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Fungi ID questions from Binning Wood (1 Viewer)

C

checklg

Graham Checkley
The following fungi were photographed in Binning Wood, East Lothian Scotland. It's an area of woodland that has a lot of Scots Pine but also some broad-leaf. I'd realy appreciate some assistance with identification/ confirmation of my guesses.

http://www.pbase.com/grahamcheckley/image/67488595 (Sulphur Tuft?)

http://www.pbase.com/grahamcheckley/image/67488559 (Russula paludosa?)

http://www.pbase.com/grahamcheckley/image/67299614 (?)

http://www.pbase.com/grahamcheckley/image/67299606 (?)

http://www.pbase.com/grahamcheckley/image/67245540 (Amethyst Deceiver?)

http://www.pbase.com/grahamcheckley/image/67209794 (Beechwood Sickener?)

http://www.pbase.com/grahamcheckley/image/67209734 (?)

Regards,
Graham.
 
Last edited:
1) Yes.
2) I don't know, but it is not a silly guess. Be aware that several will match the main features in the photo. Yellowish gills are characteristic of R. sardonia.
3) Honey Fungus. Somewhat variable but easily recognised once you know it.
4) I can't really say as I cannot see enough details. There are a few that come to mind.
5) Yes.
6) It is a Russula (which you know) but I think it is not a Beechwood Sickener. The pink tint to the stem and the furrowed cap margin are not right.
7) Possibly a young Sulphur Tuft.

Regarding the Russulas, it is safe to chew a small bit, and then spit it out after a minute or so, or quicker if very hot. In some cases the taste is mild, then only after a minute does a burning heat appear. The taste and smell are important attributes for Russula, along with the gill colour, the degree of peeling of the cuticle, the stem colour and the associated tree(s). I find Russulas rather hard to id, though I am starting to build up a fair few that I know with some certainty. Fortunately thre's a fair few that are distinctive due to specific smells such as coconut or crab. Nevertheless I rarely id immediately and usually have recourse to a book to check.

Leif
 
checklg said:
Leif,

My thanks! I did wonder about Sulphur Tuft for the last one.

Regards,
Graham.
Click to expand...

BTW the Caledonian Forests of Scotland are said to be superb hunting grounds for fungi, with many rare species making an appearance. I envy you your relative proximity to them. I expect the season is well under way given how northerly they are.

Leif
 
Leif said:
BTW the Caledonian Forests of Scotland are said to be superb hunting grounds for fungi, with many rare species making an appearance. I envy you your relative proximity to them. I expect the season is well under way given how northerly they are.

Leif
Click to expand...

Even last week a number of fungi had already "gone over", and I'm seeing that in other woodlands too! Nonetheless there's lots of fungi on the go just now.

On your other point, Binning Wood is slightly unusual as it's a forestry plantation of Scots Pine and some broad leaf. The "proper" Caledonian woods are about 100 miles north, Binning wood is about 20 miles east of Edinburgh and has a very convenient bus service running near by.

Regards,
Graham.
 
checklg said:
The following fungi were photographed in Binning Wood, East Lothian Scotland. It's an area of woodland that has a lot of Scots Pine but also some broad-leaf. I'd realy appreciate some assistance with identification/ confirmation of my guesses.
.
[edit]
.

Graham.
Click to expand...


Graham, I am reasonably certain that your no. 4 is Lentinellus cochleatus - gills running right down to the base of the stem, which is dark brown. It should have had a smell of aniseed.
(Plus an old honey-fungus, an Armillaria species but probably not A. mellea, in the backgound.)

I agree with Leif on the others, including that the Russula(s) is/are unnamable. The red ones can be specially tricky and they can be a good test of mycological expertise. Beginners don't know them, reasonably experienced mycologists name them in the field, and the really good mycologists don't!
Exact spore-colour and various microscopic features are vital for reliable identification, while cap colour is often very variable. Leif mentions Russula sardonia for number 2, but carefully doesn't name it as such. It would indeed have been a good starting point with a specimen in hand, but too late now I am afraid.

I will stick my neck out and say that it is not R. paludosa though. The habitat doesn't look quite right - it needs wet pinewoods, usually with Sphagnum moss, and it is one that varies very little in colour and your photo doesn't quite match.

Number 3 is indeed the true Armillaria mellea with the well-formed membranous ring, cap not especially scaly and hint of olive in the cap centre. Not so often seen fruiting in Scotland, more commonly so after a warm summer. (A. lutea (bulbosa) is much more common.)

Was your visit to Binning Wood with the Edinburgh and Lothians fungal group? They had a foray there recently. If you want details of the group, send me a pm.

And yes, the 105mm micro-nikkor is a great lens!

Alan
 
Silver said:
Graham, I am reasonably certain that your no. 4 is Lentinellus cochleatus - gills running right down to the base of the stem, which is dark brown. It should have had a smell of aniseed.
(Plus an old honey-fungus, an Armillaria species but probably not A. mellea, in the backgound.)

I agree with Leif on the others, including that the Russula(s) is/are unnamable. The red ones can be specially tricky and they can be a good test of mycological expertise. Beginners don't know them, reasonably experienced mycologists name them in the field, and the really good mycologists don't!
Exact spore-colour and various microscopic features are vital for reliable identification, while cap colour is often very variable. Leif mentions Russula sardonia for number 2, but carefully doesn't name it as such. It would indeed have been a good starting point with a specimen in hand, but too late now I am afraid.

I will stick my neck out and say that it is not R. paludosa though. The habitat doesn't look quite right - it needs wet pinewoods, usually with Sphagnum moss, and it is one that varies very little in colour and your photo doesn't quite match.

Number 3 is indeed the true Armillaria mellea with the well-formed membranous ring, cap not especially scaly and hint of olive in the cap centre. Not so often seen fruiting in Scotland, more commonly so after a warm summer. (A. lutea (bulbosa) is much more common.)

Was your visit to Binning Wood with the Edinburgh and Lothians fungal group? They had a foray there recently. If you want details of the group, send me a pm.

And yes, the 105mm micro-nikkor is a great lens!

Alan
Click to expand...


Hello Alan: Coincidence is a strange thing. When I posted my earlier comment to this thread, I had never seen L. cochleatus. Since your posting, I have made 4 collections at several sites, and as you say, the smell of Aniseed is intense, and noticeable from several metres away. It does indeed resemble the photo, especially the tendency to cover a tree stump, though the two fruiting bodies at the back right do indeed look like Honey Fungus. I suspect that the conditions this year are such as to favour this species, or alternatively that it is prolific in the Chilterns. I find that each year there is usually a species, or group of species, that are more common than usual. A year or two back it was Earth Tongues, and another year it was Entoloma sinuatum, with collections made at many widely separated locations. I can only assume that this is due to weather conditions favouring one species over others.

Leif
 

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Fungi Fun

Leif-I am sure that variations in weather and temperature are major factors in the spread and presence of certain fungi. This year we have had a profusion of Shaggy Parasol [Macrolepiota rhacoides] for the first time in 18 years. I had only seen one before in the Savernake forest. As my wife and I are dedicated organic gardeners and keen wildlifers/birders we have let our garden go a bit [especially now that I suffer from heart disease] so this could well be contributory but we have no other major fungi visible. Perhaps that's one of the mysteries of mycology that so attract us fungus freaks.
By the way they were excellent with butter and a touch of garlic though we left plenty for spore diffusion.

Iggybear the brummy
 
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