Grampian Fungi Group: Aims

• To record the fungi of North East of Scotland. • To encourage an interest in the importance of fungi in everyday life, wherever possible. • To develop a greater understanding of fungi through forays, talks and workshops open to members of the Group. • To increase awareness of fungi through contact with local members of both professional and amateur groups which have environmental interests. • To promote the conservation of fungi and of threatened habitats of rare fungi.

Committee Members Chairperson Toni Watt [email protected] Secretary Ann Burns [email protected] Membership Secretary and Treasurer Denis Bain [email protected] Denis Bain 17 Gleneagles Drive, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen, AB22 8NH Diary dates Co-ordinator Toni Watt [email protected] Newsletter Editor Richard Marriott [email protected] Other Committee members: Mary Bain [email protected] Glenn Roberts [email protected] Helen Baker Nicola Alcorn Carol Blow Bob Daly Membership The annual subscription is currently £10-00. Cheques should be made out to “Grampian Fungus Group” and sent to the Membership Secretary and Treasurer Denis Bain (see above). www.facebook.com/grampianfungusgroup

Front cover: The Date Waxcap Hygrocybe spadicea photo Helen Baker

Editorial Welcome to the account of our foraying in 2018. It proved to be a very good year indeed for the group. We got off to an amazing start with Nicola’s Earthstar discovery (see page 3). All the forays were well attended and the innovations such as the late winter foray in December proved very worthwhile. Despite the very dry summer, the forays in July and August found enough species to have made them enjoyable too. In the autumn, woodland agarics were much in evidence including good displays of large Fly agarics Amanita muscari. In contrast the grassland fungi were few and far between. However, this was not true for the fortunate three from the group who went down to the Waxcap workshop in Northumberland. Their account makes one green with envy! It would have been worth travelling all that way just to see the colour of the Citrine waxcap Hygrocybe citrinovirens (see page 14). Another innovation was the calendar produced by Mary. It was very much a last-minute idea with deadlines to get a good on-line deal, so not everyone got a chance to order one – maybe next time? The Spring Foray will be on Saturday 13th April at Drum. Meet at 10.30am in the car park. The AGM will be in the afternoon. Hope to see you then. . Richard

Ballerina waxcap Hygrocybe calyptriformis Nicola Alcorn

A year on the Deeside railway path Nicola Alcorn

The Deeside railway was opened in 1853 and ran from Aberdeen to Ballater but was decommissioned in the 1960s and is now a local walkway. I moved to Grampian 18 months ago and have made a weekly foray here. In many places there is only a foot of vegetation on either side of the path under a mixture of Ash,Sycamore,Beech and Poplar..

Although not very promising for the field mycologist, but being so close at hand, I have kept going as it was convenient and I enjoyed the walk. Surprisingly I have had three good finds in the last year from this uninspiring location. The Barometer earthstar Astraeus hygrometricus is the only recent collection known in Scotland and has been sent down to Kew for confirmation. It differs microscopically from other earthstars (Geastrum species) with its amazing rays that curl up in dry weather. This just goes to prove that persistence at a site can pay off.

Hair ice is a type of ice associated with the fungus Exidiopis effusa which is found to be key to its formation. It appears in frosty weather on dead broadleaf wood. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_ice for more information.

Barometer Earth Star Astraeus hygrometricus.1/4/18

Exidiopsis effusa “Hair Ice” 7/1/18 Birds Nest fungus Cyathus striatus 6/8/17

Photos Nicola Alcorn 4

A letter from Canna Jan 28th 2019 A wild and windy day today, perfect for thinking back over the mycological exploits of the last 12 months to share with you! Starting on Canna and picking up on a theme from last year’s letter – finding things on brambles – in April they produced an exciting species new to me – Aleurodiscus aurantius. This is a resupinate and was growing on the underside of a dead bramble stem. A slight orangey tinge made me look twice and sure enough a spore print revealed large, finely spiny and amyloid spores. This brings my total recorded, of this small genus, to three.

