Further information Key features for the identifi cation Saprotrophic recycler fungi Books and References of the fungi in this guide . Roger Phillips (2006). Growth form. Fungi come in many different shapes and Fruit body colours. The different parts of the fruit body Collybia acervata Toughshank. Cap max. 5cm. Macmillan. Excellent photographs and descriptions including sizes. In this fi eld guide most 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 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. 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 litter but this is the only one Checklist of the British and Irish . 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 , 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 . 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 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 caperatus 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 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 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. Fungi mushrooms. native pine woodland. Any references to distribution noticeable on young fruit bodies, a pale grey frosting on the also been excluded. generally fruit a few days after heavy rain and foraying By respecting the natural environment you can help apply only to distribution within the UK and do during a hot, dry spell is unlikely to be very productive. cap. Spore print ochre brown. Fungi cannot photosynthesise as higher and lower to manage and conserve the countryside. When not take account of a species occurrence in other Greaseproof or waxed paper, plastic boxes, an old collecting mushrooms for any purpose, please plants do, so their energy does not come directly from decolorans Copper Brittlegill. Cap max. 10cm. countries. A companion guide (Guide 1) looks at some knife, a hand lens, notebook and pencil are important consider the following points: of the more widespread and common fungi found in the sun. Thus the macro fungi of pinewoods can be tools to take with you. The species illustrated in this The orangey copper cap contrasts with the white stem and What to collect both ancient native and plantation pinewoods. divided into three broad ecological groupings based on leafl et are by no means a comprehensive list of what pale ochre gills. All parts will turn dark grey if damaged the way that they obtain their food. you might fi nd in the pinewoods and further texts are • Wildlife, especially insects, need mushrooms too, or where the fl esh is exposed to the air. Spore print pale What are pinewoods? only collect what you will use. Symbiotic exchanger fungi – these species work suggested at the end. so Cortinarius rubellus Deadly Webcap. Cap max. 8cm. The ochre. Russula vinosa, Darkening Brittlegill grows in similar Scotland’s native pinewoods are found on the poor in partnership with another organism to the benefi t • Some mushrooms are poisonous and others rare cap is often sharply umbonate, covered with fi ne fi brillose habitats and also greys although it usually has more wine and infertile soils of the central and north eastern of both. A well-known example of this is the lichens, It will be necessary to collect some specimens to look and should not be collected – only collect what you scales and a rich orange to red brown colour. The ± adnate red in the cap colours. Grampians and the north and west Highlands. They which represent a partnership between a fungus and at closely for identifi cation and to establish the spore know and take a fi eld guide with you to identify gills are well spaced, starting pale ochre but becoming a are thought to be the relicts of an ancient forest various algae or cyanobacteria. Less well known but colour but never take more than you need; it may not mushrooms where you fi nd them. deep rusty yellow with maturity. The stem has yellowish dominated by pine () that was far • Some species are vulnerable, so please consider of crucial importance to over 85% of the planet’s even be necessary to take a whole fruit body. Only brown zigzag belts on the reddish brown background and Sarcodon glaucopus Greenfoot Tooth. Cap max. 12cm. more extensive in prehistoric times. This remaining whether there is an alternative species that is more higher plants and trees, including pine, is the intimate collect fungi in good condition - sometimes it is useful the young fruit body will have a cortina. Smells faintly of This species has a distinctive pinkish brown, scaly cap with woodland certainly represents ecosystem continuity common that might suit your purpose. relationship between mycorrhizal ‘exchanger’ fungi to collect a young fruit body as well as one that is radishes. Spore print rust brown. NB this fungus has been pale brown teeth beneath it. The fl esh is not as tough as but management for timber, grazing and sporting and the roots of their partner trees. The mycelia of more mature to check whether or not a veil is present. How to collect responsible for several serious mushroom poisonings in the Devil’s Tooth described above and the caps do not grow interests has meant that many woods are no longer these species are linked into the pine’s root system • Allow mushrooms to release spores, do not pick Scotland in recent years. into one another. The base of the is blue green and the naturally regenerating and few contain bulky dead allowing an exchange of nutrients to fl ow between Lift the fruit body from the very bottom of the mushrooms until the cap has opened out and leave fl esh is bitter to taste. Known only in Scotland. Greenfoot wood elements, standing or fallen. Much of the the two. The fruit bodies appear close to trees but stem using an old knife; there can be important those that are past their best. Tooth has a close relative in Sarcodon squamosus, Scaly pinewood cover remaining in Scotland takes the form grow from a mycelium hidden in the soil. The fungus identifi cation features associated with the stem Tooth which lacks the blue green base to the stipe and the • The main part of the mushroom is below the Gassy Webcap. Cap max. 10cm. of plantation stands. These can be very rewarding will scavenge nutrients from the surrounding soil base. Place it in a twist of greaseproof paper or an surface, take care not to damage or trample it, bitter taste. Both have brown spores. Immature fruit bodies are silvery violet, becoming ochre places to hunt for fungi although they often do not (particularly important in infertile soils such as those empty plastic container - never use plastic bags to and not to disturb its surroundings. brown with age and often with fl at scales present. This contain the rarer