hello,
On a recent walk up through the river Avon onto Chatelherault Country Park high parks near Hamilton South Lanarkshire. I took this opportunity seeing the weather has changed & the ground wasn't as sodden as it was in recent months. I was lucky enough to find (stumble upon) crampballs fungus, also referred to as King Alfred's Cakes (a reference to the fungi's burnt appearance from the story of King Alfred) & coal fungus. They are also referred to as Cramp Balls (old wife's tale because carrying them was thought to cure an attacks of cramps). These hard, inedible fungi I found on a ash tree but occasionally found on other hardwood trees. I wasn't 100% sure at first as to the species, so I picked off the smallest conk & to save time used my Primus power lighter II a short burst of flame direct onto the edge of the cake & instant ember nurtured by blowing gently on such. The internal structure was very compacted & contained some moisture. I was unsure if this was because of the frost or part of the growth structure of the fungus? like most finds I could pick & dry it at this stage but it will IMO maybe burn unreliably? I had the conk I removed identified later by one of the Park Rangers on the way home, definitely a King Alfred Cake. I was informed by the Park Ranger (very knowledgeable) that the mature dried fungus can sit on a branch for up to two years, insects & moisture will all play a role in its shelf life. They can be stored indefinitely when picked at the right time. It's the first in a longtime since I have come across cramp balls fungus, maybe they have been there & I've not been looking hard enough? I left the remaining cramp balls intact there's a few larger ones, if I need such I know where I can resource them in the near future. The cramp ball I have has now dried & I tried & tested such with a piece of Jasper I was given & fire steel. A nice shower of sparks & the cramp ball was soon a glowing ember. It's now on my bucket list as a tinder in my FSK in the coming months for fire lighting skills. *Image depicted some cramp balls on a fallen log very much similar to what I found.
Regards
David
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Argh.. (bad words). I thought at the time leave some of these coal fungi for another day, don't go harvesting this bounty in one go (famous last words). By luck I received a surprise package today which contained a small share of recently harvested amadou tinder seeing I shared my last strip of amadou on a recent Bushcraft session. 
Originally Posted by diviy
