Testing, testing: some orange waxcaps

Found quite a range of reddish-orange waxcaps today, so thought I'd try running them through the ID tool.

Worth Park collection 1
Growing in short grassland near the car park.

The fruit bodies were very fresh, with slippery stems. The gill attachment looked to be mostly broadly adnate, with a few gills appearing shortly decurrent.

An orange-red cap, lubricous stem and broadly adnate gills gives a top answer of H. insipida in the ID tool, which was the name Nick Aplin had suggested when we found it – based on a quick look at its field characteristics.

If I'd have chosen 'viscid' for the character of the stem, I would have got H. mucronella as the top answer. Looking in Boertmann, these two species are superficially similar and easily confused. I touched the tip of my tongue to the cap to see if I could detect a bitter taste (a key feature of H. mucronella). I didn't get any taste from it, so H. insipida seems like a good call.

Likely identification: Spangle Waxcap Hygrocybe insipida


Worth Park collection 2
Growing in short grassland below the 'ha ha'.

These seemed somewhat different in character to the previous collection. More slender. More obviously lubricous, with a striate cap and translucent eye at the centre. Gills decurrent. And a more reddish tone at the top of the stem.

It turns out these are all classic characteristics of Spangle Waxcap H. insipida. Boertmann does note that this species is 'very variable regarding colour and stature'.

Likely identification: Spangle Waxcap Hygrocybe insipida


Sayers Common collection 1

I'm inclined to think this collection with broadly adnate gills is H. insipida again. Although I neglected to accurately record the cap and stem texture when fresh.


Sayers Common collection 2

A red (scarlet) fruit body with broadly adnate gills and lubricous cap leads to a range of possible answers in the ID tool.

Adding that the stem is predominantly red narrows things down a bit, and then you get to judgements about the appearance of the cap...

... looking at the cap under a hand lens, I think you could describe it as 'finely veined or nodulose'.

Identification: Scarlet Waxcap Hygrocybe coccinea.


Sayers Common collection 3

Ah, I recognise these now!

Likely ID: Spangle Waxcap Hygrocybe insipida


Sayers Common collection 4

A greasy, yellow cap points towards Oily Waxcap Hygrocybe quieta. And I think I could detect the characteristic smell, described to me as being like wet laundry (if you don't know what bedbugs smell like).

The greyish sheen on the cap is typical of weathered specimens.

And the salmon tones to the gills are also typical.

Identification: Oily Waxcap Hygrocybe quieta.


Some bonus finds from Sayers Common

Smoky Spindles Clavaria fumosa

Mucilago crustacea

Scarlet Caterpillarclub Cordyceps militaris

Blackening Waxcap Hygrocybe conica s.l.

For the record
Date: 20/10/2019
Location: Worth Park, Crawley & Christ Church, Sayers Common

Mushrooms at dusk

It felt like a long time since I was last in Horton Wood. That small corner of ancient woodland between Small Dole and the river Adur. So when I finished work earlyish on Thursday I thought I'd take the opportunity to wander over there and see what was afoot.

This rotting log soon caught my eye, covered in Mycenas.

Taking a closer look, I discovered they were one of the bleeding species. I think Burgundydrop Bonnet Mycena haemotopus.



At the far end of the woods, the ground was covered in troops of pink Mycenas, many of them growing in large fairy rings.

These had the look of Lilac Bonnet Mycena pura to me, as I didn't think they showed the more uniform pink tones and clavate base that I've seen in M. rosea. But I'm rarely 100% confident naming these two species...

There must have been thousands of these mushrooms in the woods that night. I passed many more as I walked on in the fading light.

 

Think I can get away with naming this one Tawny Funnel Lepista flaccida. It was quite fragrant, but I couldn't tell you exactly what it smelt like.  

The conditions also seemed to be good for several Agaricus species. I think I've seen these boxy ones before (here) and never quite figured out what they were. 

I thought these brown ones, with a distinct ring around the stem, would be easy to identify...

Going through the key in Geoffrey Kibby's 'The genus Agaricus in Britain' I think they might be Agaricus depauperatus. But it's an uncommon species which I think would need to be checked microscopically before I start claiming it.

Further on I came across more handsome Agaricus. I'm a little more confident in naming these Agaricus impudicus. The 'concentric squamules ... often solid brown' at the centre are a distinctive feature of this species.

I guess these are the same...?

This was something different. I think one of the Chlorophyllum species. I would have needed to get a closer look at the stem ring to be sure, but it was getting very dark by this point.

Night fell too soon!

For the record
Date: 17/10/2019
Location: Horton Wood, Small Dole

Return to Tilgate

SO... MANY... MUSHROOMS...

Four of us headed out on Sunday for the Sussex Fungus Group foray at Tilgate Park, Crawley. And what a foray it was! The parkland was just heaving with mushrooms, loving the wet weather. There were new species to be seen at almost every turn.

We saw loads on the grass verges near the Nature Centre, including this Clustered Domecap Lyophyllum decastes.

And one of those dirty-looking Tricholomas.

Honey Fungus Armillaria mellea was out en masse.

We saw big patches of Earthy Webcap Cortinarius hinnuleus s.l. all over the place.  

