Woodchip watch

[CapAndBracket]

Well folks, at last it looks like day and nightime temperatures are on the up, this makes me think a flush of fruitbodeis may appear over the next week, as wood chip is so prevalent today, cast an eye across any you pass, i did find a Peziza vesiculosa on woodchip yesterday (just a hint of things to come if feel), and remember that as some woodchip is imported you may find an exotic that will keep myconik happy for hours referencing. Didn't some poet write "spring has sprung, the grass is ris, we wonder where the fungi is".

Cheers J.P.

[Jason Green]

Sounds interesting. Particularly if a log is kept over a Particular patch. As you say, a lot of woodchip is used in gardens today.

[NickCantle]

I shall keep my eyes peeled J.P!

[wildherbalian85]

Originally Posted by CapAndBracket

Well folks, at last it looks like day and nightime temperatures are on the up, this makes me think a flush of fruitbodeis may appear over the next week, as wood chip is so prevalent today, cast an eye across any you pass, i did find a Peziza vesiculosa on woodchip yesterday (just a hint of things to come if feel), and remember that as some woodchip is imported you may find an exotic that will keep myconik happy for hours referencing. Didn't some poet write "spring has sprung, the grass is ris, we wonder where the fungi is".

Cheers J.P.

What kind of imported woodchips are you talking about here? The kinds that are found in play areas and landscaping?

Most of the fungi on them tend to grow in the colder months.

Fungi such as:

Psilocybe csyanescens, Stropharia aurantiaca, Galerina Marginita, and Gymnopilus species.

[CapAndBracket]

I'm thinking that with plenty of people looking a host of species will be recorded on woodchip, it is such a variable meadium with little chance of us knowing which source species has been chipped, i think it could be a vauable exercise to gain some idea of how many species are becoming urban.

Cheers J.P.

[wildherbalian85]

Yep all the 20 odd childrens play areas local to me use woodchips, and its pretty much the same for the surounding towns. The council are increasingly using woodchips rather then bark these days for landscaping. Most if not all the woodchips used are imported, i have even been able to identify were some of them originated purley on the fungus growing within.

Most were imported from the Pacific Northwest and the key mushrooms that indicate this are Psilocybe Cyanescens and Pluteus atromarginatus, and others.

P.Cyanescens is known to grow wild in the Black Forest of Germany so it on its own cannot be used to identify a location but Pluteus atromarginatus is a north american species and it growing along side P.Cyanescens, which is only found growing in the Pacific Northwest of north america, gave me the likely location of origin.

[FungiJohn]

Originally Posted by wildherbalian85

Yep all the 20 odd childrens play areas local to me use woodchips, and its pretty much the same for the surounding towns. The council are increasingly using woodchips rather then bark these days for landscaping. Most if not all the woodchips used are imported, i have even been able to identify were some of them originated purley on the fungus growing within.

Most were imported from the Pacific Northwest and the key mushrooms that indicate this are Psilocybe Cyanescens and Pluteus atromarginatus, and others.

I think you will find that the majority of woodchip is now sourced locally and not imported.

John

[wildherbalian85]

Originally Posted by FungiJohn

I think you will find that the majority of woodchip is now sourced locally and not imported.

John

I cant speak for nationwide but what i can speak is for the woodchips used localy to me and they are imported.

Considering the amount used, economicaly speaking it makes sense to import them.

[CapAndBracket]

Some interesting comments on woodchip source i didn't know any came from pacific north west, i was involved in animal feed/bedding and half the shavings came from Holland, they stopped arriving about 3 months ago when the pound weakened, so i gess economics are involved.

Cheers J.P.

[wildherbalian85]

Originally Posted by CapAndBracket

Some interesting comments on woodchip source i didn't know any came from pacific north west, i was involved in animal feed/bedding and half the shavings came from Holland, they stopped arriving about 3 months ago when the pound weakened, so i gess economics are involved.

Cheers J.P.

I cant say every shipment of woodchips the council get in are from the Pacific Northwest, only some of them. What i do know though from research is that estonia is also a big supplier of woodchips - not sure if my council import estonian wood or not.
We in the UK dont have massive forests that can grow wood purely for the nations woodchips, were as countries such as USA, Canada, Estonia, etc etc have vast forest's. Forest's in the PNW cover areas larger then the UK so its of no supprise they are big exporters of wood.
I suspect the wood chips are from woods like Alder and douglas fir.

[CapAndBracket]

Count the Peziza (probably vesiculosa), this evening growing on woodchip, plenty of others spread around the substrate.

Cheers J.P.

[CapAndBracket]

Agrocybe rivulosa now appearing on woodchip.

Cheers J.P.

