Fungi for ID please

[jcd123]

Hi

I spotted these fungi about 7 foot off the ground in a Beech Tree

I think they are maybe some kind of Mycena....but that is a wild guess

And extra points if anyone can ID the Insect..didnt know it was there untill I downloaded on to PC





Thanks

John

PS what is a good book for fungi IDs

[NickCantle]

May I recommend Roger Phillips' fantastic book - 'Mushrooms'. Full of photos and the information to help with ID. By the way, not sure on your photo. A Mycena, but believe me, Mycena aren't my forté

Nick

[Leif]

Might be Mycena galericulata. The cap shape and colour and the stem are a match. But that is only a *might be* rather than *is*. If you'd examined the gills, you might have seen they were grey, with interconnecting veins. And the fungi are often quite large for Mycenas.

[jcd123]

Thanks for the book suggestion Nick ill see if I can find it

Thanks for the possible Id they were a bit high for me to get a good look unfortuanately

Do most people on the forum actually pick the fungi to get better IDs and pics or are they best left alone to grow as i would hate to accidently pick something that was fairly rare and stop others enjoying it.


Cheers

John

[Stewy]

Originally Posted by jcd123

Thanks for the book suggestion Nick ill see if I can find it

Have a peek here:

Amazon.co.uk: Mushrooms: Books: Roger Phillips

[Acutipuerilis]

The fungus beetle Microgramme filum. Prove me wrong!

[Leif]

Originally Posted by jcd123

Do most people on the forum actually pick the fungi to get better IDs and pics or are they best left alone to grow as i would hate to accidently pick something that was fairly rare and stop others enjoying it.

From the articles that I have seen, picking fungi does not seem to harm their numbers. There have been a number of studies carried out, with picked and control areas compared.

However, I tend to limit my picking, just to be safe. If there are several specimens, I take one. If there is only one large bolete, or large agaric, I take a slice from the cap. In the case of the bolete I will take a piece of flesh to check colour changes.

Rare fungi are, um, rare, so most of the time you will be picking fairly common ones. Quite often the reason a fungus is rare, is not so much that there are few of them (which is literally the case), but because the habitat is scarce. So if you are in the right habitat, you can often find large numbers of rare fungi, and picking one or two is not a problem.

One compromise is to pick a fungus, examine it, take notes, then leave it in the field, with perhaps a cap sample taken to study later.

[goosey]

Originally Posted by NickCantle

May I recommend Roger Phillips' fantastic book - 'Mushrooms'. Full of photos and the information to help with ID.

Nick

Originally Posted by Stewy

Have a peek here:

Amazon.co.uk: Mushrooms: Books: Roger Phillips

I was thinking of getting a book with lots of piccies and a bit more info than the one I aready have. I might opt for this one if you think its good, but while I was checking it out saw this one by Michael Jordan , has anyone any thoughts about this one - you can look at a few of the inside pages to get an idea.
Amazon.co.uk: Encyclopedia of Fungi of Britain and Europe: Books: Michael Jordan

Thanks.

[Acutipuerilis]

Hi goosey,
I've got both the Jordan and the Phillips volumes, and although they're both useful, I find Phillips' slightly better. I'm not sure why, though; Jordan has more species, including a lot that aren't in Phillips, with a similar level of detail per species in the description, but the ones I find tend to be more easily identified by Phillips. The photos are better, perhaps, with standardised lighting.
Ideally, get both.
Joe

[PMG]

Originally Posted by goosey

I was thinking of getting a book with lots of piccies and a bit more info than the one I aready have. I might opt for this one if you think its good, but while I was checking it out saw this one by Michael Jordan , has anyone any thoughts about this one - you can look at a few of the inside pages to get an idea.
Amazon.co.uk: Encyclopedia of Fungi of Britain and Europe: Books: Michael Jordan

Thanks.

What you might find is that you end up with literally a dozen or so different fungi books cos what;s in one might not be in another! I have the latest edition of Philips as well as the first one, also the Jordan book is very useful and generally goes with me in the car. The one I rely on in the field in my pocket is the Collins Field Guide Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain and Europe by Courtecuisse and Duhem. Unfortunately it had a hard back cover which I removed so that the book would slip into my pocket - its now very dog eared! If they bring out a soft back copy I will buy it again. The reason I like it so much is that the text contains references to other similar sps. The trouble with any book is you can only id something which is in that particular book - so the more choices the more helpful it is to know that there are maybe more choices than the obvious!! The very best way to go about it is find your nearest fungi group and join in forays - find someone who knows what they are on about and willing to let you shadow them - it increases your knowledge and confidence in leaps and bounds Good Luck

[goosey]

Great - thanks Joe - it's good to get an answer from someone who has both books and can give none biased advice. . I shall go with the Phillips to be going on with.

[jcd123]

Originally Posted by Acutipuerilis

The fungus beetle Microgramme filum. Prove me wrong!

Thanks Ive just looked up a picture of fungus beetle ..looks right

Thanks for all other replies i have just bought "mushrooms" book..looks very good

I might even be able to ID some of my own now or maybe not well see

thanks for the info on picking fungi, when i get to recognise the types better ill do as you suggest

Once again Thanks all

John

[Leif]

Originally Posted by goosey

saw this one by Michael Jordan , has anyone any thoughts about this one

IMO it is not as good as Phillips, mainly because the photography is not as good: the specimens often fill less of the frame, and the lighting is far from ideal. I'm not sure there is any point having both Phillips and Jordan, although I suppose Jordan does have a few more species.

If you want to get serious, then the Fungi of Switzerland books (£400 from Pendleside books) and the Fungi of Northern Europe books are the bees knees.

It always pays to check out bargain book shops. I have bought most of my popular guides in such places for prices that would embarrass the authors.

[Stewy]

Remember that Christmas is coming up so drop a few hints!

I've not got the Michael Jordan one so I will be!

[Stewy]

Originally Posted by Leif

If you want to get serious, then the Fungi of Switzerland books (£400 from Pendleside books) and the Fungi of Northern Europe books are the bees knees.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.