GRAMPIAN FUNGUS GROUP NEWSLETTER No.9 Dec. 2005 Grampian Fungus Group: Aims • To record the fungi of North East 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 the 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 Dr. Geoff Hadley 74 Don St. Old Aberdeen Aberdeen Group Leader, Foray Organiser, Newsletter Editor Mrs. Liz Holden Allanaquoich Mar Lodge Estate Braemar Ballater Aberdeenshire AB35 5YJ Tel: 013397 41410 Email: [email protected] Secretary, Recorder Mrs. Rosemary Smith Mill of Cranna Aberchirder Huntly Aberdeenshire AB54 7SS Treasurer, Membership Secretary Mr. Denis Bain 17 Gleneagles Drive Bridge of Don Aberdeen AB22 8NH N.B. – if your name is not on the list below and you wish to remain a member, please send your cheques Editorial before you forget!! Lots going on in field mycology over the past year Mary and Denis Bain including an update of the Drugs Act that has Brian Cornock caused some concern amongst mycologists since it Dave Genney took effect in July (see below). One of my roles is to Geoff and Maggie Hadley attend a forum for lower plants and fungi in Walter and Lorna Henrickson Scotland hosted by PLINKS (Plantlife Link Liz and Peter Holden Scotland) and, after much hard work by all Louise Simpson concerned, a strategy for the conservation of lower Rosemary Smith plants and fungi is about to be published early in the New Year. Central to this strategy is the need to persuade the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to Diary Dates replace Roy Watling’s post of senior macromycete taxonomist there. It has been vacant for nearly 8 A full list of forays and events will be sent out in the years now and it is essential to underpin all the spring. Here are a few dates for your diary however, planned research, recording and educational works the first being our spring foray which will take place with a trained taxonomist. This so-called on Sunday April 30th, meeting at 10.30am, ‘taxonomic impediment’ is an issue for all groups, Blackhall Plantation near Banchory. A long not just the fungi, and there are worryingly few weekend based at the University of Aberdeen study universities in the UK that teach taxonomy any centre, Bettyhill near Caithness is proposed - Sept. more. Anybody would think that we knew it all 21 – 24th details about location and accommodation already – half an hour into mycology and you will follow with the Diary Dates. realise that this is not true!! The date of the next AGM was agreed, this being 2005 turned out to be a poor fruiting year and many Sat. Nov. 11th starting at 2.00pm, venue to be of the forays had relatively short lists of fungi as a confirmed. result. Nevertheless it got off to a good start in the spring with Sarcocypha austriaca (Scarlet Elfcup) being reported on several occasions in the Glasgow area – 65 cups being recorded at Maudslie Wood in February. Ascomycetes continued to flourish and in GFG - Foray, Meetings, March an area of thinned plantation on Mar Lodge and AGM Reports 2005 Estate produced more than 100 cups of Pseudoplectania nigrella (Ebony Cup). This latter The full species lists for the forays will follow in the species has only been recorded at four locations in spring; the following comments are just to give a Scotland and the other site in Aberdeenshire is flavour of each event: perilously close to a road and vulnerable to both salt and snowplough! Sun. May 1st We were delighted to welcome Geoff 2006 will be the tenth year of foraying for the GFG Gadd (President of the BMS) and his wife on this and we thought that it would be appropriate to mark first foray of 2005 to Quithel Wood. Sadly the the occasion by venturing a little further a field for weather was not so welcoming and by lunchtime our weekend foray and arrange a trip to the most of the group were wet and cold! The highlight University of Aberdeen’s field study centre at of the day was relocating the crust fungus Bettyhill in Sutherland. Further details will be sent Scytinostroma portentosum (see picture page) on the out with the Diary Dates but it should be a underside of a hung willow. This inconspicuous fascinating place to visit. wood decomposing fungus smells strongly of naphthalene (moth balls) and this is the first known Liz Holden site for the fungus in Scotland. Encoelia furfuracea (Spring Hazelcup) and Pleurotus pulmonarius (Pale Oyster) were also recorded. Membership Sat. August 6th Despite a reasonably wet summer, Just a reminder that annual subscriptions