I must admit that after today's walk in Silesian Park, I was a bit shocked, thanks to a certain type of mushroom. But first things first. I set out for my walk, as usual, well before noon, and of course, I changed my route when I saw the number of walkers in the park. I entered the forest, with only the sun as my guide, as I felt a bit dizzy.

Indeed, I went along completely new park paths, obviously forest paths, and came across several interesting mushroom stands.

The first of these was a site of a mushroom called the Variable Fungus. It's actually a common species, but I encountered it for the first time in the park, and in such a majestic form. I'll write more about it and the other mushrooms I found in a separate post.

The second species is the Chaga mushroom, commonly known as the Chaga mushroom. I've encountered this mushroom in the park before, but out of reach. Today's mushroom was low and suitable for foraging. I should point out that it's a highly valued medicinal mushroom.

There were a few other species, but the last one shocked me. Firstly, it's a very rare species in Europe, and secondly, it was the first time I'd ever found it, and in a city park. It was a beautiful day. More about mushrooms in my next posts.

But mushrooms aren't everything. The forest is teeming with plants whose names I don't know, yet I see them every year. They look phenomenal in the sunlight.

For example, common honeysuckle, with its beautiful red fruits, which are unfortunately poisonous.

Or the white dogwood with its snow-white fruit