Aleurodiscus aurantius Pluteus thomsonii An early foray to the Birks of Aberfeldy with a visiting mycology group produced another species new to me – Gyroporus castaneus growing with oak. This is at first glance a rather unexciting bolete with none of the dramatic colour changes of its cousin G. cyanescens. It does however, share the feature of a stem composed of hollow chambers – very distinct. This got the 2018 autumn season off to a very good start and was quickly followed with a collection of Pluteus thomsonii from the marram grass at Balmedie dunes. Whilst not uncommon further south there are only two other Scottish records. Later in the year in August, Canna delighted me with material of Hygrocybe spadicea a UK Priority species and also on the BMS 'Lost and Found' project list (fungi.myspecies.info/content/lost-found-fungi-project). I had been looking for it as Canna seemed a perfect location with its south facing, basalt rock and unimproved grasslands. 2018 seems to have been a good year for this species – we found it again on the Hadrian’s Wall (also basalt) waxcap workshop and again, more unexpectedly, on Speyside (not basalt!). It seems likely that the warm weather last summer suited this species of thin, well drained, soils. Waxcaps have previously all been included in the genus Hygrocybe but recently, DNA studies have split this into Cuphophyllus, Cromosera, Gliophorus, Glioxanthomyces, Hygrocybe, Neohygrocybe and Porpolomopsis. The basidomycete checklist of Britain and Ireland has accepted these new genera. For pragmatic reasons the conservation community are continuing to use Hygrocybe (in the broad sense) for assessing waxcap grasslands, for instance JNCC have recently revised their guidelines for SSSIs including non-lichenised fungi http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/SSSI_Chapter14fungi_2018a.pdf . It is likely that future identification books will begin to introduce the new names so it will be useful to familiarise yourself with them.

Liz Holden

GFG Foray Reports 2018 GFG Spring Foray and AGM Saturday 28th April Castle Fraser Toni Watt Nine members were present for the first foray of the year. We never expect to see many species on this first foray, but we did see one Agaric, and also an Ascomycete which we now almost expect on the Spring foray – A False Morel Gyromitra esculenta. Most of the fungi we saw we learned to call Resupinate fungi as Nicola had been on a course looking at such species. The most unusual find of the morning was a black crust on a very dead stump. Further investigation and some good detective work by Helen found this to be Ruzenia spermoides, quite distinctive under the microscope but probably under recorded as it did just look like a black crust!

False Morel Gyromitra esculenta photo Nicola Bill Burns and cake photo Toni We adjourned for lunch to the log cabin. This was followed by the AGM, then Toni showed slides of the fungal highlights of 2017, Nicola showed photos of her star find, the Barometer Earthstar, Astraeus hygrometricus (see above )and Richard showed slides identifying an LBJ to Psathyrella sp using macro and microscopic characters. We finished with a cake to celebrate Bill’s 80th birthday - a good end to the first foray of the year!

Sunday 29th July GFG Bellwood, Aboyne Toni Watt

After weeks of drought in the northeast, the weather finally broke and it was a wet start to the foray season. Ironically, because it had been so dry until today there weren’t a huge number of fungi but there were enough to get our out-of-practice brains working again. We found a lovely Orange Birch Bolete Leccinum versipelle, Chanterelles Chantarellus cibarius - often an early find - and a Deadly webcap, Cortinarius rubellus - beautiful colours but very poisonous! There were Russula sp to practise on and test with crystals. Thanks to Helen for our Russula vesca (aka The Flirt) masterclass, hopefully we will recognise at least that one again; and finally a lovely patch of Creeping Lady’s Tresses orchid with their delicate white flowers, a beautiful diversion from the fungi!

Orange Birch Bolete Leccinum versipelle Creeping Lady’s Tresses orchid Photos Toni Watt

Saturday 18th August GFG Burn O’Vat Richard Marriott The weather was warm and sunny for our second foray, so there were Scotch Argus and Speckled wood butterflies, Grasshoppers and a basking lizard. Fortunately there had been some good rain after the record hot dry summer, and so thirteen members had a good haul of fungi including several Russula species. One of the first fungi was a young Deer Shield Pluteus cervinus followed by a Maze-gill Daedalea quercina with its intriguing pattern on the underside of the cap. In a damper hollow in the Birch wood was a Rooting shank Oudmansiella radicata and the spectacular Violet webcap Cortinarius violaceous. Another interesting species was the potato-like Yellow false truffle Rhizopogon luteolus.. Someone found the curious Ear pick fungus (N.B. our GFG logo) growing on a Pine cone. We climbed up towards the Vat itself along an esker which was pretty dry, but on the way down found a Jersey Cow Suillus bovinus so named for its colour. Near the Vat a keen eye spotted a Cordyceps ophioglossoides.

