Newsletter No. 24 Spring 2007

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Recording the Fungi of

Leicestershire & Rutland Page - 1 - LEICESTERSHIRE FUNGI STUDY GROUP

Committee 2007

Chairman Richard Iliffe Tel: 01455 612769 17 Island Close Hinckley Leicester LE10 1LN

Treasurer Anne Preston Tel: 01664 424887 7 Brookside Rearsby Leicester LE7 4YB

Librabrian Dr Antony Fletcher Tel: 01509 815514 117 Sycamore Way (daytime) Littlethorpe Leicester LE9 5HW

Recorder Dr Tom Hering Tel: 01509 672664 33 Langley Drive (daytime) Kegworth Derby DE74 2DN

Secretary Alison Joyce Tel: 07957 457061 113 Darklands Road Swadlincote Derby DE11 0PQ

Editor Robert Joyce Tel: 0781 7920030 113 Darklands Road Swadlincote Derby DE11 0PQ

Committee Members

Roger Rixon Tel: 0116 265 6416 2 South Avenue (daytime) Wigston Leicester LE18 2ES

Ann Pinnock Tel: 0116 2866223 7 Carlton Avenue Narborough Leicester LE19 2DE

Dr Peter Long Tel: 0116 235 1062 The Flat 242 Astill Lodge Road Leicester LE4 1EF

CONTENTS

Chairman’s Notes – Archives & Ambitions 3 Why No Newsletters? 4 Collecting Fungi 5 Important Fungal Records from Forays in 2004/5 7 2004/5 Records from New Lount Reserve 8 One Species or More Then One? 9 Uncommon Rust Records 10 Chemicals & Equipement for Examining Fungi 11 Foray Notes:Launde –Park Woods 2006 (Editors Notes) 12 Key to Club & Coral Fungi 13 Photographs 14

FRONT COVER: Shaggy Inkcap (Coprinus comatus) © Rob Joyce

Page - 2 - Chairman’s Notes - Archives and Ambitions

Our correspondence and record files are becoming increasingly bulky. I have one completely full draw in an old metal filing cabinet and I am sorting the papers so that the more interesting ones can be passed to the Museum. They are a history of the formation of our Group and should be kept as part of an enduring archive.

This sorting of papers should be a straightforward, though rather tedious task. In fact it is very difficult to make any progress. Every file opened leads to lengthy spells of reading! To one who was present at the inaugural meeting in October 1980 at the New Walk Museum there are so many memories of the long discussions that took place to ensure that we got everything right, the early forays, protocols for collecting and recording, and setting up a committee and a constitution. Above all, however, it is memories of the people involved that come flooding back. We had a membership of twenty-two at the start of our first year, eleven of whom are still members. We must have been doing something right to have encouraged such long-term loyalty!

It is interesting to read all the early letters, particularly those written by our first chairman, Chris Scotter. His energy and enthusiasm are revealed in the correspondence and minutes, and a number of us were first introduced to fungi at evening classes that Chris tutored in Wigston and Hinckley in 1978-9. It is not an over- statement to say that the Group would never have happened without him. Another name that appears regularly in the old minutes is that of Tony Fletcher, who was instrumental in setting up our collecting and recording procedures, encouraging us to collect and describe specimens carefully and to retain voucher specimens, right from our earliest days. Happily he continues to encourage us and now supervises our significant herbarium collection at Barrow on Soar. Our long-time Recorder, Tom Hering was not involved in the running the Group in its early years but in November 1980, with Chris Scotter, he lectured to us at a Leicester University study weekend at Vaughan College on the biology of fungi, and on methods of collecting and recording. These lectures were attended by most of those who went on to form the group.

It is worth re-printing the written objectives of our Group when first established:

1. To identify and record fungus species in Leicestershire with the aim of publishing a fungus flora of the county in due course. 2. To establish a regular programme of meetings relating broadly to mycology, and hold practical study meetings and forays to advance our knowledge of the fungi. 3. To establish a Leicestershire fungus herbarium and records centre. 4. To purchase key fungus works to provide a library which would be available to members on a loan system.

In early 1981 we were granted affiliation to the Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society and this established our long term links to Leicester City Museums Service. Later, in 1996, we became affiliated to the British Mycological Society and in the same year we were one of the groups that supported the formation of the Association of British Fungus Groups.

All these memories prompt the question – where do we go from here? It is easy to just enjoy what we do, organising a sociable series of walks and meetings, and forgetting that we have wider obligations to meet the objectives set out in our constitution, particularly in producing a Leicestershire Flora. The committee will be discussing these issues over the next few months, hoping to set out a programme to tackle the various projects that have been identified. Commitment and hard work will be involved and our members will be invited to help us. We will keep you informed.

