Foray Reports

This first foray of the season was lucky in the warm fine weather and in the number of species we found, 51. The recent rainfall showers after such a dry year was evidently enough to spark things into life. Among the 13 of us who attended the foray we were pleased to welcome three new faces, the youngest being Lyzzie Vermuiden who joined as a member.As well as the old perennial friends (Stereum, Trametes, Gymnopus, Mycena, Xylaria etc) a good range of genera were seen and identified; and several species are worth a comment here. Tony Spratley found a whitish poroid bracket on a fallen branch, Antrodia xantha, which often turns yellowish later, hence the name ‘xantha’(yellow). Fairly uncommon, and a 6th Notts record. Tony also found Inocybe griseolilacina, Lilac Fibrecap, quite uncommon and a 5th Notts record. Agnieszka Kiely found Gymnopus aquosus, Pale Russet Toughshank, an uncommon sister of Gymnopus dryophilus, Russet Toughshank, but with many fewer records nationally (164 as against 6,501). A 6th Notts record was Lanzia echinophila, an ascomycete on a fallen chestnut husk spotted by Agnieszka. This is uncommon nationally with 83 records on our CATE2 database. It bears the dubious English name of Hairy Nuts Disco apparently. Pleurotus pulmonarius, Pale Oyster, on birch, was identified by Ann Ward, a quite uncommon Pleurotus species. The very striking Tapinella atromentosa, Velvet Rollrim, was seen on an old pine stump, its typical substrate, by Ann and identified by Vaughan Cooper. At first it was thought there were two Tapinella species, but Ann later confirmed there was only the one. It is in fact fairly common nationally and is a 10th Notts record.Three very small species had us stumped, but back home I was able to determine them – all have been recorded by us previously. Two were Marasmiellus vaillantii, Twig Goblet, on dead grass stems in litter; and Tubaria conspersa, Felted Twiglet, with tiny white veil remnants on cap and stipe. Neither uncommon, though easily overlooked. A third grey-brown species in moss was collected by Agnieszka and later identified as Psilocybe inquilina, chief features being a sticky-greasy peelable cap cuticle. A 5th Notts record and an uncommon species.One of the rarest species found is what I have recorded as cf Naucoria amarescens. The ‘cf’ indicates some uncertainty in the determination. Rebecca White found this growing under mixed trees in litter, specifically here on decayed bracken fronds. The uncertainty lies in the fact that most, but not quite all, microscopic details fit well for this species, and do not fit other Naucoria species in woodland, nor any other species of similar appearance that I could find. It would be a 1st Notts record, but owing to the uncertainty cannot really be recorded on the FCT Database.A few common species are worth a comment. Bernard Featherstone showed me some bright dark brown, white-margined brackets on oak wood that bled red on handling: Stereum gausapatum, Bleeding Oak Bracket. Vaughan found another unrelated bleeding species in litter, Mycena sanguinolenta, Small Bleeding Bonnet. It must have been growing on buried pine debris as conifers are the host substrate. Finally, it was nice to see a collection of 4 Crepidotus species, especially the three which were not Crepidotus cesatii, which occurs with rather boring consistency on most forays.

Well done to all concerned in spotting and collecting all these species today. Again, it goes to show that the more eyes we have, the more we will find.

Howard Williams