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Newsletter No. 27 Spring 2012

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Recording the Fungi of

Page - 1 - & LEICESTERSHIRE FUNGI STUDY GROUP

Committee 2012

Chairman Richard Iliffe Tel: 01455 612769 17 Island Close Hinckley Leicester LE10 1LN

Secretary & Alison Joyce Tel: 07957 457061 Treasurer 113 Darklands Road Swadlincote Derby DE11 0PQ

Librarian Dr Geoffrey Hall Tel: 0116 3053726 Museum Collections Resource Centre Units 31-33 Hayhill Industrial Estate Barrow upon Soar Leicster LE12 8LD

Recorder Dr Tom Hering Tel: 01509 672664 33 Langley Drive Kegworth Derby DE74 2DN

Editor Robert Joyce Tel: 0781 7920030 113 Darklands Road Swadlincote Derby DE11 0PQ

Committee Members

Roger Rixon

Dr Richard Rogers

Dr Peter Long

Michael Dobson

Rod Freer

The Group library is held at the Leicestershire Museums Collections Resources Centre at Barrow on Soar. To arrange a visit to borrow or return a book please contact either Geoffrey Hall Tel. 0116 305 3726 or Carolyn Holmes Tel. 0116 3054102.

CONTENTS

Chairman’s Notes 3 The Diary – Member’s Blog 5 Buried Treasures 6 New and Interesting Fungi in 2010 and 2011 7 Foray Dos and Don’ts 9 A Review of the 2011 Autumn Forays 10 Little White Jobs 15 Foreign Invaders 17 Front Cover Fungi Quiz 19 Editors Notes 19 Photographs 20

FRONT COVER: Amanita vaginata To find the English name of this species please complete the Quiz on Page 19 © Robert Joyce

Page - 2 - Chairman’s Notes

Welcome to the 2012 edition of our Newsletter. The aim of these introductory notes is to review our recent activities, to give notice of future plans, with occasional appeals for help, and to express thanks to members for their support during the year.

We have been fortunate to have had the use of meeting rooms at the Holly Hayes Environmental Resources Centre over the past sixteen years, provided free of charge by Leicestershire County Council. It was an excellent venue and its closure for economic reasons had an impact on our Group finances as we had to accept the costs of hiring rooms elsewhere, and also to invest in our own projection equipment. Subscriptions had to be increased but membership numbers remained unchanged, which is very satisfying. Many thanks to our members for their continuing support.

Following recommendations by members we tried two new meeting venues in 2011. For our spring meetings we moved to the Great Meeting Chapel in Leicester, which has a long and interesting history in the religious and cultural life of the city. Their excellent modern facilities served us very well during the first half of the year. For the autumn meetings we moved to a more suburban location at Kirby Muxloe Free Church, where again the facilities met our needs very well. Having experienced both we need to select one permanent base for the future. Both venues have relatively easy access by car, with good parking facilities, but the Great Meeting Chapel has the advantage of good public transport links and this gave us higher attendances at the meetings we held there. On balance I think this venue has the edge and that we should try a full year of meetings there in 2012. Much of the success of our Chapel meetings was due to Anthony Fletcher acting as key- holder and helping to set up and close down the meetings. Many thanks to Tony, and I am pleased to say that he has offered to help us again this year.

At the AGM in March we appointed several new committee members but they were not worked very hard as we held no committee meetings during the year. Matters can be resolved quite quickly in these days of the internet without the travel hassle and room hire costs of face-to-face meetings. One major decision we had to make was to change our public liability insurer. For many years our Group had used the services provided by the Association of British Groups. Due to suggestions that our cover there was in question a decision was made to transfer to a scheme provided by the British Mycological Society. The change had to be made at very short notice to ensure that cover was in place for our spring forays so committee involvement was minimal. Both insurance schemes are provided free of charge so no costs were involved.

Our indoor meetings during the year were both varied and entertaining. All were well attended, and thanks are due to those who gave talks and presentations. In the winter we opened with a talk by Tom Hering on club and coral fungi, and in February Geoffrey Hall held us riveted by his talk on protozoa, algae and obscure microfungi. At the AGM Peter Long presented a review of his best finds of 2010, and in April Rob Joyce gave us guidance and instruction on using Photoshop to improve our photographs. The last meeting was presented by myself when I tried to explain how fungi can be identified to genus by noting specific characters.

Page - 3 - The autumn meetings were based mainly on identifying collections of fresh specimens brought in by members, with communal discussion about the finds. These meetings are always instructive and enjoyable. One meeting concentrated on using the microscope. The highlight, and best attended meeting of the year, was a very enjoyable social evening with skittles and a meal, held this year at the Odd House pub, Snareston, with many thanks to Rob and Alison Joyce for arranging it.

Our Group records have recently been transferred to a new program by our Recorder Tom Hering. Most of the 2011 records have been incorporated and after some minor tidying up of data we hope to send copies to the County Records Centre, now based at County Hall, with a further copy to the national database maintained by the British Mycological Society.