pine associating species. preferred by pine) and make them available to their collect the fungi in as they rapidly break up into an • Scatter trimmings discreetly in the same area as beautiful species is generally associated with ancient partner. In return the tree will supply sugars and unrecognisable ‘soup’ in the bottom of the bag! A word about names the mushrooms came from. pinewood sites. Young fruit bodies have a cortina and the carbohydrates to the fungus. colossus Giant Knight. Cap max. 20cm. A The scientifi c names used in this guide are Make notes about what trees were close to your Where to collect stem is bulbous at the base. The cut fl esh is yellow ochre. close relative of the Booted Knight (below), this species has Saprotrophic recycler fungi – these species break internationally recognized names for each species fungus as well as what it was growing in; needle litter, • Before you collect mushrooms at a nature reserve The smell is intense, described as close to acetylene gas but very similar colours but the smell is not mealy. The fl esh down much of the already dead plant material (Legon & Henrici 2005). The fi rst part of the name fallen branch, stump, soil etc. Recording any smells please always seek advice from the manager, as with a fruity element. Spore print rust brown. also reddens where damaged. Spore print white. This rarely found in all habitats and release nutrients from this refers to the - a group of closely related fungi. or colour changes in the fl esh of the fungus, whether special conditions may apply. fruiting species is known only in Scotland. process back into the soil. The breakdown of dead The second part refers to the species - which identifi es it was growing by itself or as a cluster, is all useful • Plantation woodlands are less vulnerable than semi- fungi with recognisable differences within the genus. wood is principally undertaken by specialised fungi information that will help you with your identifi cation. natural woodlands; please carefully consider where The English names used include those few vernacular that can cope with the decay resistant conditions you are planning to collect. Hydnellum peckii Devil’s Tooth. This tough fl eshed fungus names that exist in British culture and also new names presented by wood including the presence of lignin Please note that this guide is not intended to aid If you own or manage land: has teeth below the cap. The caps themselves often grow generated by the Recommended English Names for and assorted oils, resins and tannins. With very little identifi cation of edible species. Always consult a • Mushrooms are a critical part of the natural cycle in together and incorporate surrounding vegetation. When Fungi in the UK project, 2003. dead wood, particularly from large mature trunks, the comprehensive guide or seek expert advice before wood rotting fungal community in our pine woods is grassland and woodlands; if these are compromised young this species appears to be pale pink and velvety. In Tricholoma equestre Yellow Knight. Cap max. 10cm. These What is a fungus? eating any fungi. Foraying with a local expert or all elements of the ecosystem will be affected. Be limited when compared with, for example, some older wet weather bright red droplets appear on the surface. With fl eshy fruit bodies are ± yellow throughout. Sometimes the fungus recording group will be of enormous help in aware that your management activities may affect Not quite animals and certainly not plants, these Eastern European woods. Smaller items of litter can be age the caps change to dark red brown and become radially cap appears brownish from fi ne scales found towards the getting you started. mushrooms. furrowed. Known only in Scotland. Spore print brown. Devil’s fascinating organisms are members of one of the decayed by a range of saprotrophic organisms but in umbonate centre but the gills are always bright yellow. Tooth is one of a group of species that fruit in bare sandy largest kingdoms on the planet: the fungi - essential pinewoods the soil is rather acidic, and invertebrates If you wish to run a foray or collect for scientifi c There are emarginate gills under the cap but no veil purposes remember to: soils under pine including the very similar Hydnellum to the health of all ecological systems and without and bacteria struggle to function: some fungi have remains. Smell mealy, spore print white. ferrugineum, Mealy Tooth and Sarcodon glaucopus, which, over 85% of our higher plants and trees would become specially adapted to function in these • Ensure the safety of your party; make contact with Greenfoot Tooth. not survive. conditions, breaking down needles and twigs under the land manager in advance of your visit. The parts of a fungus that we see above ground are the pine. • Give a record of what you have found to the land manager and explain the signifi cance of your the spore producing structures, (the ‘fruit bodies’) Parasitic fungi – many parasitic fungi kill only a few musteus Pine Milkcap. Cap max. 12cm. Pale fi ndings. of a much larger organism that is mostly hidden of their host’s cells and the host is not killed. Others cream to pinkish buff colours throughout, a greasy to slimy cap when wet and rather scant, unchanging, white ‘milk’ from sight and composed of a branching network can cause the death of trees and in the pinewood there Tricholoma focale Booted Knight. Cap max. 15cm. The cap This code was created by the Scottish Wild Mushroom characterise this species. Spore print pale cream. Known of fi lamentous cells. This underground network, are several fungi that can enter the tree through the has rich orange brown colours, and these colours are also Forum, a group consisting of representatives of conservation only in Scotland. (the ‘mycelium’) enables fungi to acquire nutrients root system and cause ‘butt rots’ low down in the trunk organisations, landowners, public landowning bodies, found in the scales on the stem below the woolly ring. Dark amongst plant litter and wood and, for some species, of otherwise healthy trees. This is a perfectly normal mushroom buyers and mushroom pickers. The creation of the brown spots on the pale gills are also characteristic. Smell to link up with the roots of living trees in a symbiotic part of life in the wild wood with glades being opened Forum and the Code was funded by Scottish Natural Heritage, mealy, spore print white. ‘mycorrhizal’ relationship wherein both partners up as trees topple; not surprisingly unwelcome in The Millennium Forest for Scotland Trust and Moray, gain nutrients. commercial plantations. Badenoch and Strathspey Enterprise.