Richard Iliffe

Fungal Fact

The Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) is one of the most common known fungi due to it’s striking red with white spotted cap. But why is it called the Fly Agaric? Since medieval times a practice of breaking the cap up and soaking it in milk was used to attract flies, who would drink the tainted mixture and fall unconcious. The latin name is also linked to flies, the word “Musca” literally meaning “Fly” in latin!

Page - 3 -

Why No Newsletters?

There was a time when we circulated a newsletter to know that other Leicestershire records are held in our members every year, but we have let things drift collections at Edinburgh, Cardiff, Kew, and possibly at recently – our last issue was in 2004. One looks for other UK locations, depending on where earlier reasons, or excuses. There is, of course, a lot of mycologists deposited their records, and these need effort involved. Other tasks, like the meetings and to be abstracted and included in our data. foray programme, membership administration and mailings, species identification and recording, and On the plus side, we have made excellent progress preparing foray lists take priority. The newsletter can with recording Leicestershire fungi and we have be postponed. In our early days the newsletter was a submitted over 29,000 records to the national simple affair, comprising a series of foray write-ups, database. These records cover the period between an occasional article and a copy of the autumn 1980 and 2003 - the majority in the latter half of that programme. It is now more demanding as we have period when our skills were better and when we had introduced more features, articles, news items and Tom Hering acting as our recorder and able to keep a occasional illustrations. And our supply of foray write- careful eye on our recording procedures, and on what ups has dried up – it used to be that forays leaders was being submitted. With Tom, Peter Long and would prepare a short report on each walk, with all Tony Fletcher we have been very fortunate to have unusual or interesting finds mentioned. That is a three professional or ex-professional mycologists to practice that we ought to reintroduce – all those enthuse us and offer guidance on collecting, attending a walk like to know what was found. Often microscopy, identification and recording, setting a the most interesting records are identified some time high standard of scientific excellence for the rest of us after the walk has ended, and these should be to aim at. reported back to members. We are also doing well towards creating a herbarium What are we doing about our newsletter? We will try collection. It is good practice to dry and retain to produce at least one issue this year, two if specimens of anything considered to be rare or new sufficient material is forthcoming. During 2007 we to the county, and we are doing this. However, we hope to re-organise and re-invigorate the Group. are short of good quality common species and this is Over the first half of the year we plan to hold a series something that we should look at and remedy. of meetings to agree a programme of work to tackle a number of projects, some quite pressing, and others There are two other interesting projects that we hope that have been a long time in the pipeline but have to start during 2007; the production of a new county been postponed. Below is a progress report and a check-list, and the preparation of a county “red data note of what we would like to achieve. list”. Our present check-list is at least ten years old and our recorded species have since increased from When the Group was formed our stated objectives around 1100 to maybe 1400 or more. A red data list included recording the fungi of Leicestershire. is something we should have tackled earlier, but we Rutland would then have been included but that have been waiting for the issue of a revised national county has, of course, now re-gained independent list. With hindsight perhaps we should not have status, so our target area is better defined as Vice- waited because we need to produce a list of local county 55. A complementary aim was to build up a rarities, and these need not necessarily relate to what herbarium of local species, to be held by Leicester is rare nationally. The Chanterelle, Cantharellus Museum. The most ambitious target was the cibarius, is exceedingly rare with us, and would be on preparation of a modern county fungus flora - we our list, as would the Hedgehog Fungus, Hydnum confidently allowed a five year period to achieve this, repandum, yet both can be quite common in other which seemed reasonable back then - in 1980! The parts of the county flora presently seems as far away as ever, country. and all we can say is that we now understand the vast amount of work involved, including studying and assessing the old floras published in the nineteenth Fungal Fact century, and the investigation of a great number of hand-written records from the first half of the Greeks and Romans were great lovers of twentieth century held by local museums, and good food and fungi was included on their somehow getting these data into electronic format. dinner plates. A popular fungus was We also have several thousand records made by the Boletus edulis (The Cep or Porcini late Mrs Dorothy Fieldhouse between 1960 and 1977 mushroom), a delicacy in those times! – fortunately these have all been validated and entered into a database so little work is involved. We

Richard Iliffe

Page - 4 -

Collecting Fungi

I was looking through some old group files the other day, preparing to sort papers and send them to the Museum for safe keeping. My eye was caught by the notes for a weekend study course offered by Vaughan College in November1980 and attended by members of our Group. They included guidelines for collecting and identifying fungi. As we have many recently joined members I thought it worth re-printing them, slightly amended to take account of better reference material available today.

Firstly, use a reliable modern field guide. These are not expensive and most bookshops have a range on offer. If you are just starting on fungi choose one you feel comfortable with, preferably pocket sized, and one with good illustrations that doesn’t appear to be too advanced.

When out collecting ignore the very old or rotting specimens, or those so immature that the gills have not developed – these will cause frustration and you will be hard-pressed to identify them. And don’t be too ambitious – collect only a few unknowns. If you have too many you will end up discarding most of them.

Use a knife or some form of digging tool – it is most important to get the whole of the specimen, including the stem-base which may have distinctive features.