. Violet Webcap Cortinarius violaceous Yellow False Truffle Rhizopogon luteolus

Photo Richard Marriott photo Mary Bain

Pleurotus sp Jersey cow Suillus bovinus

Photos Richard Marriott Saturday 25th August Tillyfoure Oak Woods SSSI Toni Watt

Another excellent foray at Tillyfoure, always an interesting site and quite different this year to last year. This year the Russula sp were fruiting everywhere including the Green Brittlegill Russula aeruginea, all the way up the hill under the birch scrub.

We went the opposite way around to last year and inevitably got a little bit lost but eventually reached the lovely old oaks, birch and Scots pine. Not so much fruiting in the long grass, - maybe too long and certainly dry under the trees but we did find 3 Destroying Angel, Amanita virosa fruit bodies on the way down the track. A beautiful pure white fungus but an Amanita and a deadly one at that, and always a rare one for us. We ended the day with a lovely deep red waxcap, Hygrocybe helobia in Bob’s lawn, just beautiful, before being invited in for tea and cake. Perfect!

Destroying Angel, Amanita virosa Hygrocybe helobia photos Toni Watt

Sunday 2nd September GFG Microscope workshop Castle Fraser Toni Watt

Nine members enjoyed a very successful and enjoyable workshop led by Liz Holden. Beginners and “Improvers” both learned a lot. We learned new techniques for preparing specimens and benefited from taking examples through the relevant keys either on our own or working in pairs – with Liz on hand for final adjudication. With more members able to add microscopic characters to macro ones the number of species identified on forays with greater certainty should increase!

Photos Toni Watt Sunday 9th September Old Forest of Drum NTS Richard Marriott This was a late change to the foray schedule as our visit to James Hutton was not possible. Twelve folk were present including two new people, Andy and Sue, for a foray in the Old Forest. Despite the relatively dry weather we found a wealth of fungi such that we only made it to the core area of old Oaks by lunchtime. After lunch seated on Gean logs under the old Oaks we found two beautiful fungi new to many of us The Horn of Plenty Craterellus cornucopioides and the Aniseed Cockleshell Lentinellus cochleatus. Someone then found a brightly coloured slime mould with the delightful name - Dog vomit Fuligo septica. We found many fungi new to us that could not be identified on site – especially LBJs – which Toni and Helen nobly took home to have a shot at identifying.

Horn of plenty Craterellus cornucopioides Aniseed cockleshell Lentinellus cochleatus

Photos Richard Marriott

Porcelain fungus Oudmansiella mucida Dog vomit Fuligo septica

Photos Richard Marriott Sunday 16th September Ballochbuie Helen Baker

Ballochbuie Forest is one of the largest remnants of Caledonian pinewood in Scotland, extending to 860 hectares. It is part of the Balmoral Estate, purchased by Queen Victoria to save it from logging, and stretches west from Balmoral Castle along the south side of the River Dee to Braemar. Dendrochronology sampling has shown that some trees date to the late 1500s, but like all the great pinewoods it shows the signs of a productive history and is a patchwork of stands of different ages and structures.