With the encouragement and support of Carolyn Holmes and Geoffrey Hall I have re- arranged our herbarium collection at the Barrow on Soar Collections Resources Centre. All the Group specimens have now been combined with others held for Leicestershire and Rutland so we now have just one collection, arranged systematically in cabinets so that specimens can be easily found. Freeze-dried specimens, which maintain their outward appearance when preserved, have been sorted into boxes for easy access so that they can be used for educational and exhibition purposes. As part of this exercise our collections of species containing , now classed as a dangerous drug, have been removed. Rather than destroy them we have transferred them to the national herbarium at Kew which has a license to hold such species. The Museum stores some of the paper archives of our Group and these have also been tidied up. This was just a matter of removing duplicated or irrelevant items and then re-sorting those remaining. They include early letters and committee minutes relating to the formation of the Group, together with copies of all our past Newsletters. If any member has any old Group photographs or memorabilia which they are happy to donate will they please contact me with a view to getting them to Barrow for safe keeping.

Our foray activities have been well covered in the articles which follow. Suffice to say that we had a full programme of events which attracted good attendances. We are now planning our 2012 forays and looking forward to meeting everybody again next autumn.

I would like to express my thanks to committee members and others for their help and support during the year, particularly the photographers within the Group who have made images available for indoor meetings and for our Newsletter. Special thanks go to Alison for all her work in membership administration and management of our financial affairs, and finally thanks to Rob Joyce for his various contributions, and particularly for planning and editing this Newsletter.

Richard Iliffe

Fungal Fact

Leaf cutter ants use a “farmed” fungus as a food source for their young. A young queen carries an amount of the when beginning a new colony which is deposited onto collected plant cuttings and the fungus is allowed to grow. As the colony grows more plant material is brought in and the fungus garden grows providing more and more food for the ants. It has been difficult to identify the fungus as it does not produce but it has been called Attamyces bromatificus and is always associated with the ants. jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj

Page - 4 - The Mushroom Diary – Member’s Blog

Every year we usually get two or three new members to join the group. One of our new members from last season is John Harris. John already had a strong interest in fungi prior to joining and was already sharing his interest with the digital world through a regularly updated internet blog called “The Mushroom Diary”. I caught up with him and asked a few questions about his website.

What first prompted your interest in fungi? I always had a general interest but a Channel 4 TV episode featuring Mushroom Hunting on River Cottage (about 6 years ago) caught my eye. After my first forage, I was hooked...

What sort of things do you talk about in your blog? I mainly feature single blog posts of fungi I've found, and explain where and when, including best features for identification in the text and use of photographs. I like to keep things simple and informative but in a laid back, fun way. Each post can take me around an hour to complete as I research and cross-check all my information, put together the images and check my grammar etc...

Where are your favourite local fungi sites? I don't seem to have a favourite, but there is great diversity around where I live in Blaby around the parks, small woodlands and roadside verges. I also visit different woods around the National Forest and I often visit Swithland Wood (which actually is an old favourite).

What do you enjoy most about the LFSG? It's just great fun and enjoyable to be in a group sharing discoveries and knowledge. Great advice and help is given all the time. There were some fungi sites/locations we visited I never knew existed! Great stuff.

What was your fungi highlight of 2011? Quite a few to mention but I especially liked the 2 Ceps we found on Cademan Heath. Lovely examples I thought. (Featured on the blog: http://www.mushroomdiary.co.uk/2011/11/ce p-mushroom-boletus-edulis/)

What next for your blog? The blog is getting more and more visitors (I had over 12,000 visits this November alone), so I will continue to add my usual mushroom finds but intend to include a 'starter guide' for newcomers, a seasonal calendar chart for the more common species and a new gallery, which will feature all pictures I couldn't fit into any of the blog posts.

John’s Blog can be accessed online at www.themushroomdiary.com. Many thanks to John for his time.

Robert Joyce

Page - 5 - Buried Treasures

I am always excited to find Cordyceps militaris, the Scarlet Caterpillar Club. On the surface they do not look particularly remarkable but there is always the prospect of what lurks below ground. I still hope to find a pristine subterranean larva or pupa from which the Caterpillar Clubs’ mycelium has grown!!

During an LFSG foray to Beacon Hill in September 2010 a rarer Cordyceps was found: Cordyceps ophioglossoides, the Snaketongue Truffle Club (wonderful name!) This species rises from underground fungi, rather than the remains of insects.

There was much excitement and anticipation as we carefully dug down, following the yellowish threads (rhizomorphs) in search of truffles. The truffles associated with Cordyceps ophioglossoides are the so- called 'false' truffles of the Elaphomyces genus. We were not disappointed - several were found, later to be identified as Elaphomyces muricatus. These truffles are loosely termed as being false as they are not edible and lack the aromatic smell that true truffles have (or perhaps I should say 'are said to have' as I have never smelt a true truffle.... maybe one day!)

I liken truffles to underground earthballs. They both have a 'skin' (peridium) which encapsulates the inner mass (the ). The peridium of Elaphomyces muricatus is typically quite thick and marbled as seen in the photograph. As truffles live underground they have to rely on insects, small rodents and mammals to feed on them and thus disseminate their spores. Earthballs can simply eject their spores into the wind.