Carry a hand lens, ideally x8 or x10. Use it for examining small species, and particularly some of the micro-fungi which can be very beautiful when viewed through a lens.

Use a notebook or tape-recorder and make brief notes. Without notes you will forget where some species were found, or what they were growing on.

Collect larger specimens in a basket or other open container. Smaller ones can be collected in closed containers; old margarine tubs, photo-film canisters, medicinal tablet pots. Some field guides suggest wrapping collections in grease-proof paper, but this is a bit fiddling. Never collect in plastic bags – samples sweat and rub against one another and you arrive home with a mushy mess. Never wrap or pack specimens in paper tissue – it sticks and cannot be removed. Damp moss is the best packing material, and it can be added to very delicate species in containers as it provides humidity and keeps them in good condition.

If collecting edible species it is usual to cut off the stem-base so that the overall collection is not contaminated by loose soil. Make sure that you are 100% confident of what you are collecting before doing this! Never mix edibles and non-edibles in one collection, to be sorted out later.

Back at home, put the kettle on, then sort out your collection, putting unknowns out for spore-prints. This takes only a few minutes so don’t be tempted to go off and do other things first, like mowing the lawn! If you can’t examine your collections immediately after returning home store them in a domestic fridge, ideally inside a closed plastic container, but for no longer than 48 hours or they may develop moulds, or spores may start to germinate, producing non-typical images when examined with a lens or microscope. Sort out your spore prints before storing material in the fridge – some species may be reluctant to produce spores after being chilled.

Field notes when collecting:

1. Note the general habitat e.g. heathland, grassland, marsh, woodland. 2. Note what the specimen was growing on – soil, dung, moss, leaf-litter, wood. 3. If on identifiable wood, was it deciduous or conifer wood? 4. If found on the ground in woodland, note the nearby trees with which it might be associated. 5. Check for a distinctive smell at the time of picking (this may fade over a period of time). 6. Check the stem base. Does it have a basal bulb? Is it “rooting” into soil or litter? 7. Look for flakes on edge of the cap, liquid droplets on gills, a powdery bloom on the cap or stem, or a very flimsy ring on the stem – these features can disappear before you get the specimen home. 8. Check for a coloured margin to the gills, particularly with Mycena or Entoloma (Leptonia) species. 9. Check for white or coloured juice in the gills (Lactarius) or the stem (Mycena). 10. Is it growing singly, in loose groups, or in dense tufts with stems appearing joined at the base?

Page - 5 - Identification at home:

1. Take a spore-print to determine the spore colour. 2. Note the type of gill connection; adnate, decurrent or sinuate? 3. Check for intermediate gills. If none, are the gills forked instead? 4. Note the presence or absence of a ring on the stem – even an indistinct fibrous zone counts. 5. Check for a swollen stem-base, or a volva - or the flaky remains of one. 6. Note cap surface texture e.g. greasy, slimy, smooth, matt, velvety, scurfy, scaly. 7. Note the shape of the cap e.g. convex: simple mushroom-shape campanulate: bell-shaped umbonate: with a raised boss at the centre papillate: with a raised pimple at the centre depressed: dished or funnel-shaped 8. Note the stem shape/type e.g. even: parallel sided tapered: tapered downwards to a slender base clavate: tapered upwards from a thickened base spindle-shaped: thickest near the mid-point flattened: thinner in one dimension rooting: possibly coming from buried wood

It helps to make notes while you study your specimen, ideally before you refer to a field guide. This is a good habit to acquire and most experts do this when studying something difficult or new to them. You then apply your observations to a systematic key, if your reference book offers one, or look in the appropriate section of the illustrations. Many books have fungi arranged according to types or shapes of the fruit-body e.g. boletes, bracket fungi, puff-balls, spindle or coral fungi, cup fungi or typical toadstools. The latter are usually arranged according to spore colour, starting with white and progressing through cream, pink, several shades of brown, and eventually to black. Some guide books arrange species according to their habitat, e.g. meadows, beech woods, oak woods, birch woods, bogs &c. This can be helpful but may cause confusion as some species can be found in a wide range of habitats, e.g. with any deciduous tree species.

Finally, the quickest, easiest and safest way to learn about fungi is to go out on walks with others having more experience. Our local group forays are sociable affairs and we try to identify what we find on the spot, and to explain to all around how we recognise each species. If you want to know what is good to eat, and what may be unsafe, come out with us to see fresh specimens. It is dangerous to refer to books and to think that you can reliably identify the various edible species from the illustrations

Richard Iliffe

Fungal Fact

Fungi appears in a

variety of forms as well

as the toadstool or

mushroom shape (such

as the Glistening Inkcap).

Earthballs are round

whilst bracket fungi “Earthballs” “Yellow Brain Fungus” “Glistening Inkcaps”

like the Birch Polypore

are disc shaped.