We started the foray from the car park at Keiloch in the Invercauld Estate. The area is mixed woodland and heath, with birch, Scots pine and a stand of mature spruces. Needless to say, it took us some time to get down to the river because there were so many fungi fruiting under the trees along the access road. There were plenty of Boletes and Lactarius sp, including a fine specimen of the Ugly milkcap Lactarius terpis, which is a distinctive species that also turns purple when potassium hydroxide is applied to the cap. Jersey Cows Suillus bovinus were common under the pines, but we also found Rosy spikes Gomphidius roseus growing with them in Ballochbuie; this member of the order Boletales takes nutrients from the Suillus mycelium. Orange milkcap Lactarius aurantiacus was a nice find and a species we do not record often. Just by the A93, under Scots pine, we found a small group of Devil’s tooth Hydnellum peckii one of the rarer tooth fungi found in several of the Deeside pinewoods. We found another tooth fungus the Earpick Auriscalpium vulgare which grows on rotting pine cones in this area too. Over the old Bridge of Dee and into Ballochbuie proper took us into the purer pine stands, much of which had a mature heather understorey, making it more challenging to find fungi, and so the barer areas proved more productive. We were rewarded with another Suillus associate Copper spike Chroogomphus rutilus , which we do not record very often despite it being a common species. We took the first track heading east from the bridge, which follows the river, and alongside this track we found a large specimen of Scaly tooth Sarcodon squamosus another of the tooth fungi we do not see frequently.

Lunch was taken beneath some mature ‘pole’ pines of about 150 years of age and we found Greenfoot fibrecap Inocybe calamistrata (see below), Purple edge bonnet Mycena purpureofusca and Angel’s wings Pleurocybella porrigensa in this area. In the more mature pines we found a few of the species typical of these older woods: Pine milkcap Lactarius musteus, Winecork brittlegill Russula adusta, Nutty brittlegill R. integra, R. paludosa and Darkening brittlegill R. vinosa. We found many other species on this enjoyable foray and Ballochbuie, like its neighbour Glen Tanar, offers endless opportunities to discover the fungi of the great wood of Caledon.

Greenfoot fibrecap Inocybe calamistrata Cauliflower fungus Sparassis crispa

photos Mary Bain

Saturday 22nd September GFG Kinnaber links Richard Marriott

Ten folk were present for this foray where we were hoping for a good display of grassland fungi. Despite the lack of good rain previously, the variety of fungi was good though the quantity was poor e.g. only one specimen of the Parasol mushroom Macrolepiota procera where we usually see several. We were fortunate in having Liz Holden with us – we started by learning the difference between two Puffballs: Lycoperdon pellatum with warty skin and L. nigrescens where the skin is covered in minute tepee shaped spikes. We found few Clavaria species but did find two C.laeticolor and C.helvola distinguished by their spores:

Clavarai laeticolor C.laeticolor spores Clavaria helvola C.helvola spores

Photos Richard Marriott We reached the Willow slack – a wartime trench dominated by Creeping willow Salix repens for lunch and found Postia leptoleuca which smelled delightfully of lemon or emulsion paint according to different noses!. Conditions were damper in the slack and we found another delightfully fragrant Clitocybe fragrans – smelling of baby powder/marzipan. We saw a lovely example of Willow brittlegill Russula lacata growing in association with the willow. We paid our respects to the rarely recorded the Blushing milk cap Lactaria contraversus. Another olfactory experience was the spermatic scent of Inocybe geophila, also possibly growing in association with the willow or maybe the single pine seedling - a known associate. 11

We recorded several species of Waxcap including Hygrocybe laeta, H.conica, H.acuticonica, H. insipida and a small red specimen which might have been H.cantherellus but which did not key out well on microscopic characters.

Willow brittlegill Russula lacata Heath Waxcap Hygrocybe laeta

Photos Richard Marriott 28th Sept – 5th October Field Studies Council Kindrogan Toni Watt The FSC course “Identifying Fungi” was excellent as usual. We had lots of exciting fungi including Clavariadelphus pistillaris, the Giant Fairy Club at Killiecrankie, unmistakeable and a good easy one to identify! We also found a whole troop of the Pouched False Morel Gyromitra infula, on a fallen and rotten tree trunk, possibly a willow but it was hard to tell. This is a fungus that we do get in the north east, though not frequently, but some were seem in the Dinnet area this summer, so one to look out for.

Another species to look out for next year is the Common Bird’s nest fungus, Crucibulum laeve which we found for the second year running under the picnic tables at Killiecrankie, growing on old well rotting woodchip. This is a habitat that we do get and will have to study more closely next year, especially if it involves picnics!

