Wiltshire Botanical Society

Newsletter Issue 37 Winter 2010-2011 WILTSHIRE BOTANICAL SOCIETY In this issue Fungus Foray: Clanger, Picket and Green Lane Woods. 1 Westbury Hill..................................................................3 Transylvania 2010...........................................................3 Plant workshop: Stace and Poland.................................5 Grovely Wood.................................................................6 Namaqualand and Cape Province...................................6 Great Yews, Coombe Bissett..........................................7 Savernake Forest: arboretum and great oaks...................8 An appeal for help with plant recording..........................9 Wiltshire Botany Articles Free Online..........................10 Tim’s Crossword: Flora Miniature................................10 Butcher’s Broom seeks partner.....................................10 The Back Page...............................................................11 Website: http://www.wiltsbotsoc.co.uk Sunday 17 October 2010 Fungus Foray at Clanger and Picket Woods and Green Lane Wood Leader: Malcolm Storey Members enjoyed looking for fungi in these two Wiltshire Wildlife Trust reserves under the expert guidance of Malcolm Storey. Picket and Clanger Woods are particularly noted for butterflies, but about 550 species of fungi have recorded. It’s a mixed woodland, Examining the catch predominantly oak, but with other broad-leaved trees and stands of Norway spruce. their desiccated state. wood the fungus is living on. Nevertheless, 52 species were This species turns the wood Since many fungi are Shaggy associated with specific species recorded, 38 of them in Clanger green and the result was once of tree, this woodland Parasol and Picket Woods and 19 in used in marquetry, in which composition allows a rich (Macrolepiota Green Lane Wood. Below I different coloured woods were variety of species to grow. rhacodes) mention particular species used to make a design in a Green Lane Wood is was one of which illustrate the range of veneer. Puffballs have their types found. spores enclosed in a bag which predominantly oak. Our visit the more was preceded by a dry spell, develops pores through which easily An early find was Mucilago they escape when a raindrop which reduced the number of identified fungi seen and made others crustacea, which is not a fungus causes a puff of the spores to difficult to identify because of but a slime mould, a group come out. We saw the Stump which, for most of their lives, Puffball (Lycoperdon pyriforme), are shapeless masses of jelly- which is pear-shaped, like protoplasm which flow over Lycoperdon perlatum, which is or through rotten wood or bark spherical and spiny when young or dead leaves and twigs, often and the Pestle Puffball at speeds beyond 10 cm per (Handkea excipuliformis), which day. They feed on bacteria and has a broad cylindrical structure fungi by slowly flowing round expanded into a sphere at the and engulfing them, just like the top. Candlesnuff (Xylaria Amoeba of school biology hypoxylon) is rather tongue- textbooks, with which they are shaped and sometimes now classified in a separate branched, black below with kingdom called the protozoa. white tips where the spores are Eventually, they form a fruit formed - hence the popular body, which contains the spores name. There was also two by which they reproduce. Fairy Clubs with upright branching cylinders, the A range of forms was brownish ochre Ramaria stricta, encountered among the real and the grey Clavulina cinerea. fungi we found. The vivid bluish Large black bumps on dead green Green Elfcup wood were King Alfred’s Cakes (Chlorociboria aeruginascens) (Daldinia concentrica). Thick has the reproductive bodies in black erect cylinders on wood the form of a cup or disk with were Dead Man’s Fingers the spores produced in pits on (Xylaria polymorpha). the upper side. Like most other fungi, the rest is a mass of In bracket fungi, the fruit body narrow threads called hyphae, projects from the surface like a Mucilago spongiosa - John Presland which spread through the dead bracket. In most species the spores come out of tiny circular Page 1 Wiltshire Botanical Society Winter 2010-2011 pyrogalus with a very bitter taste to its milk and gills some shade of orange, and L. vellereus, also with acrid milk, but very funnel-shaped and huge and the gills more cream. This last was perhaps nine inches across. Another ... brown and two illustrate the different clumped on colours of spores reflected in the gill colour which are so wood, ... with helpful in distinguishing different a ring on the groups of fungi - Pluteus stipe, is the cervinus with pink gills, Russula Honey Fungus ochroleuca with white and the (Armillaria edible Weeping Widow mellea), (Psathyrella lacrymabunda, also known as Lacrymaria velutina) John Presland phographing a Maze Gill which is death to a with black. The Butter Cap (Collybia butyracea) has a range of trees. holes on the underside which grows in masses on twigs and greasy cap. The