More unusual shapes

include the Yellow Brain

Fungus which resembles

jelly, club shaped Dead

Man’s Fingers and the many

pointed Earthstar. All these

shapes and forms help the

fungi to successfully “Dead Man’s Fingers” “Birch Polypore” “Earthstar”

disperse their spores.

Page - 6 - Important Fungal Records From Forays in 2004/5

It generally takes a full year to gather in our annual records, to sort out the queries, and to add them to our database. Data from 2006 still have to be processed, but our records for 2004-5 are near complete and I think I should comment on some of the outstanding finds of those years.

To start with, there were interesting bracket fungi. Fomes fomentarius (Hoof Fungus or Tinder Bracket) is a fungus that has always excited me. It has a distinguished history. Fomes is simply the Latin word for tinder, and in Roman time it was gathered for grinding up to provide tinder for lighting fires. The BMS distribution map shows that it has two main centres of occurrence on birch in Britain – one in the eastern highlands of Scotland, and the other covering Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. We are on the fringe of this second area. Until a year or two ago, nearly all our records were from Rutland. Now we also have records from Beacon Hill, Bradgate Park, Martinshaw Wood, Cloud Wood and Cademan Wood. Are we just getting better at noticing it, or is the fungus really spreading across the county? It has perennial fruit-bodies, and in Sherwood Forest, an old- established site, there are some huge brackets that must be twenty or thirty years old. All the Leicestershire examples I have seen are much smaller, perhaps only two or three years old. So maybe it really is a new arrival.

The next two brackets are not common enough to gain official English names in our new code. Ganoderma resinaceum is a bracket borne at the top of a tough stalk, and has a thick waxy coating. Its national distribution can be described as ‘fairly uncommon’ rather than ‘rare’, but in Leicestershire it is definitely one of our rarities. Thanks to Peter Long, we have records for the University grounds in Leicester, and some records from Rutland – but these are ten years or more old. So when Roger Rixon found one at County Hall in 2004, it was a welcome return – ‘long time, no see’.

Cerrena unicolor is a small bracket fungus growing on hardwood, which might be mistaken for Trametes versicolor from the top. But the pores are beautifully convoluted, quite unlike the regular ones of T. versicolor. My searches show that it is generally an uncommon fungus in Britain, and the one found on a hardwood stump in Cademan Wood in 2004 is our only record so far.

Then a few toadstools that are not really rare nationally, but have distinct celebrity status with us. Russula rosea (Rosy Brittlegill – better known to me as R. lepida) has red fruit-bodies that taste of pencil-shavings, and a cuticle that fails to peel at all, making it a fairly easy fungus to recognise. We had a clutch of records from Rutland in 1991-4, then nothing until one turned up in Martinshaw Wood in 2004. Also at Martinshaw was the splendid- looking bright yellow fungus Pholiota flammans (Flaming Scalycap). This is a familiar fungus in much of the Scottish highlands, but in England it is pretty thinly scattered – and certainly so with us; just two appearances at Martinshaw, both in the same place but eight years apart. We now have about twelve species of Pholiota in the county, but most of them occur only infrequently. We have not seen P. tuberculosa for fifteen years, but it turned up again in 2005, at two different places in Charnwood.

Inocybe dulcamara is our only representative in the county of the sub-genus Mallocybe – relatively short and squat, with no thick-walled cystidia, and a cap which darkens markedly with KOH. Its fine-felty surface makes it look different from any of the other Inocybe species. It is not a common fungus in Britain, and about half the records seem to come from coastal sand-dunes. Leicestershire has just two records from Buddon Wood in the 90’s, and another from along the main ride in Cloud Wood. So it was nice to see it there again in 2004.

Other novelties of 2005 were mostly small fungi. The modest woodland plant Moschatel (Adoxa moschatellina) can be attacked by three different kinds of rusts, and we now have two of them, since Puccinia albescens was found for the first time at Ulverscroft reserve. Our first record for the little cup-fungus Lasiobelonium mollissimum was on Deadly Nightshade at Ketton, which also produced an unusual Peziza (P. bovina). At Ulverscroft we found Cordyceps forquignoni, which specialises in growing on dead flies, and furnished a picture for Field Mycologist.

My most interesting find in 2005 was a single Leccinum at Cademan Wood, which showed strong blue staining in the stem. After some delay it was confirmed by Alan Hills as L. palustre – another new county record. If you add in some less conspicuous fungi, we are keeping up our average of 1 – 2 new records at each field meeting. Cordyceps forquignoni – note the fungal growths attached to the heads of dead flies © Tom Hering Tom Hering

Page - 7 -

2004/5 Records from New Lount Reserve

New Lount reserve becomes more interesting for fungi as each year passes. It has always been a rather unusual place; the site of a reclaimed colliery that was closed in the 1960’s. The structures were demolished and removed and the area levelled and landscaped, creating a flat area where the pit-head buildings and rail connections were, and an elevated mounded area formed from surplus spoil and now attractively landscaped as grassland with several large pools which are good haunts for dragonflies. Because the mine workings went through bands of limestone to reach the coal measures, the surface soil has become calcareous supporting plants like Vipers Bugloss and Common Centaury, and contrasting with the surrounding exposed geology which is acid.