Truffles have a mycorrhizal relationship with tree roots – both truffle and tree benefit from each other. Mycorrhizal fungi help tree roots in the hard work of taking up organic nutrients. The hyphae of mycorrhizal fungi (hyphae being fungal filamentous strands) are efficient at gleaning nutrients from the soil, possibly more so than the tree's fine root hairs. The terms ectomycorrhizal and endomycorrhizal are used to further define this nourishing relationship of the hyphae with the tree roots depending on whether the hyphae wrap around the roots or whether they actually Cordyceps ophioglossoides penetrate into the roots cells. (c) Richard Rogers

Cordyceps species, on the other hand, are not mycorrhizal but parasites - their rhizomorphs grow down and 'prey' on their associated organic source, be it a dead insect or a truffle. The Cordyceps give nothing in return, apart that is, from giving us the pleasure of looking for them and wondering what buried treasure lies below.

Richard Rogers

Page - 6 -

New and Interesting Fungi in 2010 and 2011

Over most of the country, 2010 was regarded as a ‘bumper year’ for wild fungi, making one wish that one could be collecting everywhere at once. In fact, for us in Leicestershire, 2011 was almost equally good. Our longest list for 2010 was 83 species at Beacon Hill in September, nearly matched by 79 species at New Lount Reserve in November 2011. In the two years we have recorded 6 new species of agarics, plus a couple of ‘doubtfuls’. The largest and most handsome was , found at Hallgates Wood in 2010. This has a yellowish cap, but can be distinguished from A.crocea as it has a rather feeble ring, while A.crocea has none. Tricholoma columbetta, found at the same foray, was not actually new, but a case of ‘long time, no see’ – we last found it in 1984.

Amanita gemmata (c) Richard Iliffe

There were two new Mycenas with coloured gill-edges: M.aurantiomarginata in the grass at Cropston; and M.purpureofusca on conifer wood at Cademan Wood, both in 2011. I was pleased to find the last; though fairly common in Scotland, it is scarcely recorded for England. I think I have made the first records for it in Yorkshire, for Derbyshire and now for Leicestershire. In 2010 we got Lyophyllum semitale at Cropston – this is a greyish fungus that blackens when you touch it. Richard reported finding Crepidotus carpaticus (a Lyophyllum semitale (c) Tom Hering fungus with few confirmed records in Britain) on wood at Grace Dieu in 2011. Lastly a really tiny agaric – Flagelloscypha minutissima on a thistle stem at Burrough Hill in 2010. This is one of the ‘cyphelloid’ fungi, looking more like a small cup-fungus than an agaric. The doubtful ones are Inocybe posterula at Cropston (2011) which will have to be found again before it can be confidently recorded, and a Psathyrella from Beacon Hill in 2011 which is certainly new to me – I tentatively call it P.gordonii.

Page - 7 -

Serpula himantioides (c) Tom Hering

There are records for two other new Basidiomycetes. At Cropston in 2010 we found Serpula himantioides on conifer logs. This yellowish crust is an easily recognised fungus, and it is surprising that we never recorded it before; and the resupinate fungus Piloderma byssinum was found on wood at New Lount in 2011. Then there were first records for some smaller fungi: Roy Lemmon found the hyphomycete Dendryphion nanum on stems of Deadly Nightshade at Ketton in 2010; Richard found a little cup–fungus Lanzia echinophila on chestnut cupules at Outwoods in 2011; at Narborough Bog in 2011 a mould on old Daldinia fruit-bodies turned out to be Acrostalagmus luteoalbus; and a little pink cup-fungus on old Water Horsetail stems at New Lount (2010) was sent to Kew; it was probably Hymenoscyphus equisetinus, but needs confirmation. There was also a single collection of a rust on Sorrel (Uromyces acetosae) made by Steve Woodward at Ketton in 2010. So much for ‘first records’.

There were also some welcome ‘second records’, including Entoloma turbidum, crocata and Camarophyllopsis hymenocephala. A fungus that is always nice to see is palmatus – the Wrinkled Peach, which is like a small Oyster Mushroom with a pink, rubbery upper layer. It specialises in dead elm wood, and we had many records in the 90’s when trees were dying of Dutch Elm Disease. Now that most of the elms have gone, it is much scarcer, but it was still found at three sites in 2010 and 2011.

Tom Hering

Page - 8 -

Foray Dos and Don’ts

As a group we have four main objectives:

1. To identify and record fungi in Leicestershire for local and national databases 2. To improve our knowledge base and expertise within the group 3. To be sociable and have some fun 4. To keep ourselves and others safe

In order to achieve the above we ask that all members keep to these simple Dos and Don’ts when out on group forays:

Do: Don’t: Keep to the areas indicated by the leader. Wander off from the group or leave early without Often we have special permission to visit or making sure the leader is aware. The leader collect from a site and there are sometimes should count members at the start and end of the restrictions. The leader should advise members foray. Members should remain in sight of the group of the duration of the foray and likely walking for safety. Members who wish to deviate from the conditions. The leader should be aware of other agreed route must inform the leader. activities in the area and advise the group as needed.

Wear suitable footwear and be aware of Collect species for consumption on forays. surroundings including tree branches at head Many fungi are poisonous and species should only height. Inform others in the group of any trip be consumed after expert identification. Collecting hazards, exposed tree roots, brambles, uneven edible species is not permitted at protected foray or sloping ground, awkward stiles etc. Use only sites and collecting hallucinogenic fungi is illegal. permitted access points and avoid climbing walls, fences, and locked gates.

