A Surrey artist creates incredible life-like embroidered mushrooms - which form part of a new fungus-themed exhibition.

Amanda Cobbett photographs the fungi on walks with her dog, before painstakingly embroidering life-size replicas of them in intricate detail. Her creations can take more than two weeks to complete, and were born out of a fascination with the importance of mushrooms in the natural environment.

Amanda works from real specimens - by collecting mushrooms from the woods, or returning over the span of several days to take multiple reference photographs.

Several of her works are now on display until December, in a limited-time exhibition titled Fungi Forms at Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Gardens.

"Fungi was something I'd been interested in as a student, but I put it to one side," said Amanda.

"It wasn't until we moved to the Surrey hills 18 years ago that I picked it up again.

"We’re surrounded by beautiful nature, so when you’re getting out and discovering things – even by taking a dog walk – there’s just so much to see.

"If I can’t take something from the forest – and I certainly don’t take things off trees or anything that isn’t in abundance then I’ll take lots of photographs.

"I’ll also go back and take a look at them and see how they’re changing.”

Each mushroom in the exhibit is one that Amanda has seen in her own travels around the Scottish Borders - including her personal favourite, the amanita muscaria, or fly agaric.

She added: “It’s been a beautiful project, and it was such a gift for me to be able to do.”

Amanda hopes the exhibit will encourage art-lovers and plant-lovers alike to appreciate the work - and go out into nature and spot the real thing. The exhibition will be on display in the Inverletih House Gallery inside the garden grounds.