Key Features for the Identification of the Fungi in This Guide

Further information Key features for the identifi cation Saprotrophic recycler fungi Books and References of the fungi in this guide Mushrooms. Roger Phillips (2006). Growth form. Fungi come in many different shapes and Fruit body colours. The different parts of the fruit body Collybia acervata Conifer Toughshank. Cap max. 5cm. Macmillan. Excellent photographs and descriptions including sizes. In this fi eld guide most species are the classic can be differently coloured and it is also important This species grows in large clusters often on the ground many species from pinewoods and other habitats. toadstool shape with a cap and stem but also included to remember that the caps sometimes change colour but possibly growing on buried wood. Sometimes there are are some that grow out of wood like small shelves or completely or as they dry out. Making notes or taking Fungi. Roy Watling and Stephen Ward (2003). several clusters growing ± in a ring. The caps are reddish brackets and others that have a coral- like shape. Take photographs can help you remember what they looked Naturally Scottish Series. Scottish Natural Heritage, Battleby, Perth. brown but dry out to a buff colour. The stems are smooth, note of whether the fungus is growing alone, trooping like when fresh. In some fungi the fl esh changes colour Good introduction to fungi in Scotland. and red brown and the gills are white and variably attached, or in a cluster. when it is damaged. Try cutting the fungus in half or Fungi. Brian Spooner and Peter Roberts (2005). adnate to free. Spore print white. Cap shape and texture. Fungal caps come in many bruising the fl esh – keep an eye on what happens over New Naturalist Series. HarperCollins, London. the next few minutes. Other fungi produce a milk like Very readable account of fungal ecology. shapes and sizes, and can change as the fruit body matures. Some caps have a distinct hump in the centre, fl uid where damaged. This comes in a range of colours Recommended English names for fungi in the UK. Elizabeth Holden (2003). which can be rounded or rather acute; this is called and sometimes changes from white to its fi nal colour. Mycena septentrionalis Pelargonium Bonnet. Cap max. Plantlife International. the umbo and caps that have an umbo are called Striations. These are radial lines that are sometimes 1cm. A small dark brown species, with a striate cap that Available from the publications page of the Plantlife website (see below) umbonate. Cap surface texture can also be variable, for visible in the cap. Sometimes they are just at the cap grows amongst needle litter. Mycena have very slender NB this is an ongoing project with updates on the BMS website (see below). instance smooth, fi brous, scaly or glutinous/sticky. margin and sometimes they extend to the centre of stems rarely more than 2 mm across. There are many small brown Mycena species in pine litter but this is the only one Checklist of the British and Irish Basidiomycota. N.W. Legon and A. Henrici (2005) Below the cap. This is where the spores are developed the cap. They refl ect the point where the top of the gills Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. attach to the cap but, be warned, they often disappear to smell strongly of pelargonium. Spore print white. Known and released. The minute structures that produce the only in Scotland. Information and advice spores cover the outside of either gills or teeth or the as the fungus dries out so making a note as you collect inside of hollow tubes. can be very helpful. © Ern Emmett www.britmycolsoc.org The British Mycological Society website has information on local recording Gill attachment. This is best seen if you can cut the Smells. Some fungi are characterised by interesting groups, forays, workshops and all things mycological Psathyrella caput-medusae Medusa Brittlestem. Cap max. fruit body in half top to bottom and then look closely smells including coconut, curry, garlic, fresh meal, 9cm. Cap colour from dark brown to pale ochre and usually http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scottish_fi eld_mycology/summary A discussion group for those with at how the gills are attached to the stem. They can stewed apple, honey and coal gas. Interestingly not covered with woolly scales. The stem also has woolly scales an interest in fi eld mycology. Join through this link. be free (not attached to the stem), adnexed (narrowly everybody can detect fungal smells – check out your and a ring and grows in tufts around old stumps. It has a attached), adnate (broadly attached,), emarginate ‘nose’ by gently rubbing the stem or gills, particularly Advice and Support pleasant aromatic smell and the spores are dark red brown. (becoming much shallower before reaching the the base of the stem, and having a sniff! Plantlife Scotland