Could I have some fungi help please (1 Viewer)

27.11.06: Since originall posting this message yesterday I have managed to id two out of the three!
Just leaves one - could it be Tricholomopsis Rutilans (Plums and Custard)

"I am new to fungi and have recenty bought reference books by Phillips and by Jordan. Yet I cannot manage to id any of the following which I thought would be straight forward. Taken in south Notts.

"There were quite a few of these on the edge of a path. I have just noticed two small bonnets in the picture as well!

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

Richard

Richard said:

27.11.06: Since originall posting this message yesterday I have managed to id two out of the three!
Just leaves one - could it be Tricholomopsis Rutilans (Plums and Custard)

"I am new to fungi and have recenty bought reference books by Phillips and by Jordan. Yet I cannot manage to id any of the following which I thought would be straight forward. Taken in south Notts.

"There were quite a few of these on the edge of a path. I have just noticed two small bonnets in the picture as well!

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

Richard

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Hi Richard,

Never expect fungi to be straightforward! Especially not if you have photographed them. I find photographing any 'unknown' immediately reduces the chance of it ever being identified afterwards. I am sure there must be a Murphy's Law on the subject.

Anyhow, I can put you out of your misery with this one. It is Armillaria gallica (also known as Armillaria bulbosa and A. lutea), one of the Honey Fungi.

Points to note are the yellow veil still present on the stem base, and the weak, fluffy ring that quickly collapses (and also has yellow pigment). The better known and more infamous Honey Fungus, Armillaria mellea, the serious parasite, has greener tints in the cap, a much firmer, more membranous ring and a clustered growth.

Yours is rather old material - others have posted pictures of it recently if you go though other threads - see the thread entitled "Even More Fungi!", started by Desperate Dan, to see what it looks like when very young.

Which edition of Phillips do you have? In his original book he illustrated it as "Armillaria mellea chunky form".

Oh, and the two Mycena specimens in your photograph are most likely either M. filopes or M. vitilis, depending on the shape of the cells on the gill edges.

Alan

Just for idle amusement I took a longer look at Richard's photograph - I thought there might be some cup fungi on the dead leaves - cup fungi of course being innately beautiful and much more interesting than the larger fungi.

An indeed there is a third fungus, another toadstool, just inside the left-hand margin of the photograph. Unfortunately it is one of the small, brown Cortinarius species and I am very glad Richard never asked us to name that!

Alan

Silver said:

An indeed there is a third fungus, another toadstool, just inside the left-hand margin of the photograph. Unfortunately it is one of the small, brown Cortinarius species and I am very glad Richard never asked us to name that!

Alan

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Thank you very much Alan,

Neither my 2006 edition Phillips or my Enc. of Fungi by Jordan show an A. gallica (or bulbosa / lutea).

I can't believe that I missed 2 other fungi when I took the A. galacia! I went out briefly at lunchtime to get a better shot of the Mycena and only found the attached which seems to be an M. pura (Lilac Bonnet). I though that was the one I had unknowingly photographed - obviously not!

Richard

Richard said:

I can't believe that I missed 2 other fungi when I took the A. galacia! I went out briefly at lunchtime to get a better shot of the Mycena and only found the attached which seems to be an M. pura (Lilac Bonnet). I though that was the one I had unknowingly photographed - obviously not!

Richard

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No, it's not a Mycena - note the black gills.

It is a Coprinus species, an inkcap, though it is evidently one that doesn't dissolve into an inky fluid.

It is one of about five species, depending on the nature of the cap surface and the spores. From the stature, colour and habitat I favour C. leiocephalus, but that cannot be a definite ID.

[Taxonomic note: many past British records of C. leiocephalus are now known to be C. kuehneri, as is the illustration of "C. leiocephalus" in the Swiss fungus flora that some of us use. True C. leiocephalus is nevertheless common, though much overlooked.]

Alan

Silver said:

No, it's not a Mycena - note the black gills.

It is a Coprinus species, an inkcap, though it is evidently one that doesn't dissolve into an inky fluid.

Alan

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Thanks Alan,

Will go back to the books!

Richard