Banagher Glen is a mature woodland on sloping river banks. Deep shade and high humidity, along with mature broadleaf trees, make an ideal environment for fungi: the first specimens were immediately visible at the edge of the car park.
Lactarius torminosus was the first of many species of Lactarius found on the day. It is a Birch associate and is easily identified by the woolly cap:
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| Lactarius torminosus |
We also found the very early stages of
Clavaria acuta, at about 2 cm. tall:
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| Clavaria acuta, just emerging |
The majority of the mature trees were Oak, Beech and Hazel, all of which have their own Lactarius species. I found the Hazel associate
Lactarius pyrogalus which, as its name suggests, has very fiery milk:
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| Lactarius pyrogalus |
New to my Species Index.
When I first saw this little orange mushroom, my first reaction was 'Waxcap':
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| Lactarius aurantiacus |
But on flipping it over, the close gills and milk revealed that it was clearly a tiny (20 mm.) Lactarius.
New to my Species Index.
We also found many huge specimens of
Lactarius chrysorrheus under Oak:
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| Lactarius vellerus |
New to my Species Index.
Another new species for me was Russula betularum, under Birch:
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| Russula betularum |
New to my Species Index.
Because I'm always searching for fungal rusts, I often find other species on leaves. These are the leaf galls of the asexual stage of
Neuroterus quercusbaccarum on Oak:
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| Galls of Neuroterus quercusbaccarum on Oak |
I also found this specimen of the Dung Beetle
Geotrupes stercorarius:
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| Dung Beetle - Geotrupes stercorarius |
Tomorrow I'll show the larvae and leaf miners that I found.
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