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Curry mushrooms and 'mould with memory': Ten UK woodland oddities revealed

A mushroom that smells of curry powder and a spider whose egg sack looks like a whippy ice cream are among the hidden wonders lurking in woodlands, experts have said.

The Woodland Trust has selected its top 10 weird and wonderful creatures, fungi and lichen that are found in UK woods but people may never have seen or heard of.

They also include a bright yellow slug, a fungus that changes the sex of the plants it lives on and slime moulds that can find their way round a maze.

Alastair Hotchkiss, conservation adviser at the Woodland Trust, said: “Many people love to visit our woodlands for a relaxing walk and will be used to seeing common critters like blackbirds, bumblebees or perhaps a badger.

“However, take a peak a little closer and there are in fact many, often hidden, but remarkable stories being played out within our woodlands.

“Picking 10 was not easy as our woodlands have many more tales to tell.”

Click through the gallery to see what the Woodland Trust’s top 10 hidden wonder of the woods are.