Our Group has been visiting New Lount for more than ten years, and we have found that the site has an unusual variety of fungi, many not common elsewhere in the county. It was in October 2004 that we first discovered species that are considered to be rare, some of them on the provisional red data list of UK fungi. We found a small undistinguished little brown job that was, after much consultation and searching through reference texts, identified as a species of Camarophyllopsis. This was sent to the national herbarium at Kew and identified as C. hymenocephala. In 2005 we found a slightly different species - confirmed at Kew as C. micacea. There are five UK species in this genus, all uncommon, and it seems to be that if one is recorded at a given site, others may also be found there. Industrial sites with poor grassland appear to suit them. We must keep looking out for the other three.

In 2004 we found one of the Earthtongues Geoglossum umbratile, and the following year we recorded G. fallax and the closely related Trichoglossum hirsutum. Earthtongues are rare locally and are regarded as species of unimproved grassland, again illustrating the unusual habitat at New Lount. The same visit produced an interesting dark grey Clavarioid species that was a mystery when found but was collected again in 2005 and sent to Kew where it was named as Clavaria greletti. This is considered to be quite rare, with only five previous records in the UK and, as most of those are not backed by herbarium specimens, our record was particularly important. Interestingly the 2004 and 2005 locations were 50 metres apart, and we found it again in 2006, some distance from the other two sites, suggesting that we have quite a widespread colony.

In 2004 we recorded Arrhenia retiruga, a strange little species that grows on mosses and has flat grey-cream fruit-bodies with poorly developed gills. At that time it was thought to be very rare in the county but we have since found it at half a dozen widely separated locations, so it may just be unobtrusive and difficult to find. In 2005 we found an attractive grey Omphaloid (trumpet-shaped) species, Clavaria greletti © Richard Iliffe illustrated in the Collins Guide by Courtecuisse as Phaeotellus rickenii, but now named in the UK check-list as Arrhenia rickenii. This has to be regarded as another of New Lount’s rarities as there are few UK records. It is said to associate with moss on sandy soils or on old walls, but we found it on gritty industrial waste ground.

Almost all the rare fungi noted above were found growing in or near mosses. This raises the question whether New Lount has a special moss flora, or whether it is in fact the free-draining calcareous gritty soil that influences the fungi that we find there, the mosses just being coincidental. We hope that a representative of the Leicestershire Bryophyte Group will be able to visit the site to check the mosses for us. The rangers of Leicestershire Council Country Parks Service have recently removed the many brambles, wild roses and birch seedlings that were threatening to take over this area. Grazing by rabbits should now increase and control the coarse grasses so that we are left with an area of short grass, mosses and low-growing herbaceous plants which will be benificial to the very special fungi on this reserve.

Richard Iliffe Arrhenia retiruga © Richard Iliffe

Page - 8 -

One Species, or More Than One?