Giant Fairy Club Clavariadelphus pistillaris Pouched False Morel Gyromitra infula photos Toni Watt

Saturday 6th October GFG Strichen churchyard Richard Marriott

Eight people met for a foray aimed at Strichen churchyard where Glenn had seen some good grassland fungi the previous autumn. The idea had been to visit other churchyards on the way home as well. However, following the long hot summer and relatively dry autumn, it turned out to be a poor year for grassland fungi. We did find four species of waxcap Hygrocybe ceracea, H. pratensis, H.virginea, and H.psittacina – the last one developed its green tinge overnight in the fridge. We adjourned to the local park for lunch, interrupted by a shower of rain which caused us to find shelter under the trees. After lunch we wandered through the local wood and found a few more species including a specimen of our logo – the Ear-pick fungus Auriscalpium vulgare and a Grisette Amanita vaginata .

Ear-pick fungus Auriscalpium vulgare Grisette Amanita vaginata Photos Richard Marriott

12-14th October 2018 Northumberland National Park Waxcap Workshop

Helen Baker, Carol Blow & Nicola Alcorn

The three of us participated in a waxcap identification and recording workshop held at The Sill Visitor Centre in Northumberland National Park in October. The workshop was organised by Cameron Diekonigin and Liz Holden. It was generously supported by the National Park. We arrived on the Friday evening and Shaun Hackett, the Chief Ranger, introduced the Park and the work he and his fellow rangers had done to record grassland fungi. Liz then gave a presentation on waxcap essentials, including ecology and the importance of recording to inform protection and conservation management of the nutrient poor grasslands along Hadrian’s Wall. Waxcaps (Hygrocybe) are part of an ‘assemblage’ of species (known as CHEGD) that share the same ecological needs, including Clavaria, Entoloma, Geoglossum and Dermoloma. The number of species in this assemblage that are recorded for each area of grassland determines whether it could be considered for notification as an SSSI by Natural England, or one of the other statutory nature conservation bodies.

Day 1 was defined by Storm Callum and a yellow weather warning for heavy rain. It was so wet that our first foray lasted only a couple of hours, but it was productive as Shaun took us 13

to an area that he knew to be diverse at Caw Gap and above the Hexagon Plantation. We retreated, defeated and soaked through, to The Sill and our ‘lab’ where we spent the afternoon identifying our finds under the expert guidance of Liz and Cam. Caw Gap produced 20 species of waxcap, including our first Pink or Ballerina waxcap H. calyptriformis (now known as Humidicutis calyptriformis), Citrine waxcap H. citrinovirens, Fibrous waxcap H. splendidissima, Spangle waxcap H. insipida, Bitter waxcap H. mucronella, and two of the grey-brown waxcaps Earthy waxcap H. fornicata (now Cuphophyllus fornicatus) and Slimy waxcap H. irrigata (now Gliophorus irrigatus). We also found three species of club and two Entoloma spp, including one of the deep blue species (probably E. caeruleopolitum).

Exploring pasture near Hadrian’s wall Fibrous waxcap Hygrocybe splendidissima Photos Helen Baker

Day 2 dawned with much improved weather and so we headed out to an area east of Brocolitia, along Carrowbrough Vallum (17 species of waxcap) and Limestone Corner (14 species). We were rewarded with two small groups of Date waxcap Hygrocybe spadicea, which is an uncommon species, more H. calyptriformis, Toasted waxcap H. colemanniana (now Cuphophyllus colemannianus), and the yellow variety of Heath waxcap H. laeta var. flava (now Gliophorus laetus). The area also produced several club and Entoloma species. A small sub-group did a short foray at Steelrigg late in the afternoon, finding another H. calyptriformis, Yellow-foot waxcap H. flavipes (now Cuphophyllus flavipes) and a further eight species. We returned to The Sill for more identification work, tackling a few Entoloma spp and a Dermoloma as well as the waxcaps. We also set up a display for the public; we had recorded 23 species of waxcap over the weekend, which looked very impressive set out in one place. We also recorded six species of clubs, five Entoloma spp and one Dermoloma sp. Before we finished for the day, Liz decided to set out some of the species as a quiz for us; it was a great way of reinforcing the key identification characteristics, especially as we had comparative material for the ‘similar’ species to use.

