NWFG NEWS UPDATE

MykoGolfer

The intrepid MykoGolfer, winner of the Golf Cup, is now providing regular updates to our website. Watch this space....

FORAY LISTS for 2012 / 2011 / 2010 / 2009

FUNGAL SNIPPETS for 2011 / 2010 / 2009

FUNGAL SNIPPETS from MYKOGOLFER for 2012

Monday 2nd January 2012

I was forced to miss the New Years Day foray at Ainsdale so made up for it by a visit to Speke Hall. It was Monday. It was shut. I found a hole in the fence and finished up down a path I have never been on before. Mature trees. Lots of dead branches and twigs and needles. A few finds. I was lucky to spot a tiny Mycena adscendens (Frosty Bonnet). Also Mycena filopes (Iodine Bonnet) and Postia stiptica (Bitter Bracket) on a dead log. The path ended at the entrance to The Hall where I found a group of Tricholoma terreum (Grey Knight) that had survived the light frost on the grass verge under some beeches.

Friday 6th January 2012

Nothing much on the golf course. This afternoon I had to drive along the riverside promenade where there are lots of shrubberies. Managed to find Agaricus silvaticus (Blushing Wood Mushroom) and Melanoleuca polioleuca (Common Cavalier) buried deep in the woodchip. Probabaly hiding from the recent gales.

Saturday 7th January 2012

When I was out the other day I found what turned out to be a Myxomycete (Slime Mold) growing through the spines of a Sweet Chestnut husk. I did not have many so I went back to see if I could find some more. No luck. After the gales the site was deep in blown leaves. It seems to be a rule of mycology that you have to pick them first time as you never find them again. I did find a group of Gymnopilus junonius (Spectacular Rustgill) and some Crepidotus cesatii (Oysterling). Also on the Great Lawn at Speke Hall were a lot of Hygrocybe psittacina (Parrot Waxcap) and Galerina clavata. Crossing a field to get back to my car, I found a different Galerina in the long grass. Still working on it.

Sunday 8th January 2012

Rain today so I worked on the Galerinas using various books and keys. I had actually found three different species. The spores were different sizes and the cystidia varied in that some had long necks with a round head. My conclusions were Galerina clavata, (very large spores), G. pumila (Dwarf Bell) and G. vittiformis (Hairy Leg Bell). It took me all of the morning.

Wednesday 11th January 2012

Still plenty of fungi on the golf course, some clearly new growth. Found Peziza cerea (Cellar Cup) growing from pieces of wood debris in a flowerbed. Not easy to sort this species out from similar varieties. A branch that had fallen from an Oak tree was displaying lots of Peniophora quercina (Oak Crust?) and Vuilleminia comedens (Waxy Crust).

Thursday 12th January 2012

Threat of frost tomorrow so I went over to the area where I found Geastrum striatum (Striate Earthstar) four years ago. They are still there. A new fruiting body was showing. Also collected were Crepidotus versutus, Tremella foliacea (Leafy Brain) and Polyporus brumalis (Winter Polypore).

Monday 16th January 2012

Cold but sunny so worth a walk. Had a look under some logs and branches. Always good for something at this time of year. I found Fuscoporia feruginosa (Rusty Porecrust), Phlebia radiata (Wrinkled Crust), Datronia molluis (Common Mazegill) and Diatrype stigma (Common Tarcrust). Nothing unusual but this is only the beginning of winter.

Tuesday 17th January 2012

Today was very cold but dry. Just the weather to have a bonfire and to dispose of the prunings from the fruit trees and bushes. These have been piled up in a heap for a couple of months. Having reached the bottom of the pile, amongst the dead leaves and branches I spotted a couple of interesting specimens. One was obviously a Myxomycetes (Slime Mould) probably a Didymium (white crystals and a stalk). The other looked like a Hypoxylon. But when I got it home and looked at the spores, it was clearly another Slime Mould. No idea what it is. I am not very proficient at these.

Sunday 22nd January 2012

Passing the old orchard, I noticed that some of the pruned branches that had been piled up were displaying a fungus that was spreading out across the bark. I took it home and looked at it under my microscope. It was Cylindrobasidium laeve, which is common but this is the time of year to find this type of fungi.

Monday 23rd January 2012

A lovely morning in Liverpool so I played golf. I was surprised to find Coprinopsis atramentaria (Common Inkcap) so early. An interesting fungus which, if you eat it and drink alcohol it makes you sick. It is therefore used as a cure for alcoholism.

Tuesday 24th January 2012

It rained all night and this morning so I went for a walk to see if I could find some Exidias or Tremellas which come to life in wet weather. I was lucky to find Exidia thuretiana (White Brain). The most common local Exidia is nucleata, which has tiny crystals inside the body. This did not and the larger size of the spores was an additional clue. Also plentiful was Byssomerulius corium (Netted Crust) that was growing on every piece of a pile of branches. Most surprising was a Melanoleuca cognata, identified from the nettle sting cystidia and large spores. Is it spring? I think that this warm weather following last week's frost has confused it.

Thursday 26th January 2012

Nice day for golf. Surprised to find some yellow-brown Oyster Mushrooms growing from a tree root that had been damaged and exposed by the grass mowers. I thought Pleurotus ostreatus (Oyster Mushroom) but the gills ran down the stem, which ostreatus does not have. I could not have identified this without my microscope. The spores were too large for ostreatus, between 11.2 and 12.8um. The conclusion is Pleurotus dryinus (Veiled Oyster) although I could not find any aleuriospores. This is a parasite on tree wounds so that also fits. The likely tree was a Populus tremula (Aspen).