When I open a newly published book on the larger series of intermediates, then it is likely that we are fungi, I often find that changes have been made in dealing with just one variable species. But if both the interpretation of species. In one place, what these forms are rarely recorded, it may take a long was formerly considered to be just a variety has time before we get enough specimens to make been made into a full species; elsewhere; two such a judgment possible. In some examples previously existing species have been fused into ecological observations can give great help. one. What lies behind these changes? Are they the result of deeper understanding, or merely one Fungal Fact expert’s opinion prevailing over another’s? Edible fungi are rich in amino acids, My personal view, strongly held, is that the correct riboflavin and vitamins B1, C and K. delineation of species is not just a matter of opinion. When all is known, it will be found that the biological world, in the main, really is divided up At one time all bright red Russula species with into separate units, which we have chosen to call white spores and a peppery taste were grouped in species. Within a species, interbreeding can occur, a species called R. emetica. Nowadays it is clear so that all the genetic material carried by that one of them – the small, fragile, one – only individuals is repeatedly mixed in a ‘genetic pool’. occurs with birch, and we readily recognise it as a Between related species, there is no effective inter- separate species, R. betularum. Another one breeding, because some barrier prevents it. These differs only in minor ways from typical R. emetica, effects have been much more closely studied in but occurs strictly with beech. This we recognise as some animals and plants than in the fungi, so R. nobilis (or R. mairei - a synonym). The name R. some examples from outside fungi are appropriate emetica is now restricted to those that occur with here. Under domestication, horses and donkeys pines. can be made to hybridise, to produce mules. But this never happens in nature. Strangely enough, What of the future? DNA studies are the new both these animals occur wild nowadays in the fashion, and they have proved very useful in Australian outback. When they meet, they show demonstrating the layout of the main branches of hostility to each other, and certainly never the evolutionary tree; for instance to show that, in interbreed. Here it is largely the behaviour of the their descent, fungi are closer to animals than to animals that keeps the two species separate. green plants. But in delimiting species we have to deal with the ultimate fine branches – the twigs – With plants and fungi, which do not actively seek and here DNA studies have been of little use so far. their sexual partners, the barriers must be of other It is a well-known fact that humans and kinds. As an example from plants – when I was a chimpanzees share 99% of their DNA. Obviously student I used the name Common Polypody the 1% that is different in the two species is a very (Polypodium vulgare) for a fern that occurs on the important 1%; the two species are not only inter- tops of walls all over Devon and Cornwall. sterile, but different in many ways. At present, a Nowadays, it is divided, quite rightly, into three comparison of DNA samples from two related species, which all have different chromosome species is rather like a scholar studying two numbers; this fact prevents any possibility of inter- documents in a language that he can’t understand. breeding. In the fungi, it is quite clear that barriers He can deduce that the two texts have a lot in to inter-crossing do exist, but their nature is usually common, but he can’t really read the bits that spell unknown. In studies on agar plates, it is out the differences. One day, I am sure, specialists sometimes found that the relevant structures – will be able to read the DNA code properly, and be spores or hyphae – fail to fuse, or it may be that, able to say ‘See! This difference here in the after fusion, nuclei of the invading ‘male’ type just sequence means that these two organisms will fail to spread and multiply. never be able to interbreed. They are definitely two separate species’. But we are not at this stage yet. I must return to the phrase I used above – ‘when all And even then, field collecting will still be necessary is known’. In plants and animals, it often requires to provide the scientists with the material for their long experimentation, possibly involving cytological studies. studies, to decide about the limits of a species. There is no chance that time or manpower will ever I feel I ought to say something about sub-specific be available for experimental studies on this scale groups, such as varieties. We inherited a great with all our thousands of species of fungi. So we many of these from the Victorian naturalists. In have to do the best we can, using rough-and-ready their quest for immortality, they wanted to contribute field observations. For us, an important point is an something new to science – if not a whole species, assessment of apparent separateness of related then at least a recognisable part of one. forms. If the two, differing slightly, are linked with a

Page - 9 - Many of these creations have proved unnecessary. be so certain about the fungi – in theory their Inside a species, individuals vary, but not every spores could blow almost anywhere on the globe. variant deserves to be named. Perhaps aerial transport of spores ensures enough For others, the variety is temporary storage for a mixing to keep the gene pool fairly uniform across unit that might well be shown, as more observations large areas. But unfortunately it is almost accumulate, to merit recognition as a full species. impossible to study long-distance spread of fungi by And of course, species that have a large experiment. geographical range, or are split up by natural barriers, are bound to exhibit variation from one Before the ‘DNA Millennium’ finally arrives, we will place to another. The animal we call the Red have to expect many more changes and revisions. Squirrel also occurs in Norway, but theirs is much What we thought were two species will turn out to duller in colour than ours, and I have seen some in be only one, or vice versa. For the fungi, it is a Switzerland that were almost black. These are good thing that we are a generation where much probably all varieties rather than separate species; collecting and recording is being done by local if artificially mixed together they could almost groups. We can hope that the increased flow of certainly still interbreed. The same sort of local ‘problem specimens’ to experts will speed the variation must also occur in the fungi. But while we process of sorting out how many species we really can be quite certain that squirrels do not swim have. across the North Sea in search of mates, we can’t

Tom Hering

Uncommon Rust Records

In a previous article Tom Hering mentioned our first record of an uncommon rust on leaves of Moschatel, a small woodland plant also known as Town Hall Clock. There are two other ‘rare’ rusts recently recorded in the county that members could look out for in their gardens.

Juniper Rust is an uncommon rust once thought to be restricted to upland areas where the native shrub Juniperus communis is found. One fruiting stage of the rust appears on branches of mature Juniper and shows as spectacular clusters of bright yellow-orange fruit-bodies along the branches, appearing in spring but rarely recorded. Like some other rusts the fungus alternates seasonally with another totally different host species, in this case Hawthorn. The distribution of this fungus was thought to be restricted by the availability of native Juniper as Hawthorn is found almost everywhere.

In 2003 infected Hawthorn leaves were found by two rust enthusiasts, Bert and Gill Brand, at Welford, Northamptonshire, just 50 metres outside the Leicestershire county boundary! They had also found this stage of the rust in their own Stratford-upon-Avon garden and had linked it to garden Juniper (Juniperus sabina and hybrids). Their deductions were that this rust was either spreading into gardens, or was much more widely distributed than had been previously thought.

In the summer of 2005 I was pleased to see this rust on leaves of a red flowering Hawthorn in a private garden at Shenton, believed to be our first Leicestershire record. I was even more pleased to find it in my own garden in 2006 – just a few infected leaves on a Paul’s Scarlet red Hawthorn planted only three years earlier. In both gardens Juniperus Sabina or a hybrid was present only a few yards away.

