Another trip to Ards

A prolonged period of heavy rain suggested that a final trip to Ards for 2014 would be productive, so we went along to see what was around. It was suggested that we try an area that we hadn't visited before (Ards is huge!), so we chose a direction at random and set forth. The first part of the loop passed through an area that had fairly recently been disturbed due to clear-felling of Spruce (yay!), so that was rather unproductive, but we soon arrived at a high area that was undisturbed ancient Oak and Beech, with Birch at the fringes. It is clear that this area is not one that is visited by mushroom hunters, since we found a good number of very large Ceps (Boletus edulis) that had been left to decay:

Cep - Boletus edulis

And another specimen:

Cep - Boletus edulis

In the more well-trodden areas of the forest, these would have been gathered long before they reached this stage. Sadly, they were just too far gone to accompany our dinner that evening. I'd say there was possibly a kilo of Cep in those two.

Nearby we also found quite a few specimens of the Fly Agaric, Amanita muscaria:

A very fresh Amanita muscaria

The books always say that these are associated exclusively with Birch, and there was plenty of Birch in this area, but I have found specimens where no Birch has existed for decades. Perhaps they can survive on very old buried roots, etc., since it is well known that other Amanita species can be found in the middle of ploughed fields or meadows and indicate the previous existence of woodland at those locations.

A definite Birch associate is the Birch Polypore (Piptoporus betulinus):

Birch Polypore (Piptoporus betulinus)

The upper surface of these is brown, with a white porous underside that produces the spores. But this bizarre specimen has an extra fruit-body growing upside-down on its top surface. Most odd. Odd shapes like this are usually caused by the substrate (in this case dead Birch) being moved, but this tree was still upright in situ. Maybe it got damaged in an early part of its development, and this could effectively be scar tissue.

Another area had been cleared some time ago and was a mixture of young Birch with heath. There was plenty of Greater Woodrush still around, so we thought we might as well try for the extremely rare leaf-miner Cerodontha silvatica, and it was found almost immediately. This is the third location in all of Ireland and the first Donegal record since 2005:

Cerodontha silvatica

There was a very small area almost covered with this Saxifrage of some kind. I'll have to go back next summer when it's in flower to find out what species it is.
 

Saxifrage 'x'

I spotted this minute (3-4 mm.) leaf-hopper on Hazel as I was checking for leaf-mines:

It's probably Edwardsiana rosae, but these cannot be done to species without a specimen under a microscope.

There were plenty of galls of Hartigola annulipes on fallen Beech leaves:

Hartigola annulipes on Beech

This is the first time I have noticed that they seem to create 'green islands' in the same way as Ectoedemia micromoths do on Oak. I can't see a definite benefit from the chlorophyll, since the midges feed on the interior of the gall. Maybe it's an accidental by-product of their gall creation process.

Towards the end of the walk we found a few specimens of this spindle-shaped fungus growing under Beech:

Macrotyphula fistulosa var. fistulosa

There are quite a few records from Northern Ireland, but this appears to be a first Irish record. About 8 cm. tall. New to my species list.

Bioblitz at Cultra

The final bioblitz of the year was held in the grounds of the Ulster Transport Museum in Cultra. It's quite late in the year, but plants and fungi were still around in good numbers. The area is largely parkland, with mature woodland patches and fringes. Many of the trees and plants are clearly introduced, but there are good stands of Oak, Birch, Beech and other species that support various fungi. I was mainly recording leafminers and fungi, but I added a few interesting plants, too, including a single specimen of Epipactis helleborine which is quite scarce. One new plant for me was the introduced Pheasant Berry, which was heavily infested with mines. The mines seemed familiar, and when I got back to the office and on to the internet, I found that it shares the same miners as Honeysuckle.

One of the first fungi I found was Cortinarius hemitrichus:

Cortinarius hemitrichus

I don't usually try to identify Cortinarius to species, but there are only a few grey ones, and the description of the stipe: 'scurvy white below the cortina (ring), but plain white above it' fits very well.

New to my Species Index.

Another new species for me is the very distinctive Chroogomphus rutilus:

Chroogomphus rutilus

I found this quite early on, so I had a chance to make a spore print during the day. The spores are dark purple, almost black and these, along with the deeply decurrent gills, quickly led to the identification. These were rather numerous under conifers. Quite a handsome beast.

New to my Species Index.

One very distinctive species was found in a number of places, especially under Birch: its normal associate:

Amanita muscaria - Fly Agaric

I found this batch growing in a lawn under a large Fir, hundreds of yards away from any Birch specimen, and I have occasionally found A. muscaria under other conifers with no sign of Birch anywhere nearby. I can only assume that there's some old remnant of a birch root still in place under the ground many years after the tree has died or been removed.

One of the great things about bioblitzes is that you have the opportunity to meet people who specialise in different areas, so you're always finding out something new. One of the recorders was targeting spiders and harvestmen and he showed me this specimen of the harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis:

The harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

That shot quite neatly shows the difference between harvestmen and spiders: harvestmen have a body formed from a single oval, without a waist.

I think I feel a book on spiders and harvestmen coming on.....

