cramp ball fungus find

[leon-b]

hi
i used cramp ball fungus on my day out with fenlander so i know what it looks like from the inside but i have never found or even looked for it in my life.
i was walking through my local woods today with a mate and i suddenly spotted about 4 fallen trees full of crampball fungus ( unfortunately i didnt have a camera to hand so i didnt take any photos) so i started filling up my pockets with the stuff. my mate isnt into bushcraft so he was like what the hell are you putting in your pocket, i explained it to him and he was fairly impressed.
now i know that i can possitively id and find cramp ball fungus in the wods

leon

 

[g4ghb]

well done Leon! - it's a wonderful feeling when you id something for yourself for the first time isn't it!
I'ts all very well reading books and thinking you know but far better to be confident of your own knowledge!

 

[leon-b]

yes i knew fairly good what they looked like due to pictures in books but i have never seen one in the woods so when i found these it was great because its all fine and dandy reading books but actually finding it in the woods is far better. the next thing i am trying to id is thistle because i want to scrape of the thorns and eat the stem raw like a few people on here have said
leon

leon

 

[Fenlander]

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=852&cat=504

I usually wait until they start to deteriorate and have been attacked by insects, because I find they work better (especially with flint and steel) and can usually be used straight from the tree without needing to be dried. If they pull off the tree really easily, then they are ready to use.

 

[leon-b]

yes i pulled mine of the tree and then went strait home and lit them with my firesteel and they lit first time so i guess thay are ready to use

leon

 

[leon-b]

tommorrow i am going to put the fungus into some tinder and blow untill it goes up in flames, what is the best and easiest to gather tinder to use for this

leon

 

[andyn]

Hi Leon, Good find mate!

Just a word of warning I suppose...because I know how exciting it is when you find something new in the woods and you start picking them to take home ...Just bare in mind that when you find a tree with cramp balls on, or any other fungus or plant really, try not to take all of them as there wil be none left to spore/seed for new ones to grow Same with any thing in the wild really...rape a small area once and it will be gone for good (or a long time anyway), take what you need from a large area and it will continue to grow for many years to come.

Good luck with the crampball-tinder-flame practice tomorrow. Dried grasses and/or fiberous inner barks all work very well with crampball. Or you can just use bedding hay from tesco

Andy

 

[leon-b]

yes i realise that it is better to take small amounts from each tree but take them of quite alot of trees rather than take loads of a single tree. ok i will go down the woods after school today and see what i can find, i take it that with the fiburous inner bark you have to buff it before use

leon

 

[Scally]

hi leon a little word of warning when pulled from the trees they sometimes (mostly all of the time ) chuck out black spores if you are not carefull it will cover the area you leave them in. i have had a lovely black mark on the underside of my bergan for months now and i am very glad i didnt put them in the airing cuboard. nice find by the way another one to store in the back of your mind well done.

 

[jasons]

the smoke from them keeps insects away and you can use to cook on. I use them all the time

 

[stovie]

And they glow beautifully, as demonstrated by one of my young scouts. Got to be one of my favourite tinders

 

[dommyracer]

Aye, put them in a sealed box Leon, otherwise the spores can get on everything.

Tesco Value bedding hay makes great practice material for blowing ember into flame.

 

[leon-b]

thanks but i am looking to find the tinder in the woods and do it like that

leon

 

[leon-b]

i said i wanted some thistle and i think i may have found one it has thistles on it obviosly and a puple round head i think its thistle

leon