We had a great weekend, despite the slightly damp weather, and came away feeling much more confident on waxcaps and microscopy. We also came away with a little booklet called ‘A Guide to Waxcaps in West Wales’, which is a great little photographic guide that covers most species and includes the new scientific nomenclature. As we departed we jokingly suggested an Entoloma workshop would be a natural follow-on for 2019!

The energy, expertise and patience of our workshop organisers, Cam and Liz, was fantastic and the support from Shaun and the other rangers was superb – thank you to all. We are now looking forward to exploring more Aberdeenshire grasslands in 2019.

Citrine waxcap Hygrocybe citrinovirens Public display of Waxcaps in The Sill Visitor Centre Photos Helen Baker Saturday 1st December GFG Crathes Saturday Ten of us were present for this late foray (a new venture suggested by Helen). It was a calm cool day and the ground was damp after some recent heavy rains. We found a good number of fungi – some surprisingly late examples, and others more typical of winter. While we were able to identify quite a few in the field such as The Deceiver and Wood Blewit, there were, as Toni suggested at the outset, quite a few that would need work back at home. We started by finding such species Psathryella sp and the fragrant Clitocybe fragrans in the grass by the car park and moved slowly (!) into some woodland where we found the coral -like Clavulina rugosa. The honey fungus Armillaria gallica popped up a few times, as did several small Mycena sp. We had a discussion about one specimen which folk described as “fruity” or “soapy”, but we resolved this by deciding some folk only used fruit-scented soap!. A rust on a Spruce cone was eventually IDd by Helen as the rarely recorded Thelospora areolata. We came across a lovely cluster of Velvet shanks growing out of the end of a very big Sycamore log. After two hours and a good haul we adjourned to the café for hot soup, cocoa etc.

A Clavulinaletter from rugos Cannaa Jan photo 28 Maryth 2019 Bain Velvet shanks Flammulina velutipes photo Richard

GFG books and equipment The Group has a large number of books and some equipment that members can borrow. Please contact Toni Watt or speak to a committee member on a foray. There are also some chemicals which can be purchased. These are mostly to do with microscope work. Useful online mycology resources Scottish Fungi Website http://sites.google.com/site/scottishfungi/ Check out this new website with lots of information about all aspects of Scottish mycology. You can also access the Yahoo Chatroom through this site.

Scottish Field Mycology – Yahoo Chatroom The Scottish field mycology chat room is a wonderful facility for exchanging information and ideas. You can also use a spreadsheet posted on it to enter records – simply sign in and click on ‘databases’. Do check it out and consider joining if you are not already a member. [email protected] Click on the button ‘join this group’ and follow the instructions. There is no cost in becoming a member.

British Mycological Society Website http://www.britmycolsoc.org.uk This website has recently been repopulated and there is a lot of good information about local recording groups, fungi and education, BMS forays, workshops (click on Field Mycology and Conservation) and keys (click on Library and Information). For the BMS Facebook page just search for British Mycological Society (BMS) and request to join or go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/18843741618/. If you get the option then say you are a member of GFG. The site is administered and moderated by Richard Shotbolt of Huntingdon Fungus Group. Once you have been accepted as a member of the group you can post within the group page. As usual, if you want to ask for ID help then post as much info as you can and add photos of main features. If you are friends with experts then adding their tag to your post helps to get answers, especially if they are expert on specific families. Further excellent educational resources can be found at www.fungi4schools.org The Fungal Records Database of Britain and Ireland can be found at: http://www.fieldmycology.net Chemicals for fungi English based company Micro-Science will send chemicals used for fungal microscopy (including ferrous crystals) through the post. Contact through http://www.micro- science.co.uk

Andreas Gminder runs a shop selling an excellent range of Mycological books at competitive prices and Chemicals ...... about 40 to be precise all sent in nice brown bottles with applicator. They are about 2.90€ each i.e. about £2.00 he is happy to send these to the UK by post. Those of you familiar with PayPal can pay this way. Link: http://www.myko- shop.de/epages/62834980.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/62834980/Categories http://www.myko-shop.de/epages/62834980.sf/en_GB/?ViewObjectID=30761551

And don’t forget our very own: www.facebook.com/grampianfungusgroup