The Strawberry bracket fungi – or Tyromyces pulcherrimus – is a real stunner. The colour is a brilliant orange/red which stands out beautifully against the dark green moss and shady foliage of the Tasmanian rainforest.

As far as Tasmanian fungi goes, the strawberry bracket fungi is a relatively large one. Furthermore, it normally grows in fairly large groups which in addition to its colour really helps make it stand out.

It is quite common, and not limited to just the autumn peak fungi season. I have seen it regularly in most of the usual fungi walks such as Mt Field or the Styx, the Tarkine and Cradle Mountain. There are currently (Feb 2025) some great looking specimens down near the Styx River on the short walk along the riverbank there.

The large size of this particular fungi means you don’t always have to shoot it with the macro lens. In fact it can be quite nice to use a wider angle lens in order to capture the fungi in its broader forest setting.

The Strawberry bracket fungi tends to remain in place for a fair while. The colour eventually fades and it becomes something of a mucky white mess that looks a lot less photogenic – hence I haven’t actually taken any photos of it in this state!

Many (maybe even all…) of my autumn photography workshops usually end up with at least one or two fungi forages. If you can see yourself joining in the hunt, learning about your camera and enjoying some great company with like minded people please get in touch!