[NickCantle]

David will be pleased

[wildherbalian85]

Found loads of mushrooms growing on rotting bark. I know bark isnt exactly wood chips but some might say otherwise

The specie found was most likely Agrocybe praecox

[CapAndBracket]

Excellent find and i note woodchip seems to be the choice home for morchella this year. Photo above is of a slimemould i found on bark last weekend, so keep an eye out for these as well.

The forecast suggests tommorow is going to be perfect for fungi hunting, (and many other outdoor pursuits) so i just hope people cast an eye over any woodchip they pass.

Cheers J.P.

[CapAndBracket]

Found on woodchip this morning, i fancy it is Coprinus leiocephalus from the pleating, brown centre and white stem.

Cheers J.P.

[mykonik]

Originally Posted by CapAndBracket

Found on woodchip this morning, i fancy it is Coprinus leiocephalus from the pleating, brown centre and white stem.

Cheers J.P.

More like Parasola auricoma [= Coprinus auricomus] actually JP ! (since on woodchips !). Parasola leiocephala [= Coprinus leiocephalus] wouldn't really grow on woodchips whereas P. auricoma is very common on that substrate.

The only way to tell is to make a vertical section through the pale brown pileal disc and see if there are the typical thick walled setae (hairs) that are abundantly present in P. auricoma and absent in P. leiocephala !

Nick

[CapAndBracket]

As ever i am more than happy to accept your ID, what i find a bit difficult is that both are described as growing amongst litter and i tend to see woodchip as somewhat analagous to litter.

Cheers J.P.

[mykonik]

Originally Posted by CapAndBracket

As ever i am more than happy to accept your ID, what i find a bit difficult is that both are described as growing amongst litter and i tend to see woodchip as somewhat analagous to litter.

Cheers J.P.

Yes, it is, I agree, JP but there is litter and there is litter so to speak !!

Woodchips tend to occur (i.e they are put down artificially) as thick layers or piles of debris and what some fungi (such as P. leiocephala) like, are single or solitary little bits woody debris buried in soil (hence you never find P. leiocephala in large aggregations of basidiomes, only as singletons or rarely a couple together)

Whereas P. auricoma is frequently (but admittedly not always !) found in huge troops or big clumps growing on layers of woodchip mulch i.e thousands of woody bits all crowded together - I also wonder whether the close proximity of all the woody bits of substrate allow the mycelium to colonise and utilise it more easily and whether the increased temparature in a thick layer of woodchips (caused by the decaying processes of the woodchips) has anything to do with it ?

Perhaps P. auricoma likes those conditions and the mycelium may even be selected out by the higher temparature - who knows ??

Nick

[CapAndBracket]

I'm sure there is truth in what you are saying, the substrate certainly seems to favour some species (don't expect to find any morels on the pile of woodchip!) The heating up process must affect the woodchip chemically, it was noticable last year that when fresh load was added to front of heap it would heat up, and as soon as the heating seemed to stop the Agrocybe rivulosa would appear on it, now the mid section is a couple of years old it is home to a large number of Peziza.

Today a small troop of Coprinopsis lagopus were to be seen and these


Cheers J.P.

[CapAndBracket]

Not exactly on woodchip (more a very damp piece of ash), my best gess is the myxomycet Ceratiomyxa fructiculosa or a close relative, curious structure, the columns seemed to have divided tops with a ball on each, like a simple two spored basidia.

Cheers J.P.

[NickCantle]

Another cracking find J.P mate. These are all going on a checklist I hope

[CapAndBracket]

The finds are easy mate, just go looking for Morel's, never find them but find something far better.
The down side is (having noticed myconik has identified my soft, red polypore from two months ago) i was looking for the white version which i found two weeks ago, but due to no idea of red one, i didn't collect or photo the white one, how dumb is that.

This is up the southeast end of my patch, very quiet, i did see the Hermit, i suppose someone knows he is there, i just as well be invisible for all the notice he takes of my passing so gess i don't disturb his little world.

Cheers J.P.

[NickCantle]

Well, it's all good fun to be out and searching isn't it mate

[watsthat]

I`m so pleased that J.P. has raised this thread, it gives me a chance to get some views on my find last week. I went to our new Currys superstore and in the carpark, where trees were planted singly in squares, with coarse woodchip mulch, I found a large group of mushrooms. I thought, ah... now that I`ve been into fungi for at least 12 months and I`ve absorbed all the advice on offer at WAB and bought a couple of books, I`ll take a specimen home to identify, no problem.
Agaricus sp... and thats as far as I got. The thing is that when I read the descriptions of various agaricus, they all seem very similar, however; none seem to fruit at this time of year? So is it an imported exotic or more likely something very ordinary that I should be able to pin down.
The spore print was well er.. brown, the cap size was upto 80mm, the stems were short and in many cases fused together (tufted), the smell was of mushrooms but not strong.







Cheers

Pete