Dry weather continues

I postponed my proposed trip to Ards since the dry weather continued and there wasn't much sign of fungal activity. But the 'lure of the west' called me and since I had also agreed to make a radio piece about foraying, the trip eventually went ahead.

As I have mentioned before, Ards peninsula is a rocky outcrop jutting into the Atlantic, so it is a unique environment with ancient forest inland, surrounded by sea, dunes and grassland at its boundaries. This wide range of habitats in such close proximity leads to a biodiversity which never ceases to produce something new on every trip.

As expected, the overall number of fungal bodies was very low, but there was still the usual great variety of species.

We decided to start the trip with a walk around part of the coastal boundary to see what grassland species we could find, and found Hygrocybe pratensis - the field waxcap - in the usual places, but little else of a fungal nature.

Several specimens of this snail were found:

Helicella itala

Keying it out was fairly straightforward: Low spire>large umbilicus>no keel>no lip. It is described as a dune species, so that seems fine.

New to my Species List.

We also found many specimens of the very handsome caterpillar of the Fox Moth:

Larva of Fox Moth - Macrothylacia rubi

Fox Moth larvae are being found in huge numbers all over Ireland this year, and I rather suspect that the very warm summer we had last year is at least partly the reason.

One further grassland fungus was found. This is Clavulinopsis fusiformis, identified by the acute tips to the fruitbodies: 

Clavulinopsis fusiformis

Surprisingly, new to my Species List.

We passed the location where I found Thyme Broomrape a few years ago, but none was seen. Not to be outdone, however, as we reached the boundary of the forest, I saw this specimen in the undergrowth:

Ivy Broomrape

It was surrounded by many plant species, so it was quite impossible to determine its host, and it is beyond recognition from the flowers. Based purely on the surrounding vegetation I will make a stab at Common Broomrape and will have to visit it again next summer when the flowers will be fresh. No Thyme was found nearby (and the habitat was wrong).

Update: our local botany recorder has just informed me that this is a known location for Ivy Broomrape.

Back inside the forest, we found the Blackening Waxcap, Hygrocybe nigricans, doing what it does best: going black.

The Blackening Waxcap, Hygrocybe nigricans

A grass verge had quite a few species, including Helvella crispa and the closely-related Helvella lacunosa:

Helvella lacunosa

We found a few fresh specimens of the Tawny Funnel Cap, Lepista inversa:

Tawny Funnel Cap, Lepista inversa

Other species found: Destroying Angel (again), Birch Polypore, Beechwood Sickener, Chanterelle, and two specimens of what I'm sure was the Miller (which is edible and delicious), but couldn't trust myself to take home due to its similarity to Clitocybe dealbata (which is deadly poisonous).

Ards revisited

As you will know, Ards has become a favourite place for me: the ancient forest with clean, western air is a wonderful resource for anyone who wants to find real treasures. I hoped to find fungi, but we can never be sure what we will find, given their ethereal nature.

From the outset it was clear that the recent cold weather had reduced the numbers of large mushrooms, but there is always plenty to see if you become sensitive to the smaller 'stuff', so I switched my attention to smaller things.

First is a species of Collybia that I have only seen a few times: Collybia aquosa. This is distinguished by its bulbous stipe. Cap is 25mm diameter.

Collybia aquosa

When I got the photographs back to the study, I had a closer look at the beastie on the gills and found this:

Psocid on Collybia

It appears to be a Psocid, or 'bark fly'. These are from a family of insects that eat bark in wild situations, but have become partial to paper in domestic situations, especially with regard to books.

Fungi and mosses are tightly associated: both like damp and darkness. This is Plagiothecium undulatum, which is very readily identified by the almost fish-like appearance of the shoots.

Plagiothecium undulatum

Mosses are very difficult to identify at first encounter, but once the relevant identification steps have been taken (microscopic analysis is essential), they are readily identifiable in situ. One of the identification features is 'leaflets mostly curving in one direction'. This feature is easily identifiable in the field, but less easy to show in a photograph:

Dicranum majus moss

This portrait shows the feature more clearly:

Dicranum majus close-up

I found this minute Waxcap specimen, and although it's far too young to identify, I'd make a decent stab at the Blackening Waxcap, Hygrocybe nigricans, which will turn orange, then red, then black:

Juvenile waxcap

Myxomycetes, or 'Slime moulds' have always been seen as part of the fungal family, but recent research has begun to associate them more with amoeba. They are certainly mobile, and they react to light.

Slime mould

They reproduce by spores and decompose vegetable material, but their mobility and reaction to light make them seem more like animals. These fruitbodies are about 1mm in diameter:

Slime mould close-up

Perhaps a Trichia sp.

On the way back to the car I spotted this grassland Panaeolus sp.:

Panaeolus sp.

And a festive sprig of Holly:

Holly berries

Foray to Ards

Ards Forest is the first landfall from the Atlantic, so it has a great deal going for it. Ancient deciduous, mixed with some mature Spruce (ugh!) and the cleanest air you can get. I decided that it was time to make my first journey of the year to see what was about. The forest is split into many different eco-habitats. Some parts are deciduous in deep shade; other parts have a lot of light, some are drier and there is an old quarry surrounded by tall trees. This quarry is always dark and cold, no matter what the weather is doing. These are in no particular order.

A wonderful wine-coloured Russula under old Cypress:


And in the same location, Pseudocantharellus infundibuliformis, a close relative of the Chanterelle. I think this is what the French call Giroles.

The moss is Mnium hornum.

Out in the sunlight, at the edge of the road, I looked at the usual place and found the extraordinarily rare Phellodon melaleucus. Most mycologists will never see this in a lifetime. This is the only current location known in Ireland. Dried specimens smell strongly of fenugreek.


The rather common (in old woodland) Inocybe geophyllum var. lilacina. There is always a lilac tinge (see the younger specimen to the right). Poisonous.


Horn of Plenty - Pseudocraterellus cornucopioides - is absolutely delicious. I smelled these before I saw them. This is actually a new location for these: I know of one other location several hundred metres away.



One of the Myxomycetes, or Slime Moulds, this is Fuligo septica. These are actually mobile (see the slug-like trail), and some serious research and discussions are tending to move these more towards the animal kingdom than fungi.


This is an Entoloma sp. These have wonderful multi-angular spores, but can be the devil to identify to species (I have over 1600pp of monograph on these). Still, I'll give it a go.

This is a close-up of the gill edges:

Clavulina cinerea also grows along the edge of the verge in large clumps:


Another Hygrocybe nigricans which is just beginning to show signs of black.

Another mixture

Waxcaps tend to be amongst the brightest of our fungi. This is the Blackening Waxcap - Hygrocybe nigricans. They vary from yellow to orange to red, but will always end up jet black.



The autumn generation of the Peacock butterfly has just emerged. These will overwinter as adults, and their offspring will emerge next autumn.


I put out a Heath trap the other night (thanks, Peter) and found a few interesting moths mixed in with plenty of Large Yellow Underwings. This is the Pink-barred Sallow - Xanthia togata, which feeds on Willows.
Moth traps usually attract Caddis Flies and Beetles, but I also found this Ichneumonid with extraordinarily long antennae. I guess it's a male.