To record the fungus, look on garden Hawthorn leaves in mid-summer for red and yellow blotches on the upper surface with a red-brown centre. If these are caused by Juniper Rust (Gymnosporangium confusum) there will be spore-bearing spiky outgrowths on the underside of the leaf, usually clustered along a vein or the mid-rib. It is unlikely to be found on countryside hedgerows unless, as at Welford, there are garden Juniper shrubs nearby. Any records from members’ gardens will be of interest and very welcome.

Another rust species, not often recorded, is Pear Rust Gymnosporangium sabinae. This also uses Juniper as an alternate host. It is more likely to be noticed by gardeners than by mycologists so it may be under-recorded. It will be noticed as rust coloured spots on the upper surfaces of pear tree leaves in late summer to autumn, and clustered barrel-shaped rather fluffy fruit-bodies will be found on the underside. We have two recent records; from Ivan Pedley’s garden in Groby in 2003 and from Maggie Frankum’s garden in Knighton, Leicester in 2005. The national database entries suggest that this is a southern species but there have been recent records from as far north as Yorkshire, including several from the Midlands. If you think you have it in your garden please let us know.

Richard Iliffe

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Chemicals and Equipment for Examining Fungi

For anybody identifying fungi, and wishing to progress beyond reading descriptions of species in a Field Guide and looking at illustrations, it becomes necessary to use a microscope. Many species can be allocated to a genus, or even identified to species, by examining the spores and the various microscopic features on the cap, stem or gills. As well as a microscope this requires access to at least one, and possibly several, specialist reference books, which can be relatively costly – from £30 upwards per volume. Other requirements are dissecting tools and various chemical stains and reagents. These latter are used to reveal microscopic features in prepared tissues – and some chemicals can be applied externally to the fungus to check for a specific reaction. There are a few basic ones, listed below, that should form part of your starter kit, and which the Group can provide on request.

Water, of course, for mounting prepared material on a glass slide. For simple mounts, tap water is OK, but distilled water is preferable if other chemical reagents are to be added.

Ammonia solution – used as a mounting fluid and as a reagent.

Melzer’s reagent – contains iodine which reacts with starch. It is used to check for a colour reaction in spore prints, or to reveal spore wall decorations in Russula or Lactarius species.

Potassium hydroxide (KOH) - used as a reagent, and as a clearing or softening agent to enable preparations of tough or sticky material to be made.

Chemical stains – a choice of two, both of which reveal cellular structures - Congo Red, as a solution in water or in ammonia, or Cotton Blue, either with or without lactophenol.

The Group has limited stocks of the above, and more can be obtained if required. When purchased in bulk the small quantities required by individuals cost very little and those listed above can be offered at no more than the price of the containers, while existing stocks last.

The Group has recently purchased a stock of glass bottles with ‘eye-dropper’ type dispensing pipettes and these can be offered to members, with chemicals or without if you already have them. Useful dissecting items have also been purchased and can be supplied at the prices indicated. Contact Richard Iliffe if interested.

Dispensing bottles 30ml (a large egg-cup full) with ‘eye-dropper’ dispenser £3.00 each Dispensing ‘eye-dropper’ bottles 10ml – a useful quantity for most chemicals £1.50 each

Single sided razorblades – for dissecting all but the tiniest specimens - sets of 10 £1.00 Single sided razorblades – packed in boxes of 100 £10.00 Metal handle for holding single sided razorblades £2.00 each

Boxes of 50 or 100 microscope slides (limited stocks) 50 - £1.00 100 - £2.00

Boxes of 100 circular cover slips for use with above £0.50 Solid glass rod with spatula at one end (15cms) £1.00

Samples of these items will be available for inspection/orders at selected indoor meetings.

Richard Iliffe

Fungal Fact

Larger fungi are divided into two groups. The Spore Droppers and the Spore Shooters. The Spore Droppers develop spores on club shaped cells and they eventually fall off to be dispersed by wind. These cells are called “Basidia”. The Spore Shooters grow their spores within a narrow club-shaped sac and use water pressure to eject them once they are mature. These sacs are called “Asci”.

2006 Fungi Foray : Launde Park Woods

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2006 was a good year for foraying in general with plenty of fungi to be found at the majority of sites visited. A good example was the foray at Launde Park Wood, located near Loddington in Leicestershire and owned by the Leicester and Rutland Wildlife Trust. The ancient woods date back to medieval times when Launde was a settlement with a priory, a Norman motte and bailey castle site. The location is both key to wildlife and history. The woods are sited on the remains of the original deer park which was once owned by the Priory of Launde, which was established before 1125. The woodlands were coppiced in these periods and the original stools from this coppicing can still be seen in the woods, ideal for fungi growth.

