at events.

Members are encouraged to report notable sightings of flora and fauna within the Abingtons to the appropriate sector coordinator and an illustrated record is published annually.

A map of the area covered, with some features noted, is available here: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=213774935674882866424.00000111dca2be9f06ab8&z=13>

For more information or to join, please contact David Farrant on (01223) 892871.

Contributions to our records should be sent to sector contacts or either of the above. Photographs may also be submitted to Andy Merryweather (amerryweather61@gmail.com)