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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

Rowland Wood foray

Led my first 'public' foray on Thursday this week: an event organised by the Sussex Wildlife Trust's Eastbourne Group at Rowland Wood near East Hoathly, East Sussex.

It was a beautiful, sunny morning. The recent rains had brought lots of mushrooms out to play.

I'd warned the group I wouldn't be able to identify everything we'd find, and sure enough these little cream-brown jobs had me stumped straight off the bat. Maybe a poisonpie Hebeloma sp.? There are lots of Hebelomas...

I loved these tufty mushrooms, with their bright orange-brown caps and wiggly stems. Never seen anything quite like these before!

They seemed quite distinctive with their clustered growth, neat pointy caps and a ring around the stem; but I've not managed to get any handle on what they are yet.

They've given me an orange-brown spore print and have fairly non-descript almond-shaped spores: 6.5-8.5 x 4.1-4.6 µm. Am still none-the-wiser.

UPDATE 21/10/2019: It's been suggested to me that these could be Sheathed Woodtuft Kuehneromyces mutabilis. This seems like a good call, but I've never seen that species looking so petite!

This Parasol Macrolepiota procera wasn't difficult to spot.

I explained that there are a few different species that look quite like this, and a close relative of the Parasol (Slender Parasol Macrolepiota mastoidea) takes its name from this mushroom's rather 'ample' shape.

The pattern on the stem is a key identification feature for the Parasol Macrolepiota procera, with brown scales said to give a 'snakeskin-like' appearance.

I got as far as figuring out this next one is a brown rollrim Paxillus sp. of some kind. There are a bunch of very-similar-looking Paxillus species, and I haven't quite progressed to sorting them out yet.

This brown bolete growing with birch I identified as Brown Birch Bolete Leccinum scabrum.

The dark 'stippling' on the stem is a key feature of the Leccinum group of boletes. 

There are a few different species which can look very like this, associating with various different trees and shrubs. The flesh of some species will change colour when you cut through the fruit body, staining blue or grey. I cut through this one and found it to be unchanging.

Nearby, we found a couple of what-I-think-were Penny Buns Boletus edulis, although they'd been knocked about a bit before we got to them. The white pores underneath the brown cap and the fine white network pattern on the stem are typical features. 

Walking along the track, we saw lots of tiny orange Orange Mosscaps Rickenella fibula which I've featured on this blog before, here.

Under the trees, the Fly Agaric Amanita muscaria was putting on a show. 

Someone asked me, "What are these mushrooms good for?" So I got to tell the story about A. muscaria possibly historically being good for inducing BERSERKER RAGE!

Dotted through the woods we saw some tufts of Honey Fungus Armillaria mellea (?). 

There are a bunch of different species of honey fungus (Armillaria) and the different species can be quite variable in their appearance; I think these ones, with their obvious ring, are A. mellea.

Under some bracken we found a couple of perfect Stinkhorn Phallus impudicus eggs.

I cut one open to show the amazing structure inside and invited people to take a sniff. I told everyone they should check out the amazing timelapse videos you can find on youtube of these things emerging:



When I popped back a bit later to get a picture, the one I'd cut open had already started to expand, like some kind of three-dimensional concertina.

Near here we crossed a big patch that the mulcher had previously driven over: covered in wood chips.

More Fly Agaric Amanita muscaria were drawing attention to themselves...

An area perhaps a couple of metres across was covered in these little brown jobs.

I drew a blank on these. But they had some interesting features: a two-tone 'hygrophanous' cap, with dried-out specimens appearing a much paler brown that those pictured here; and very crowded brown gills.

They've given me a very dark, almost black spore print. Someone's suggested to me today that I should compare these with Psathyrella. But, well, there are a lot of Psathyrellas...

I convinced myself I could see a few glistening 'micaceous' particles on these next mushrooms: Glistening Inkcap Coprinellus micaceus.

I told someone I thought these were another sort of inkcap...

... but looking again at my photos I'm wondering if they're closer to those tricky-to-identify 'pleated' species, something like Pleated Inkcap Parasola plicatilus (not really an inkcap). But there are several different species that can look quite like this!

At the edge of this clearing we also saw what-I-think was a Deer Shield Pluteus cervinus.

Along the track towards the Big Beech we saw the Deceiver Laccaria laccata trooping alongside us. Someone else caught the Amethyst Deceiver Laccaria amethystina along here too.

Here we also came across some more large patches of Sticky Scalycap Pholiota gummosa; we'd seen a smaller patch of these earlier and felt its sticky cap surface.

I was pretty sure it was that, anyway. Here you can see their slightly scaly caps.

No trip to Rowland Wood is complete for me without a visit to the Big Beech.We arrived to find clusters of mushrooms popping up from its dead roots.

I think these must be Sulphur Tuft Hypholoma fasciculare, toasted to an orange-brown colour by the sun.

We picked up a couple of things fruiting on the fallen trunk. Small Stagshorn Calocera cornea is always a treat...

... and Hairy Curtain Crust Stereum hirsutum.

These were both species I'd seen before on this tree. Over the past few years I've been fascinated by the succession of species which have played a role in its afterlife (more here).

Nestled in the grass near the Big Beech, I spotted a round chestnut-coloured thing nestled in the grass.

It took me by surprise that this was another bolete, with cinnamon-coloured pores and a bright yellow base.

I think it must be Peppery Bolete Chalciporus piperatus. But I haven't tasted it to see if it's peppery (I'm a bit squeamish about tasting things).

On the way back to the cars, I picked up a mushroom with a very dark brown cap and dull ochraceous gills. Some kind of milkcap Lactarius sp.

Looking through Geoffrey Kibby's book 'Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain and Europe Vol. 1', I realise I should have observed this mushroom's features more closely. There are a few dark-coloured milkcaps. The taste and colour of the milk that oozes from these mushrooms gills, when damaged, are key characteristics.

Spore ornamentation can also be an important identification feature in milkcaps Lactarius. Here's what the spores from my collection look like at 1000x magnification, stained in Melzer's iodine:

Focus-stacked image of spores at 1000x magnification, stained with Melzers iodine.

They are covered in an almost complete network ('reticulum') of warts and ridges up to 1 µm high. I make the spores 7.4-8.7 µm in length and 6.4-7.3 µm in width. With that slightly wrinkled margin to the cap, I think I'm leaning towards Watery Milkcap Lactarius serifluus. But would welcome an expert view.

UPDATE 21/10/2019: As my collection started to dry out, I noticed it was giving off a strong smell of curry powder! There is a Curry Milkcap Lactarius camphoratus, so perhaps it's that. 

UPDATE 3/11/2019: Martyn Allison's told me that Watery Milkcap Lactarius serifluus can have a curry-like smell, so I might've been on the right track to start with. Should have looked to see if it had watery milk. Too late now.


I picked up some bonus mushrooms when I walked up to shut the gate into Rowland Wood: a pretty group of pink mycenas which, judging by the club-shaped stem, cap colour and strong smell of radishes, I'm calling Rosy Bonnet Mycena rosea.

For the record
Date: 10/10/2019
Location: Rowland Wood, East Hoathly, East Sussex

Using a microscope for fungus identification

I celebrated UK Fungus Day today by organising a skills sharing workshop for members of Sussex Fungus Group. People came! People brought baked goods. And it seemed to go well. So it's been a good day.

I've had so much help from the field mycology community over the past few years, I figured it was about time I paid it forward...

So I put together this introduction to 'Using a microscope for fungus identification', covering what I've picked up over the last few years ⁠— from a BMS workshop, FSC course, Fungus Study Week and just having a go.

Thought I'd share it here in case anyone else is interested.