can help you in your quest attachment point) or decurrent (broadly attached and Spore colour. Individual spores can only be seen with for information and support. extending down the stem). a microscope but if you make a simple spore print, the Plantlife Scotland, Balallan House, Rings, veils and cortinas. These structures either link thousands of spores together show a range of colours Allan Park, Stirling, FK8 2QG the edge of the cap to the stem or completely enclose that form the basis of fungal identifi cation in many Tricholomopsis decora Prunes and Custard. Cap max. 8cm. Tel: +44 (0) 1786 478509 both stem and cap when the fungus is young. Their books. Cut off a cap and place it fl at on a piece of glass Closely related to the much commoner Tricholomopsis www.plantlife.org.uk purpose is to protect the developing spores and as the or Perspex (paper works well but you need black and rutilans, Plums and Custard, this species is rarely recorded [email protected] fungus expands they are broken so that the spores white as some fungal spores are white). Put a drop of outside Scotland. The yellow cap is covered with dark brown © March 2010 978-1-907141-22-5 can escape. They can be membranous or cobwebby water on top of the cap and then cover with a glass for a scales – the prunes. The gills are yellow – the custard! Spore Plantlife Scotland is part of Plantlife International – the Wild Plant Conservation charity, a charitable company (cortina) and their remains form rings on the stem, couple of hours or overnight. Do not leave it any longer print white. limited by guarantee. Registered in Scotland (SC038951) and in England and Wales (1059559). Registered company spots on the cap and sometimes leave fi bres on both as you may fi nd some unwelcome guests (larvae of the no 3166339. the cap edge and the stem – the presence or absence of fungus gnat) trying to leave. This guide has been written and illustrated for Plantlife Scotland by Liz Holden, Field Mycologist. these features are important clues in identifying fungi. All photos © Liz Holden, unless otherwise stated. Cover photo © Laurie Campbell. Strongly umbonate cap Teeth beneath the cap Fragile ring of Cortinarius caperatus Xeromphalina campanella Pinewood Gingertail. Cap max. 2cm. A small species that grows in large clusters on dead pinewood, this has a bright brown cap and darker brown stem with a cluster of distinctive, bright orange fi bres at the very base of the stem. Look-a-like Xeromphalina cauticinalis, Pinelitter Gingertail grows in smaller numbers amongst pine litter. Both species are rarely recorded outside Scotland. Spore print white. Fungi of Scottish Pinewoods Parasitic fungi Guide 2: Rarer fruiting fungi of pinewoods A cobwebby veil or cortina A striate cap Spore prints on paper Phellinus pini Pine Bracket. The tough, perennial bracket of this fungus often forms high up on the trunk. The surface is often covered in lichens and mosses and can be hard to spot. The fl esh of the bracket is bright ginger but the pores are a rather dull brown. The spore print is also brown. British Lichen Society Leccinum vulpinum Foxy Bolete. Cap max. 15cm. The cap Fungal communities Finding fungi The Scottish Wild Mushroom Code Introduction Symbiotic exchanger fungi (Colours refer to the surface tissues unless otherwise specifi ed) has ‘foxy’ orange colours and the skin is inclined to overlap Many fungi are microscopic in size but although The countryside is a working landscape. Please be This Plantlife fi eld guide is for anyone interested First and foremost, always follow the Scottish Wild the cap margin giving it a ragged appearance. Beneath the micro fungi are equally important in ecological terms, aware of your own safety and follow the Scottish in identifying some of the more distinctive fungi Mushroom Code (see right). cap are whitish tubes with off white pores that darken with this guide will only deal with the macro fungi - those Outdoor Access Code. In accordance with this code of pinewoods, using features that can be assessed Cortinarius caperatus The Gypsy. Cap max. 10cm. age. The stem is covered with small tufts that darken to fox species whose fruit bodies are easily visible to the and as a matter of courtesy you are advised to make brown or dark brick and the base sometimes discolours blue without a microscope. It looks at some of the rarer The most exciting time to visit the wood for Previously known as Rozites caperatus, this mid brown naked eye. The spore-shooting ‘ascomycetes’ which contact with the land manager before you collect fungus has an off-white ring on the stem and, particularly green. Spore print brown. Known only in Scotland. fruiting species that are usually restricted to ancient often form cup, disc or morel shaped fruit bodies have macrofungi is the late summer and autumn.

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