The foray on the third of September had a good turn out despite the wet, muddy conditions. It was a bright day and it wasn’t long before interesting finds were being discovered. The first was a rare ascomycete found by Tom Hering, which was later identified to be Trichophaea boudieri, a unusual find for Leicestershire. Shortly after that members were finding a selection of milkcaps including Lactarius blennius (Beech Milkcap), Lactarius pyrogalus (Fiery Milkcap) and Lactarius tabidus (Birch Milkcap). The usual suspects also put in an appearance including Hypholoma fasciculare (Sulphar Tuft), Daldinia concentrica (Cramp Balls) and Auricularia auricularia-judae (Jelly Ear). Another find by Tom Hering

However, it wasn’t too long before more taxing finds were being uncovered to test Richard and Tom’s knowledge, proving only so much can be done in the field. The further into the woods the group seemed to go the more specimens were collected! As well as the various species being recorded, the quality of specimens were also providing golden opportunities for photographs. A troop of Mycena haematopus (Burgundydrop Bonnet) were particulary interesting and provided a variety of pictures to those members with cameras.

Even more common types kept raising their heads including Mycena galopus (Milking Bonnet), Trametes versicolour (Turkey Tail), Boletus chrysenteron (Red Cracking Bolete) and Stereum sanguinolentum (Bleeding Conifer Crust). However it was now getting late in the morning and it was time to be heading back. Before turning around though one member was lucky enough to come across Pluteus thomsonii (Veined Eye’s peeled! Shield), a rare toadstool for Leicestershire which gets it’s common name from the raised ridges which cover the cap. In total approximately sixty species were recorded by Tom and Richard from the foray – making it a good highlight of the 2006 winter programme! Veined Shield © Rob Joyce Robert Joyce

EDITOR’S NOTES

I hope that everyone has enjoyed this edition of the LFSG Newsletter, the first one put together with me in the role of editor. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed articles, without which there would be no Newsletter.

We need your help with future publications of LFSG Newsletters. If anyone has any articles, illustrations, photographs or anything that can be included in the next edition then please forward them to me in any format – my details are on the inside cover. We appreciate any contributions.

Robert Joyce

Club, Spindle and Coral Fungi - a simplified key to genus

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Prepared by Richard Iliffe for LFSG Members – October 2006 With acknowledgements to Paul Nichol’s Initial Guide to the Identification of Mushrooms and Toadstools

This is an example of a dichotomous key i.e. it is in couplets. You make a choice at couplet 1 which leads you to another couplet. If you choose the most relevant option at each stage you should arrive at the correct genus.

1. fruitbodies predominantly black……………………………………………………....…. 2

1. fruitbodies white, cream, yellow-ochre to pale brown…………………………………. 3

2. fruitbodies growing on wood, or from buried wood…………………………….……… Xylaria

2. fruitbodies on soil among grasses…………………………….. Geoglossum/Trichoglossum

3. fruitbodies branched..……………………………………………………………………. 4

3. fruitbodies unbranched…………………………………………………………………... 6

4. on conifer wood, yellow-orange……………………………………………..…………… Calocera

4. on soil, in clusters or loose groups……………………………………………...………. 5

5. yellowish or cream to pink; clustered from stout base……………………………..…. Ramaria (Clavulinopsis corniculata may also key out here)

5. up to 40 mm tall, white, cream or pale grey……………………………………………. Clavulina

6. small, in loose, often closely packed, groups on wood……………………………..... 7

6. larger, in groups or clusters, on soil, white or yellow to pale brown………………… 8

7. tiny, white, pin-like with distinct stem and head………………………………………. Cudoniella

7. small, whitish to yellow, spiky or with flattened heads……………………...……….. Calocera

8. up to 250 mm tall, club-shaped/grass-like, cream to buff……………………………. Macrotyphula (formerly known as Clavariadelphus)

8. smaller, up to 100 mm………………..………………………………………………….. 9

9. fruitbodies white, dull straw-yellow, pinkish or grey-brown…………………..…….… Clavaria

9. fruitbodies with brighter yellow colours…………………………..………………….…. 10

10. fruitbodies simple, in clusters among grasses……………………………..……….. Clavulinopsis

10. fruitbodies with a distinct head and stem…………………………………………….. 11

11. with gelatinous bright yellow heads on white stems, in acid bogs………………….. Mitrula

11. with gelatinous olive-green heads on yellow stems, under beech………………...… Leotia

NB1 Calocera appears twice in the key because the species can either be forked or simple. NB2 The key excludes some obscure genera, and ignores some rare species within the listed genera.

PHOTOGRAPHS!!!!!

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Some photgraphs taken by members on forays during the 2006 season. Send us photos for next issue!!

Members Enjoying a Watercolour Painting Evening – a well attended and “The Chanterelle – one of our local rarities” enjoyable annual event” Photo Martinshaw Wood 2006 © Richard © Tony Fletcher Iliffe

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