Park safely. When assembling at start and Enter fields with stock. If it cannot be avoided, finish do so away from the road. Follow highway enter with caution, keep to footpaths and do not code when walking on roads. take dogs.

Inform the leader of any guests, especially Pick specimens ahead of the group. If you are children as this is a requirement of our ahead of the group do not pick specimens which the insurance. Dogs are only allowed on forays group would otherwise have found. Try to leave in with prior arrangement and should be kept on situ for other members to observe first. leads.

Be considerate of other members in the Ignore hazards in the area, including some plants, group. Some members may wish to take insects, snakes and other animals. Inform others in photographs and where possible we should the group of any water hazards particularly where allow them access to specimens before picking. banks are steep-sided. However, photographers should be careful to avoid holding up progress on the foray.

Have a go at identifying for yourself, that is Forget to share what you find. We want to how we learn and all part of the fun! If you do encourage members to develop their own skills in want to check with the leader or one of the other identifying fungi, however in order to maintain the knowledgeable members of the group recording aspect of the group it is essential that the remember to dig the mushroom out with a knife leaders know everything that is found so remember or similar to ensure you have it all and note to let them know. what it is growing on and what is nearby, especially trees.

Page - 9 -

A Review of the 2011 Autumn Forays

2011 was an unusual year. Following one of the driest summers on record the woodland floors were baked hard. Few fungi were about until mid-October, when we had a few wet days, and November was by far the most fruitful month, giving us long lists of species on every foray.

In the following notes I have given a brief summary of the autumn, with notes of unusual finds. Some of the species named will be unfamiliar to those attending forays as many get identified later, with the aid of a microscope. The unidentified species are usually divided between Tom Hering and myself and we work on them at home. Tom will be presenting notes on his own unusual finds in a separate article, and we may overlap a little, but I have written mostly about those I was able to identify myself.

In July and August we held our traditional ‘season-opening’ forays, finding little worth reporting. We visited Narborough Bog Wildlife Trust Reserve at the beginning of September. Water levels have fallen in the area and this reserve can no longer be regarded as a bog, though it still retains some unusual plants. Fungi were hard to find but a few are worthy of mention. Paxillus rubicundulus is a close relative of the Brown Roll-rim but grows exclusively with alder trees and this is the only local site where we find it. A strange find was a strawberry pink micro-fungus found on one old Daldinia concentrica. Tom Hering was able to identify it as Acrostalagmus luteoalbus and he sent it to Kew for confirmation. Their specialists reported that this species appears on various herbaceous stems, and very occasionally on Cramp Balls.

On 11th September we went to Nanpantan Outwoods. This was a very sociable and enjoyable foray, though again fungi were few and far between. In a very modest list one uncommon species was Hapalopilus nidulans. This is a bracket fungus, recognised by the softish texture and the overall cinnamon colour, from which it gets the name Cinnamon Bracket. It was interesting that two separate very small collections were made within a distance of about 50 metres, both on fallen twigs. One wonders if they had originated from Rutstroemia echinophila growing on sweet the same oak tree? The highlight of chestnut (c) Robert Joyce this foray was another species that we seldom see, and a first for me, namely Rutstroemia echinophila. This is a small brown cup fungus that grows exclusively on old fallen cupules of sweet chestnut. It has recently been re-classified under the genus name Lanzia. This was found when the foray group was standing around waiting turns to photograph a Cep, reminding us that the more concentrated the search of a small area the more good finds will be made!

Page - 10 -

We were now into late September and on 25th on a good sunny day a large turn-out of members visited Swithland Wood. More than half of our finds came from grass verges in the open area around the car park and it was almost an hour before the group finally moved away into the main woodland where, following the pattern elsewhere, very little was recorded. One of our best finds was a large and spectacular cluster of the Hare’s Ear Otidia onotica just beside the car park. Hare’s Ear Otidia onotica (c) Robert Joyce Three Inocybe species were found in close proximity, the rather common I. sindonia, and a second that looked very similar at first sight but with an attractive smell of almonds and which was later determined as I. hirtella. Also in the car park was I. asterospora which is quite common and, as the name suggests, has distinctive star-shaped spores.

Our visit to Ketton Quarry on 2nd October was another unusual foray in that the normally fruitful wooded areas were virtually barren. Fortunately the shaded grassland paths leading to the woods were damp and most of our finds were from this area. One species was puzzling when found; firstly as a single fruit-body, then a group of three, and finally in a large cluster, which gave a clue to the identity – it was Lyophyllum decastes, a species that is normally found in dense clusters but which looks quite strange when growing singly. It was surprising to find it in three quite widely separated locations so presumably the weather conditions suited it. The best find of the day was the cup fungus Peziza petersii found fruiting on an old burnt stump. The same stump carried a small group of Aleuria aurantia the well-named and beautiful Orange Peel Fungus. Another cup fungus was Anthracobia macrocystis which has been recorded here before – it appears in masses of small orange discs on the burnt ground of old bonfire sites.

On 9th October at Cloud Wood, a reserve with calcareous soil, the best find was The Prince, Agaricus augustus, a species that we normally expect to find associated with conifers on more acid soil.