Glistening are at the ends of vertical tubes has a rather shrivelled Inkcap (Coprinus micaceus) is a with the spores developing on appearance. There were three brownish colour with glistening their sides. One of these was Milk Caps, which exude a “milk” spicules on the cap when young the orange Stereum when damaged – the large and and grows on dead wood in subtomentosum, which grows in unpleasant looking Ugly Milk dense clumps. Also brown and tiers and is leathery and has Cap (Lactarius turpis), Lactarius clumped on wood, but larger alternating zones of different shades. Similar, but with a Underside of the Maze Gill fungus variety of colours other than - John Presland orange was the Many-zoned Polypore (Trametes versicolor). Another was the Birch Bracket (Piptoporus betulinus), which can be up to a foot across on Birch trunks living or dead, and was once used as a razor strop - hence one of its names the Razor-strop Fungus. The edible Beef Steak (Fistulina hepatica) is red and grows on Oak. Particularly fascinating was the Mazegill (Daedalea quercina) on a tree stump, which also has pores, but they take a gill-like form which looks like a maze. Finally, there were the popular Agarics, which typically have a stem called a stipe with a cap and with a ring on the stipe, is on top with radiating gills below the Honey Fungus (Armillaria it, the spores forming on the mellea), which is death to a sides of the gills. Among these, range of trees. Another the edible Shaggy Parasol clumped species on wood was (Macrolepiota rhacodes) was Sulphur Tuft (Hypholoma one of the more easily fasciculare), greenish yellow to identified, with dark brown brown with purple spores. scales on a whitish cap and a ring on the stipe. Less easy Many thanks to Malcolm for were two small species of adding his knowledge to the Mycena - M. epipterygia which excitement of discovery and to has yellow colours on the stipe Christine Storey who compiled and M. haematopus which most of the species list. emits a red sap when damaged. John Presland Another minor was Milk Cap- John Presland Marasmiellus ramealis, which Winter 2010-2011 Wiltshire Botanical Society Page 2 Sunday 14 November 2010 Westbury Hill Rosemary Duckett This was the first of our “Walk, Lunch, Talk” meetings of the winter. Rosemary took us into the clouds at the top of the hill at Westbury and we walked south, with the sky gradually clearing so we could see the valley stretched out to the west. Partly following the Wessex Ridgeway and with a woodland diversion, we went over White Hill Hanging and Upton Cow Down and headed to Upton Scudamore and The Angel Inn for our Lunch. Afterwards, we assembled a Rosemary’s house for Pat’s afternoon talk. Sunday 14 November Photos by Pat 2010, at Rosemary Duckett’s house Transylvania 2010 ... horse- drawn carts Pat Woodruffe and hayricks Last year I joined one of Bob ... splendid Gibbons’ wonderful holidays flora ... and travelled to Transylvania, bewildering the heartland of Romania. We blues visited three centres, all quite [butterflies] different but relatively close so that travelling was not too great. Magura, a small alpine village in Village street the Carpathian Mts. close to the town on Zarnesti, was our first The result, of course, was a stop. Agriculture here was splendid flora and extensive – horse-drawn carts accompanying insect life. and hayricks were numerous. Martin Warren, from Butterfly Conservation, was the co- Old Town leader so we had an expert to identify those bewildering blues. During our stay we met an array of lovely plants including Astrantia major, Scabiosa ochroleuca, Lychnis viscaria, Veronica teucrium, Gentiana utriculosa, several orchids, campanulas and many delights. Our second centre was the medieval town of Sighisoara which gave access to lower- lying meadows and to some of Melampyrum arvense the old Saxon villages with their characteristic layout and - albino form Page 3 Wiltshire Botanical Society Winter 2010-2011 fortified churches. Viscri is one such village where the animals from the farms graze the meadows by day but return home each evening. ... animals Witnessing ‘the cows coming home’ was a memorable sight from the as they each knew their own farms graze gate and pealed off from the the meadows rest at the right moment. The by day but meadows around this village return home were unbelievably colourful with each evening. acre upon acre of yellow rattle or of dropwort. We also found Melampyrum arvense in both the usual purple form and also Yellow Rattle an albino one. Our third stop was Miclosoara village about 40km from Brasnov. The properties were owned by a Hungarian Count who was exiled during the communist regime but had returned and is now converting and it is to be hoped that ways dwellings into tourist of improving their life-style can accommodation, all furnished in be found without damaging the a traditional manner. From here rich and diverse flora and fauna. we were able to explore some Several groups are working in wet meadows and also a gorge.

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