Ards revisited

My previous trip to Ards a couple of weeks ago was slightly disappointing, so I went back again on Sunday. This was a much better trip, with lots of interesting specimens, and it has taken me the better part of two days to get all the identifications as close as I can, since quite a few of the species are new to me.

In no particular order:

Gymnopilus penetrans is a decomposer of coniferous wood: the central specimen is shown still attached to its substrate:

Gymnoplius penetrans on coniferous debris

New to my species list.

Waxcaps are very colourful fungi that are mostly found in grassland, although one or two favour the edges of paths or verges. This is Hygrocybe conica - the Blackening Waxcap. It starts off bright red, fades to yellow and then turns black as it matures:

Blackening Waxcap in the early stages

Late edit: 'Gibster' has just pointed out that the black dots on the Laurel leaves at the bottom of the picture are Trochila laurocerasi. So that's another addition to my species list.

Hygrocybe pratensis is one of the larger Waxcaps. I like the fine detail on its gills:

Gills of Hygrocybe pratensis

Another new species of Waxcap for me: Hygrocybe reidii - the Honey Waxcap - smells strongly of honey, especially at the base of the stipe (stem).

Hygrocybe reidii - Honey Waxcap

New to my species list.

This small but distinctive species glories in the longest name of any in my species list - Inocybe geophylla var. lilacina: 

Inocybe geophylla var. lilacina

Russulas are another colourful family. They are characterised by bright caps, white chalky stipe and very brittle gills and flesh. Russula ochroleuca is one of the most common species, found under broadleaf trees and conifers:

Russula ochroleuca

This one took a little more time to identify, but I just got my copy of Geoffrey Kibby's excellent new monograph on Russulas and it keys out to Russula sardonia:

Russula sardonia

There are many features used to identify fungi. In addition to appearance and smell, we also sometimes use taste, especially when it comes to Lactarius species, where we often taste the milk (more of this later). I wanted to confirm the identification of the above Russula sardonia and broke of a couple of pieces of the gills and tasted them. The description says that they taste hot and acrid...."sometimes alarmingly so". I can confirm that the gills are the hottest taste I have ever encountered: my tongue is still tingling 24 hours later. Taste with caution.

I hasten to point out that the tasting of fungi has to be done with some guidance: tasting the gills of e.g. Death Cap could have fatal consequences.

New to my species list.

Sulphur Tuft must be one of the most common species: I find clusters of it on every trip I make at this time of year:

Sulphur Tuft

The archetypal mushroom as depicted in countless fairy tales is Amanita muscaria - Fly Agaric:

Fly Agaric

Fly Agaric gets its name from the old practice of putting some in a saucer of milk to attract and kill flies. It has a serious narcotic effect.

The Cantharellus family has some of the most delicious mushrooms, including the Chanterelle - one of my favourites. This is the closely-related Cantharellus infundibuliformis:

Cantharellus infundibuliformis - Girolle

And the Horn of Plenty is another delicious member of the same family:

Horn of Plenty

I usually smell those before I see them.

Earlier on, I mentioned tasting the milk of Lactarius species. they get their name from the 'milk' which exudes from the gills when the flesh is cut. The colour and taste of the milk is an important factor in making an identification. The appearance of this one, allied with the milk, which slowly develops a bitter and slightly hot taste leads me to Lactarius chrysorrheus, which is an Oak associate:

Lactarius chrysorrheus

New to my species list.

I rarely give specific names to Mycenas: I'm still waiting for a monograph to be published. but I'm happy that this one is Mycena galericulata. It grows on dead wood and stumps, and has a very springy stipe which is difficult to break:

Mycena galericulata with flash

This second shot is in natural light:

Mycena galericulata in natural light

Turkey Tails are another decomposer of dead wood. They can be seen in tiers along dead branches and stumps. Colour can be very variable:

Turkey Tails on dead branch

Finally for today, a shot of Candle Snuff fungus - Xylaria hypoxylon:

Candle Snuff fungus

Not a bad page, I think.

Drumboe fungi

Drumboe is that rarest of things...an urban ancient woodland. Native trees 200 years old rub shoulders with introduced species of all kinds on the banks of the river Finn a mere 100 metres away from a bustling town centre. It's a little more 'managed' than I'd like, but it's still a wonderful place to visit for fungi at this time of year.

This young Fly Agaric - Amanita muscaria - has only just surfaced, and already it has been nibbled:


The remains of a Stinkhorn - Phallus impudicus - after the dark brown spore mass has been removed by flies:


An Earthball - Scleroderma citrinum:


Mycena pura, which smells 'raphanoid' - strongly of raw potatoes or radishes:


A single specimen of Chanterelle - Cantharellus cibarius - was confirmed immediately by the appearance of the thick, forked, gills:

Sadly, a single specimen isn't enough to eat, but the perfume now lingers in my study.

At first I thought these might be Jelly Baby - Leotia lubrica - but the stipe is wide and creamy-opaque (see top specimen). So they will go down as Cortinarius sp.


A batch of Honey Fungus - Armillaria mellea - suggests buried dead wood at this spot.