News Sheet N 20
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Herefordshire Fungus Survey Group o News Sheet N 20: Autumn 2010 Agrocybe rivulosa – Cwmdu, Powys (August 2010) Contents Recorder’s Report, September - December 2008 Page 3 Forget the Weather – Foray in an Art Gallery! Page 5 What’s in a Name? Page 6 Mountains are not just for Walking Page 9 Small Fan-like Fungi Page 11 Bracken and Fungi – an Introduction Page 13 The contents of this newsletter are the copyright property of the Herefordshire Fungus Survey Group. Please do not reproduce material from this publication without prior permission from the Editor. Thank you. another look at the subject. With great erudition he President: Ted Blackwell explores the derivation of some of our common (and not so common!) Latin binomials. Recorder: Jo Weightman Jo has written this time on some of the small, fan-shaped Chairman: Roger Evans fungi, such as those of the Panellus and Melanotus species, that we are inclined to overlook. With her Secretary: Mike Stroud excellent descriptions and the photographs, we might hope that more of these will find their way into our lists in future. Treasurer: Margaret Hawkins One of our newer members, Gareth, reports on a ‘Bracken Welcome to the Autumn 2010 News Sheet Open Day’, given by the Society of Biology and the International Bracken Group in Breconshire. He highlights this important association with fungi and draws our Firstly, my humblest apologies for producing this News attention to the wealth of fungal species that occur in this Sheet so late in the Autumn. I have nobody to blame, environment. except myself! Debbie has told us of how she combines her two passions As you will see from the list of HFSG officers, our (or should it be ‘two of her passions’?) of mountain walking Treasurer has changed from Steve Rolph to Margaret and mycology. As always, it is a delightful ramble through Hawkins. a plethora of interesting species, accompanied by some excellent photographs. Steve has done sterling work in the post since he was elected in 2007 and we are most grateful to him. He has Last, but by no means least, Tom indulges us with one of decided to spend more time on tour in his camper van his beautifully idiosyncratic pieces on fungi in art. Who which, obviously, makes it difficult to continue in the role - else would go looking for apple scab in a 17th century although he says that he is still hoping to come on forays painting? We are delighted to be able to publish this – with us from time to time. We wish him all the very best in thank you, Tom. this venture and will always be pleased to see him, whenever he can manage to join us. As I always say, don’t forget that the Editor is always looking for your contribution(s) to the News Sheet – the Margaret has very nobly stepped into the breach and, deadline for the Spring issue is 20th February, please. hopefully, by the time you read this will have been confirmed as the new Treasurer by our AGM. We are very Happy reading! grateful to her. Mike Stroud e-mail: [email protected] In this issue, Ted follows up an article on fungal names To fill in this space, Macrolepiota mastoidea, (with its which he wrote in Autumn 2006 (News Sheet No.12) with typical umbo), found in our garden at Cwmdu, Powys, August 2010 Our new Treasurer, Margaret Hawkins Page 2 RECORDER’S REPORT This time I am starting with examples of non-foray finds records on the FRDBI, widely distributed across England recorded so far this year. and Scotland. Probably very under-recorded. Boletus satanas 10.08.10 in Leeping Stocks Reserve, Doward, Cherry Greenway – a new station for this Rare In addition to the above, I have received records of status Red Data and BAP species recorded regularly from common species seen untypically late ie in the New Year, this woodland complex since 1973. include Lepista nuda, Clitocybe fragrans and Hygrocybe virginea on 2.1.10 and Lepista saeva 3.2.10 still in good lick after a long spell blanketed in snow. Fungi recorded at the Bioblitz held at the Perrystone Estate Ross on Wye 19.06.10 included Pholiota tuberculosa and Scopuloides rimosa, both on lime. This year the Biological Records Centre held their annual outdoor recording meeting at Turnastone Court. Again, very dry conditions prevailed. Surprisingly, given the month, Encoelia furfuracea was fruiting well on a moribund hazel pole. This species usually occurs in the winter months. HFSG Forays Boletus satanas Forays have been held in a range of habitats – managed Corynespora cespitosa 28.02.10, on a fallen birch branch, and unmanaged woodland on a variety of soils, in Orleton. Ted Blackwell. To date there are only 7 