We visited Hallgates Wood on 16th October. This normally fruitful Charnwood woodland was very dry, with the soil baked hard. We found a brownish Mycena on the approach path which was identified later as Mycena flavescens, but the woodland proved to be very disappointing. The only record of note was a very dessicated Cauliflower Fungus Sparassis crispa, found at the base of a trunk. Fortunately we noticed that the adjacent grassland in Bradgate Park looked relatively lush and green so we left the wood and tried our luck there. This proved to be an excellent decision. Possibly as a result of overnight dews the grassy areas were quite damp, and we quickly built up a good list of grassland species, plus a few birch specialists growing near isolated trees. We found our first Fly Agarics of the season, and a number of good Field Agaricus campestris. Also in this area were some dried-up but un-ripe white puffballs that may have been small Giant Puffballs, but we could not record them with confidence.

Page - 11 - Nearby, and adding to the confusion, were several Meadow Puffballs Vascellum pratense. Other grassland species included Golden Spindles Clavulinopsis fusiformis,

Clitocybe rivulosa, Cystoderma amianthinum, Entoloma sericeum, insipida, Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca, Hypholoma ericaeum, Mycena leptocephala and Rickenella fibula.

Near some birch trees we recorded Collybia maculata, the Spotted Toughshank, and a small cluster of , the Piggyback Shanklet. These latter grow from the decayed remains of old fungi but we could find no signs of their host. The best find of the morning was a cluster of small grey Omphalioid (trumpet-shaped) species growing in bare soil, possibly a rabbit-scrape. Tom identified them at home as Arrhenia griseopallida, a new county record. The decision to divert into Bradgate Park rescued what would otherwise have been a very frustrating and unproductive morning.

23rd October - . The initial results from this foray were very disappointing and those who attended would not have expected a final list of fifty or so species. Once again the ground was dry and we had to search very hard to find things. Many of our records came from single dried up specimens found in grassland or on old wood, most not capable of reliable identification on site. Among the ‘little brown jobs’ was Conocybe arrhenii, one of the few Conocybe species that have a ring on the stem; and we collected various ‘little white jobs’, none of which could be named when found. One was later resolved as Cystolepiota seminuda and another as Psathyrella corrugis which has a pale reddish edge to the gills which can sometimes be seen with a hand-lens. An unidentified small grey find was confirmed as Mycena aetites, and a little pleated whitish cap was identified as Parasola auricoma. This last species has distinctive hairs on the cap surface, just visible with a hand lens but very obvious under the microscope.

30th October - Cropston Waterworks. The decision to visit Cropston late in the season was fully justified. The weather was good and we had an excellent turn-out of members. The final list of species included a number of old favourites that had not been recorded in the county for a number of years, several of them only tentatively identified in the field. A brownish mushroom found in open grassland caused much head-scratching and was eventually determined as Agaricus impudicus. This has become a more commonly recorded species in recent years, possibly because it was wrongly named in the past. Key features are said to be a smooth dark brown disc at the centre of the brown scaly cap, flesh which is unchanging when cut, or just slight browning in the cap flesh, but with the gills showing bright red bruising when crushed. A large whitish ‘mushroom’ was identified as Leucoagaricus leucothites, called the White Dapperling as it is closely related to the Lepiotas. This species can cause confusion but there are few that are white overall with a ring on the stem.

Seven species were recorded, ranging from the pure white R. chloroides to the bright scarlet R. sanguinaria, and the deep purple R. amara. These last two associate with mature pine trees. Also near , and wrongly named when found, was an orange- brown Milkcap that was later identified as fulvissimus.

We recorded a number of small brown jobs, most of them requiring homework. Many of these are difficult, but we succeeded in identifying Conocybe mesospora and clavata. coprophila was found growing on rabbit pellets – this small species is seldom recorded but it is rather insignificant and may be overlooked. Another small and rare species that can be difficult to identify is Camarophyllopsis hymenocephala.

Page - 12 - This was our second record from Cropston. It seems to like gritty well-drained soils and we found it growing among the loose chippings which surface the car park.

One of our most spectacular finds was the Dyer’s Mazegill Phaeolus schweinitzii. This is uncommon locally, possibly as we have few old pine woods in our county. It used to be collected commercially as it was used in the dyeing industry to produce various shades of yellow. Another striking species was Inonotus dryadeus, the Oak Bracket, of which we found several large fruit-bodies at the base of an old oak. We don’t see this often but when found it is unmistakable due to the globules of brownish fluid that it exudes from the pore surfaces around the margin.

On 2nd November we arranged a mid-week foray to Fosse Meadows Nature park, a first visit to this site. It was created some thirty years ago when former agricultural land was donated to Council specifically for public use. The council planted it with a variety of local and imported trees and shrubs and it is now widely used as a local dog- walking site, with nature taking second place! Although the ground was still dry we found a good range of typical autumn fungi. A highlight was a slime mould found in dense clusters of tiny orange globules attached to fallen pine needles. It was taken home and allowed to mature when it was identified as Leocarpus fragilis. Another first species for me, though recorded previously in the county, was a burnt ground specialist Tephrocybe anthracophila. This is a rather dull grey-brown species and it was found in dense clusters at two separate bonfire sites.