are due the ground underfoot was very dry and the pine and on January 1st for 2006. The subscriptions have birch woods on the west side of Craig Leek were been kept at £3.00 and cheques should be made out disappointing. Beautiful material of Pluteus to the Grampian Fungus Group and sent to Denis atromarginatus with a dark gill edge was retrieved Bain at the address above. from the inside of a hollow stump and Russula N.B. If you have recently changed your email integra was relatively common under the pine. The address or house address, please could you let Denis group enjoyed a wonderful walk with fine views know so that we can update our records. over the Dee and Braemar at lunchtime. th Grampian Fungus Group: Members Sat. August 13 Only four of us were able to make There were 48 paid up members at Nov 12th; the this foray to the riverside woodland at Crathie. following is a list of those who have already paid Mature juniper, birch and aspen growing on river their 2006 subscription. gravels make this an interesting site and we were rewarded by good material of Russula perlargonium Sat. Sept 17th This was the group’s first visit to the – smelling strongly of pelargonium as the name south side of Bennachie and we were particularly suggests, after being enclosed in a tub for a couple interested in the areas of old oak woodland there. of hours. Leccinum aurantiacum also put on a fine Again the dry conditions did not do the site justice show under the aspens: it will be well worth although a good range of birch and beech associates returning in a more fruitful year. were found as well as Bulgaria inquinans (Black Bulgar) and Fistulina hepatica (Beefsteak Fungus) Sat. August 20th The first Saturday of the BMS growing on the oak. Autumn Foray based at Glenmore Forest Lodge, included provision for local group members to come Sun. Sept 25th A good turnout of forayers for this along and see what goes on. This meant the visit to the Crannach near Ballater, including opportunity to meet new people and foray in the Richard Simpson who is a documentary extensive forests of Speyside. The weather was photographer working on the way people spend stunning and some interesting fungi were recorded their leisure time. Richard stayed until lunchtime including Inocybe jacobi which is a tiny member of and has sent us a CD of his results. Contact Liz if the genus that seems to specialise in sandy areas anybody would like to see the photos. Crannach with young pine. remains our only known site for Meruliopsis taxicola and it was still growing on the same dead Sun August 21st Marysia took our display along to pine branch. The tooth fungi were not fruiting on the Treefest held for the first time at Duthie Park this visit in keeping with other sites in the area and rather than Craibstone. The new venue meant that all fruitbodies were generally scarce. Beautiful the event was accessible to a large number of people material of Lactarius spinosulus (Lilacscale and Marysia reported a great deal of interest in her Milkcap) was however found – a rarely recorded display. associate of birch. Sat. Sept 3rd Eight members of the group spent a Sun. Oct. 2nd Windyhills was generally very dry but very pleasant day in the grounds of Delgatie Castle, did produce interesting material of an oddly Turriff. The Castle is one of the oldest in Grampian, coloured Leotia lubrica (Jellybabies). Instead of the dating back almost 1,000 years so I had high hopes usual yellow colour of head and stipe, these of some interesting fungi, but apart from a pristine collections varied from very dark blackish green to group of Phaeolepiota aurea (Golden Bootleg) bright green and several that seemed to be there were very few fungi. Only one Hygrocybe somewhere between yellow and green both in the could be found on the lawns so difficult to know if head and stipe. In the text ‘British Ascomycetes’ by it is just a poor area or if the season is just late this Dennis, the dark green Jellybabies are given distinct year. taxonomic rank and named Leotia atrovirens see picture page. Given the range of colours present, I e- In the adjoining wood of Delgaty owned by the mailed the ascomycete expert, Brian Spooner at Forestry Commission there weren't many fungi Kew for his opinion. Brian suggests that it is usually either, but we all enjoyed the walk and the accepted as a variety of L. lubrica however the company. We finished the day with a cuppa in the mycologist Baral thinks that it is L.