Fungi in my local park

[Fungus Ken]

Here are a couple of finds from my local park on Saturday.

I'll let everyone have a guess at this one:



They were growing in profusion on soil covered with wood chips. I'm not sure the wood chips are significant though.

The one below was a Parasola growing in a lawn, so may well be P. plicatilis. I have some spores but haven't had time to check them yet.



I also found a specimen of Laetiporus sulphureus growing on an oak tree in the same vicinity. So not bad for a quick walk with the dog.

Ken

[Stewy]

Total stab in the dark at Helvella leucomelaena Ken..........

[Fungus Ken]

No it's not a Helvella. Not with the distinctive smell it had.

Ken

[NickCantle]

Disciotis venosa perchance?

[Fungus Ken]

Originally Posted by NickCantle

Disciotis venosa perchance?

That was my conclusion.

I've never found it around here before and all the specimens were in nice neat cups, not like the images I have in my books. But all the important characters were there, and the smell was unmistakeable. Without prompting my wife said she thought is smelt of bleach or chlorine (and she's usually really bad at identifying smells).

Ken

[Stewy]

Tazzetta scotica ? What the hell do I know............

[NickCantle]

When the literature fails you, bring out the wife

[Fungus Ken]

Originally Posted by Stewy

Tazzetta scotica ? What the hell do I know............

I should have said that the largest specimens were up to 12 cm in diameter. So these were big cups, and thick-fleshed. Tarzetta would be a lot smaller and thinner-fleshed.

Ken

[Leif]

Originally Posted by Fungus Ken

That was my conclusion.

I've never found it around here before and all the specimens were in nice neat cups, not like the images I have in my books. But all the important characters were there, and the smell was unmistakeable. Without prompting my wife said she thought is smelt of bleach or chlorine (and she's usually really bad at identifying smells).

Ken

You can't argue with the smell. I would never have guessed Disciotis venosa as the shape is so atypical! And on wood too is well odd, it is always on soil (heavy) in Beds, Herts, Bucks and Cambs.

[fairplay]

Ken, when you say all the important charactors were there, did you mean it checked out under the scope ?

This certainly would have had me stumped as I sometimes only decide to have a wiff as an afterthought !!

I've only seen this once before, as a 6 inch wrinkled pancake flat on the ground.

Neil.

[Fungus Ken]

Originally Posted by Leif

You can't argue with the smell. I would never have guessed Disciotis venosa as the shape is so atypical! And on wood too is well odd, it is always on soil (heavy) in Beds, Herts, Bucks and Cambs.

The wood chips are a red herring. The soil just happened to be covered with wood chips. The cups were all growing on the soil, with the base embedded in the soil. I dug out a couple of samples and both had the requisite short stem. So the substrate, under various sorts of trees, would be typical.

Ken

[Fungus Ken]

Originally Posted by fairplay

Ken, when you say all the important charactors were there, did you mean it checked out under the scope ?

Yes, both macroscopically and microscopically. Here are some images of the spores:







They are broadly elliptical without any droplets.

Size range: 20-25.5 microns x 12-15 microns.

(Dennis says the spores are broadly elliptical, 19-25 x 12-15 microns so the measurements fit OK.)

The image of the single spore was one of the largest I measured. You can see it is about 15 units by about 9 units on the eyepiece micrometer. Each division is about 1.7 microns so the size works out at approx 25.5 x 15.3 microns, which is right at the top end of the range quoted by Dennis. The other spores were smaller and well within the range, as you can see if you look at the photo with 3 spores visible.

Originally Posted by fairplay

I've only seen this once before, as a 6 inch wrinkled pancake flat on the ground.

Some of the older specimens were flattening out and becoming more wrinkled. The colour was also darker brown.

Ken

[Fungus Ken]

Originally Posted by Fungus Ken

The one below was a Parasola growing in a lawn, so may well be P. plicatilis. I have some spores but haven't had time to check them yet.

Here are the spores:





Size is up to approx 14 x 10 microns but they are very variable in size. Keying this out with Flora Agaricina Neerlandica, based on average spore size, Parasola plicatilis is the only option.

Ken

[fairplay]

I was wondering that as the form was so unusual, maybe the spores were a little smaller/larger or paraphyses shaped a little differently.

Anyway, F of Swiss Vol 1 says 'connoisseurs prefer these to all other morels as a special delicacy' so are you going to scoff the lot down and tell Nick how fantastic they were ?

Neil.

[NickCantle]

Lmao Neil

That's a nice set of spore images there Ken, and good deductions to reach at your correct identification conclusions

[Fungus Ken]

Originally Posted by fairplay

Anyway, F of Swiss Vol 1 says 'connoisseurs prefer these to all other morels as a special delicacy' so are you going to scoff the lot down and tell Nick how fantastic they were ?

Neil.

Nope. They don't appeal on a number of counts - the smell for one - and growing in a park frequented by many, many dog walkers, I dread to think how many times they have been doused with noxious liquids (from the dogs of course, not their owners... well mostly.)

Ken

[fairplay]

Da da, da dee da da, (Mission Impossible intro)

So your mission Nick, should you decide to accept, is to track down your local
Disciotis venosa population before they expire, and consume the lot, and report back with your findings.

This post will self-destruct in 10 seconds.

Good luck Nick.

Neil.

[NickCantle]

WAIT A MINUTE!!!

Connoisseur?!?! I thought you were talking about Myconik!!!!!! lmao

Unless you were, in which case ignore me

Well, Disciotis venosa aren't exactly common in our Neck of the woods are the Neil? Ken, you'd better collect those specimens and send them to me first class for consumption. I just LOVE the taste of bleach

[fairplay]

I've never found any here in the Sandlings AONB on the Suffolk coast, my only sighting was some years back on clayey soil a few miles north of Lowestoft.

Mykonik (there, I finally spelt it right !) is probably sick and tired of tasting wild fungi,........no, your our Guinea Pig Nick, remember Ken had to get down on his hands and knees to take that smashing photo.

Neil.

PS. what does LOL and Imao stand for ? (me hain't very street wise !)

[NickCantle]

'lol' is Laugh out loud and 'lmao' is laughing my a**e off