We made our annual visit to New Lount Reserve on 6th November. We recorded a long list of species, most of them found before at this location. Among the unusual ‘little white jobs’ was Collybia cirrhata, the Piggyback Shanklet. This grows as a cluster of tiny white caps and gets its English name from the habit of growing on the decayed remains of old fungi. In this example the host had rotted away so they appeared to be growing directly on soil. The ‘little brown jobs’ included Galerina hypnorum and Galerina atkinsoniana. The latter was a personal first record, and it was satisfying to identify it. It is one of the few Galerina species to have cystidia on the cap surface. The literature says that in young specimens these can be seen with a hand lens. Two unusual records named later by Tom Hering were Hypholoma subericeum and Lyophyllum loricatum, both found in the grassland in the upper part of this reclaimed colliery site. Tom also recorded Entoloma hebes, the Pimpled Pinkgill.

Two species of Macrotyphula were found, the Slender Club M. juncea, and the larger Pipe Club, M. fistulosa. Both were growing among damp leaf litter under birches. We have recorded various Earth Tongues at New Lount and on this visit we found Geoglossum cookeianum.

The final foray of our 2011 programme was to Cademan Wood in mid-November, when we would normally be expecting macro-fungi to be coming to an end. On this foray we achieved our longest species list of the year, partly due to the strange late season, and maybe because of the variety of different habitats at this site. Unusual records included Mycena purpureofusca, a new county record, collected by Tom Hering and confirmed later. This is a rare species, reportedly more common in Scotland. Pholiota gummosa is an occasional find which always causes discussion – the sticky cap sometimes gives a clue but when dry, as this one was, it is difficult to name it with confidence. Psathyrella artemisiae, the Petticoat Brittlestem is an attractive species that we see only occasionally. A small brown Pluteus was collected by myself and taken home for checking. It was identified as P. podospileus – though it lacked the dark squamules usually found on the stem of that species

Page - 13 -

We prepared a separate list for Cademan Moor as the habitat is entirely different from the wooded area. We were disappointed not to find any waxcaps but there were several interesting finds in the grassland, including , the Mealy Bonnet. The grassland also gave us Galerina vittiformis which has dense cystidia on the stem which can sometimes be seen with a hand lens but, as so often with Galerina, hard work with a microscope was required for positive identification. Another tricky ‘little brown job’ found in the grassland was Conocybe rickeniana. Nearby was , the Liberty Cap or Magic Mushroom, a species that is easily identified without a microscope, which is just as well as it is now illegal to collect it! Somebody with keen eyes spotted , growing on Molinia grasses fringing the grazed area. But the most spectacular find of the morning was a massive Cep, , that absorbed a lot of camera time. It was large enough to provide several meals but as this site is designated as a Site of Special Interest it was left in place!

Richard Iliffe

Cep Boletus edulis (c) Rob Joyce

Fungal Fact

Remember the film “Jurassic Park” where dinosaurs are brought back from the dead through fossilised insects trapped in amber? Well several specimens of fungi have also been discovered trapped in amber. Amber trapped mushrooms have been found in the Dominician Republic and are dated between 15 to 20 million years old. Another specimen dates between 90 to 94 million years which means the fungus was fruiting at the time of the dinosaurs! es land on the jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj

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Little White Jobs

In the early years of our Group we had a great deal of enthusiasm but little expertise. We were learning from each other, and we only had one identification book to help us, the ‘Collins Guide to Mushrooms and Toadstools’ by Lange and Hora. With this guide we quickly learned to identify the common large toadstools but there were always many ‘little brown jobs’ and ‘little white jobs’ that were rejected without any consideration as we had no means of identifying them. Even today, with much better reference literature, I find small white species difficult. I have listed below some factors that help me with their identification. Some of these species can be ‘guessed’ in the field but for positive identification a microscope and good reference keys are essential. All the species discussed have a white .

Mycena My first title for this article was ‘Mycena look-alikes’ but I abandoned this as the genus Mycena is quite varied, and I am considering only the white species. Most of these have very small caps, less than 1cm diameter, which may be conical or campanulate (bell-shaped), often opening out to become more or less flattened. They have thin slender stems, and some have hairy stem bases. In a few species the stem may be slightly bulbous at the base. Microscopically, most Mycena have small oval amyloid spores (blackening in Melzer’s reagent or other iodine stains). Those with amyloid spores also have dextrinoid flesh (tissues reddening in iodine Typical Mycena (c) Rob Joyce stains). Most have unusually shaped cells (cheilo- cystidia) clustered along the gill margin. Many have distinctive cells (caulo-cystidia) scattered at the top of the stem, giving a pubescent (faintly hairy) appearance under a hand lens. With some species where they are growing gives a helpful clue to their identity. A few are found on general woodland litter, several favour mossy tree bark, and some associate with a specific leaf, for example one grows only on old oak leaves, with a ‘look- alike’ on rotting beech leaves.