C. hinnuleus is now understood to be a species complex and a number of similar-looking species with widely spaced gills have been placed in subgenus Telamonia section Hinnulei. I gather they are very difficult (impossible?) to identify to species level without DNA analysis. There was an article about some of these species in Field Mycology earlier this year, here.

Oakbug Milkcap Lactarius quietus was an interesting find with its smell of bedbugs. I have no experience of what bedbugs smell like, but I recognised the smell as being the same as that of Oily Waxcap Hygrocybe quieta, which is also supposed to smell of bedbugs. So that must be what bedbugs smell like!

One bank we walked across was covered in Pink Gills Entoloma.

I thought I might take a closer look at this rather featureless Entoloma when I got home. But really, that was never going to happen.

I got unduly excited about this Inocybe that looked like a hat. But it was starting to go over, so I decided to pass on the challenge of identifying this one.

I normally ignore Russulas because they all tend to look the same to me. But this one, growing under an ornamental oak, was so pretty I couldn't resist taking a closer look.

I'd also remembered to bring my chemicals along, so was intrigued to see what they did. This photo shows the guiac reaction (top) and the iron sulphate reaction (bottom).

A patch of perfect Psathyrella.

The Miller Clitopilus prunulus, with its strong floury smell, like pancake batter.

Up the in old oak tree, near where the Oak Mazegill Daedalea quercina grows, we saw what can surely only be Beefsteak Fungus Fistulina hepatica, in the crook of a decaying limb.

When we found a different-looking Russula, I thought I'd have another go with the chemicals and found the reactions were completely different (guiac, top; iron sulphate, bottom). Haven't got as far as figuring out what this means yet.

Lilac Fibrecap Inocybe geophylla var. lilacina was out in quite a few spots around the park; as was White Fibrecap Inocybe geophylla. 

We came across a couple more Russulas which I gather are 'do-able' in the field.

Charcoal Burner Russula cyanoxantha, with its oily gills.

Bloody Brittlegill Russula sanguinaria.

We found Wrinkled Club Clavulina rugosa, which we've found previously in the Pinetum at Tilgate Park (here).

The Dyer's Mazegill Phaeolus schweinitzii, which we visit every year, was looking glorious in the wet weather.

 
Growing with it, we found the rare Wood Bolete Buchwaldoboletus lignicola. Not a very photogenic specimen, unfortunately.

Nearby, Bleeding Oakcrust Stereum rugosum was looking impressively bleedy. 

These rather bedraggled-looking parasols confused us for a moment, as nearly all their scales had washed off in the rain.

But a look at the pattern on the stem confirmed them as Parasol Macrolepiota procera.

The exotic oyster-like mushroom that we found last year, Hypsizygus tessulatus, was looking particularly fine in the wet weather.

En route to the Pinetum, we had Common Puffball Lycoperdon perlatum...

.... some attractive pale grey Amanitas. Nick Aplin was planning to take a closer look at these ones.

Another Russula. (I don't know if I'm going to get anywhere with these, not had a chance to go through the book yet...)

The rootball of a fallen pine tree had Cauliflower Fungus Sparassis crispa growing on it.

A standing dead stump was adorned with Sulphur Tuft Hypholoma fasciulare and Shaggy Scalycap Pholiota squarrosa.

Trooping along under the birch, near the lake, there was a big patch of Birch Knight Tricholoma fulvum.

When we got to the Pinetum, Nick Aplin spotted some white 'brackets' on a fallen pine trunk which looked like a Postia from above, but had gills. Interesting! I look forward to hearing confirmation of what these are...

Then a fine specimen of Scarletina Bolete Boletus (or should that be Neoboletus? I can't keep up...) luridiformis.

We convinced ourselves we could see a few strands of violet hyphae at the base of these tall Laccaria, making them Bicoloured Deceiver Laccaria bicolor.

Primrose Brittlegill Russula sardonia, which had a purple-flushed stem.

And Mushroom Of The Day for me was this Earthy Powdercap Cystoderma amianthinum.

We looked for 'the strangler' but, alas, didn't find it.

This Yellowleg Bonnet Mycena epiterygia looked more impressive in the flesh than it does in this photo. But the stretchy cuticle was a distinctive feature.

This old bonfire site made for an impressive sight!

It was absolutely covered in Pholiota mushrooms, with extremely gloopy ('viscid') caps. Bonfire Scalycap Pholiota highlandensis?

Near here we had Liver Milkcap Lactarius hepaticus, which we've had at the Pinetum before.

We weren't sure whether this rather pale Leccinum was going to be something unusual, or not. The white flesh was unchanging when cut...

This Milkcap Lactarius had a distinctive metallic smell, reminiscent of engine parts, railings or 'the smell of your hands after pushing a roundabout for ages'. Will have to do some work on this one...

And under the shrubs, near the stream, a small puffball. Can't remember what we thought this one might be... Dusky Puffball Lycoperdon nigrescens?

Will do a bit more identification work with the microscope, if I get the chance.

For the record
Date: 13/10/2019
Location: Tilgate Park, Crawley

Records to be submitted via Sussex Fungus Group