other parkland and meadow – and, despite the very dry records for this hyphomycete on the national database, conditions that have plagued foraying so far this year, (FRDBI) from sites scattered across the UK. 200+ xxxx fungi were recorded by members overall of which a pleasing 78+xxx were new site records. Disciotis venosa, 12.4.10, in a garden, Weobley, Jean Wynne-Jones. The only record this year of this large DOWARD 24.03.2010 brown, wrinkled saucer-like asco that smells of bleach We concentrated on the Leeping Stocks Reserve. Given when broken. the month we were not expecting many agarics and were proved right – just one, Mycena adscendens in litter. Most Geastrum fornicatum 3.4.10, just south of the Goggin. A of the 15 lichens recorded were new and a good remarkable earthstar, which holds its sac aloft on long proportion of the ascos. Among these, Gloniopsis legs. An example of a species so remarkable that its sites praelonga collected on bramble, its preferred host, has are re-visited and well recorded but this is a new site. only a scattering of records in VC36 despite being Collected by D Purce and identified by Roy Mantle who described as a common species. The only vernal species sent the record. recorded was the Scarlet Elfcup, Sarcoscypha austriaca, which was new both to the reserve and to the Doward as a Morchella esculenta 16.04.10, in an empty stock bed, whole. It was not a day for rarities but we were able to fill Hampton Court, Hannah Wilks head gardener. Only the in some notable gaps. eighth vice county record since the first in 1871. MOUSECASTLE 21.04.2010 Phellinus igniarius 20.2.10 Sutton Walls Stephanie Useful recording again, in an area of broadleaf high forest Thomson. A handsome, blue-grey, woody bracket that with oak, ash, beech and hazel. Hymenochaete occurs on willow and poplar. rubiginosa, which normally occurs on oak or sweet chestnut stumps was indeed present where it should be, Protomyces pachydermus 24.05.10 on dandelion leaves but was also, unusually, seen on a post. Ted, who stayed by roadside, Orleton Ted Blackwell. Only the second at the bottom of the hill, was rewarded with the remains of Herefordshire record – the first by Ted in 2000, also in the previous year`s Handkea utriformis. The reddish- Orleton. Subsequently, recorded in June from my Orleton purplish-brown patches on dead fallen ash of what we garden also, probably meaning that this is a much under- used to be able to call Hypoxlon rubiginosum, but must recorded species, rather than a local treasure. Look for now take more care over (see Field Mycologist 9(2)), purplish, swollen areas on the leaves and petiole. proved to be H petriniae – KOH dabbed onto a scraping of the stroma gives a distinct orange stain. Most of the 14 Sphaeropsis visci 2.3.10, on fallen mistletoe leaves, near new site records, while not rare, were not run of the mill Orleton, Jo Weightman. Given the abundance of the either. Chaetosphaeria inaequalis, however, has only mistletoe host, it is curious that this is only the eighth been recorded once before in the vice-county and appears Herefordshire site. to be under-recorded nationally. A nearly invisible brownish disco on a fallen oak leaf was identified as Taeniolina scripta 17.4.10, dead hazel branch, Downton Lachnum fuscescens var. fuscescens, ordinary enough to coll Jo Weightman, det Alick Henrici. A first VC36 record the eye, but under the microscope the transparent end for this hyphomycete for which there are only a few cells of its hairs can be seen to be tipped with large crystals. Page 3 CROW WOOD AND MEADOW 16.06.2010 1 mm The group forayed here in the autumn of 1999 and a spring foray was, therefore, complementary to this. Conditions were still dry and so finds inevitably were limited, but nearly all were new site records. On the whole, the meadows were unproductive although early finds of Conocybe lactea and Entoloma conferendum were encouraging. Most recording was done in a belt of wood pasture above the meadow and in scrub and woodland along the streams. The most notable species were: Flagelloscypha minutissima which resembles a hairy cup fungus but which is actually most closely related to agarics. Lachnum fuscescens var. fuscescens - Mousecstle Wood (21/4/10) 1 mm MOCCAS 19.05.2010 With the exception of a few colonizers of leaves (all common) and one parasite on living beech and oak, the fungi recorded on this occasion were all saprophytes on fallen wood or rotting herbaceous stems. Ascos such as Cistella fugiens, Hyaloscypha hyalina, Hymenoscyphus vitellinus, Mollisia cinerea and M. palustris were found by first seeking out species in residually damp gullies or at the lake edge.