Hemimycena This is a large genus but many of the species are quite rare so it is best to assume that you have found one of the more common ones and to take your investigations from there. Most have pure white caps, looking very like Mycena species. The spores, however, are inamyloid (the spores and gill tissues have no reaction to iodine stains) and they tend to be relatively long and spindle-shaped (having a Q-value, which is length divided by breadth, greater than 2). A helpful identification feature is the gill spacing. In some species the L- value, which is the number of mature gills reaching the apex of stem, can be less than 10. Most species lack a hairy stem base, but H. lactea has extensive white ‘hairs’ which radiate over the substrate, usually conifer litter. The cap of this species becomes flattened and wavy when mature. H. delectabilis is found attached to grass stems and when young has a papillate cap (with a central pimple), with a nitrous smell when the flesh is crushed. Another species is H. tortuosa which can be recognized in the field as it often has tiny water droplets on the cap and stem – these may be related to the unique corkscrew- shaped cystidia which are found on all parts of the fruit-body.

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Marasmius The smaller species in this genus have white to buff-coloured caps, lacking radial striations but often having radial grooves, giving a ‘crinkly’ appearance. The stem is usually white to cream at the apex but darkening lower down, often becoming dark brown at the base, and in a few species it is completely dark and hair-like. They can shrivel in dry conditions but recover later when moistened, regaining their viability and their ability to shed spores. They differ from most Mycena species microscopically in having rounded cells in the cap cuticle (outer skin), and in some species these cells are verrucose (warty) or have small outgrowths but in others they are smooth. In several species the caps have upright ‘hairs’ in the form of cystidia or thicker-walled setae interspersed among the rounded cells. Spores and tissues are inamyloid. Some favour specific habitats, for example one grows on rotting leaves of ivy, another only on litter under holly trees, and a few may be found attached to dead grass stems or roots, so be observant when collecting them.

Marasmiellus These have many features in common with , to which they are closely related. A difference microscopically is that the cap cuticle is always filamentous, with hyphae that may appear roughened, or with warts or small outgrowths, and they don’t have cystidia or setae on the cap.

Mycenella These have white to greyish caps. Look for ‘powdery’ stems, which are often tough and ‘rooting’. With one exception they have warty spores which are globose and non-amyloid, with a large apiculus (the projection where they were attached to the ), and the tissues have no reaction with Melzer’s reagent. We don’t yet have any on our local list but they should be out there. The most frequently recorded species is Mycenella salicina which has a strongly pubescent stem giving a white powdery appearance, and smooth round spores. The gills have crowded slender facial cystidia.

Delicatula Delicatula integrella is the only species found in Britain. It is very small and pure white, grows on wood, and it can have short-lived veil remnants around the cap margin. The gills are widely spaced and may not be properly formed, looking as if slugs had eaten part of them, or maybe just appearing as faint veins. The spores are amyloid, but the gill tissues are inamyloid – this contrasting reaction is a conclusive identification feature for this species.

Resinomycena Resinomycena saccharifera is the only species. It is white and tiny, with a ‘sugary’ appearance caused by capitate cystidia (having rounded ends) on the cap, gills and stem. These have resinous contents which make dissecting a sticky and difficult procedure. The species has a range of habitats - it can be commonly found at the base of dead herbaceous stems, particularly of Juncus, and it has also been recorded on pine needles.

Collybia Some of the tiny Collybia species look very like Mycenas, but most of them grow in loose clusters, apparently from soil but actually from decaying remnants of Russula and other fungi. Several grow from a sclerotium (a small ovoid piece of hard tissue a few millimeters long) which can be either ochre-yellow or black depending on the species. Care must be taken when collecting to check for presence of sclerotia, but careful collecting is an essential requirement for all small fungi as the type of base, or the nature of the attachment, can be critical.

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Coprinus and Psathyrella A number of these have slender ‘rooting’ stems and are Mycena-like when young and fresh, but in a few hours the ripening dark spores give a clue to their true identity. It is not unusual to take a ‘Mycena’ home in the collecting box and then find a different genus lying there a few hours later!

Thanks to Peter Long for checking through this article, though any errors are my own responsibility. I hope to prepare notes on ‘little brown jobs’ for a future Newsletter.

Richard Iliffe

Fungal Fact

Two common genera of fungi that affect our lives are Penicillium and Aspergillus in that both have provided a health hazard to food used by humans. This is because they produce which when eaten can provoke a toxic reaction within us. The worst of these toxins can be Aflatoxin produced by . The toxin is carcinogenic and can be found on contaminated starch foods such as grains. Although most people are aware of the benifits of Penicillium for the production of antibiotics and it’s use in the making of types of cheese, the fungus can also use it’s mycotoxins to contaminate grains. This can be a real problem for farmers cultivating crops such as wheat . es land on the jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj

Foreign Invaders

Hebelomina neerlandica is an unusual fungus. It resembles a Hebeloma in most of its features, but has a white spore-print. Such fungi have been known for a long time on the Continent, but there were none in Britain until one turned up at a foray in in 1993. Since then there have been a few more records (none in Leicestershire). So it is a newcomer to the British list. But where did it come from? Has it been present for many years, but simply unnoticed? Or did it enter the country from abroad? If so, did it come here by simple spore dispersal, or was it imported, inadvertently, by human beings? For this particular species, we may never be sure of the answer. But some other new records are certainly the result of invasion from abroad, and I am going to talk about some of these. The same questions can arise about green plants, though with them it is often easier to work out what has happened. There are now hundreds of plant species that have entered from abroad, and have established themselves in the wild. Many of these were originally brought in as garden plants – these are the ‘garden escapes’. Others were imported accidentally as seeds in bales of cotton from America, or in wool from Australia. I can nominate one fungus that almost certainly came in by this kind of route. The commonest rust fungus on Groundsel nowadays is Puccinia lagenophorae, which came from Australia. It takes its scientific name from an Australian plant, and began appearing on Groundsel in Britain in the 1960’s. Before leaving the question of plant dispersal, I might mention that Charles Darwin, with great energy, scraped mud off the feet of migrant birds, and obtained viable seed of 80 different species. This, for him, solved the question of how so many plant species came to colonise remote islands. That was over a hundred years ago; but I think it is still true that we don’t know for certain of any plant that actually extended its range in this way.

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When an organism, whether plant or fungus, enters the country accidentally, we never actually witness its arrival. With a fungus, we don’t know it is here at all until it produces fruit-bodies that get noticed. One group of fungi that does get noticed are exotic phalloids, relatives of the Stinkhorn. ruber, the Red Cage Fungus, is common in Southern Europe. It was first recorded in Britain in 1844, and it status as an alien invader is perhaps open to debate. In parts of southern England, such as the Isle Wight, it is so common that it can be regarded as a nuisance, because of its smell. The following are other exotic phalloid fungi that have been recorded in Britain:- , Mutinus ravenelii, Aseroe rubra and . They all come from Australasia or south-east Asia. The last two have only ever been recorded within a dozen miles or so of Kew Gardens, which suggests that they must have come in with plants imported to the collection there. We have not recorded any of these in Leicestershire – yet!

Clathrus Ruber (c) Tom Hering Clathrus archeri (c) Tom Hering Now to some invaders that we do have. Suillus grevillei is obviously one such fungus. It cannot grow in the absence of larch trees, and these were only introduced to Britain in about 1700. It has been growing here so long that it has become one of our ‘normal fungi’. Calocera pallidospathulata is now such a familiar fungus that you may not realise that it only appeared in Britain in the 1960’s. Willis Bramley first found it on conifer wood in North Yorkshire, and there was some discussion then about whether it was a North American fungus that had arrived with imported timber. In 1974 Derek Reid, then at Kew, decided that it did not agree with any described American species, and gave it the name we use today. It is now very widely distributed in Britain, and has also been recorded in Norway. Agrocybe rivulosa is a dull brown-spored toadstool, with a ring, that specialises in growing on wood-chips. All our British records date from 2004 or later, which suggests it is a new colonist. Wood-chips, or similar materials, have been around for a long time, so it is a bit of a puzzle that this fungus has only arrived very recently. It is true that the use of wood-chips in parks and gardens has increased, and some of it is imported from continental Europe. But a brief skim through continental books suggests to me that it is a recent arrival there too, as it was first described only in 2003. We now have records from Grace Dieu Wood and from Beacon Hill.

Lastly, Peter Long has made several records of Leucocoprinus birnbaumii, among hothouse plants at Leicester University Botanic Garden. It is a very delicate yellowish toadstool, and well-known as a companion of exotic plants in warm glasshouses. It is the only such fungus that we have recorded; but if you visit the large collection of tropical plants at Kew Gardens, you see clumps of other unfamiliar fungi poking up from the beds.

Tom Hering

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Front Cover Fungi Quiz

The answers to the following questions can all be found within this edition of the Newsletter. Take the first letter of each answer to spell out the English name of the mushroom on the front cover. Good Luck.

1) What Amanita was found at Hallgates Wood in 2010?

2) Seven species of these brittle mushrooms were recorded at Cropston Waterworks last season. What is the genus?

3) At Cademan Moor a large Cep was not collected because the site was designated a site of special what?

4) Two species of Macrotyphula “clubbed” together at New Lount Nature Reserve, the Pipe Club, M. Fistulosa and M. juncea, also known as the what club?

5) The truffles associated with Cordyceps ophioglossoides are the so- called 'false' truffles of which genus?

6) At Hallgates Wood, Collybia maculata was recorded, which is more commonly known as the Spotted what?

7) Growing on burnt ground at Fosse Meadows Nature Reserve was the species anthracophila, but what is the genus?

8) The small oyster mushroom, the Wrinkled Peach is harder to find these days due to the decline of which type of tree?

The photograph on the front cover is The ______

Editor Notes

I would like to say a quick thanks to everyone who has either written an article or submitted a photograph. Without everyone’s imput the Newsletter would simply not happen.

As always I would appreciate any feedback on the newsletter or any submissions for future editions. This can be sent to me at any time and stored ready for the next publication. The same goes for the LFSG website at www.leicsfungi.btck.co.uk.

Robert Joyce

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“Orange Peel Fungus” by Robert Joyce (c)

“Jelly Ear” by John Harris (c)

“Pipe Club” by Robert Joyce (c)

“The LFSG at Cademan Moor” by John Harris (c)

Quiz Answers

1. Gemmata. 2. The seven species all belonged to Russula. 3. Site of Special Interest. 4. Slender. 5. The genus is Elaphomyces. 6. Toughshank. 7. The genus is Tephrocybe. 8. Elm trees.

The Image on the front cover is The GRISETTE.

“An Illustration of the cortina (webbing) found on the genus Cortinarius (Webcaps)” Page - 20 - by Robert Joyce (c)