Garden Fungi

[jennyb]

For the first time in a week I have been able to get out into the garden and look around to see what fungi have appeared. It looks like it is going to be a great year with all this rain!

As usual I am completely hopeless at identifying them, but I have given it a shot. Unfortunately, many of them were half eaten and therefore no point in taking any photos (lots of very fat slugs around!).

Today I found:

Fairy ring champignons in the lawn
Lots of common earth balls
Lots of collared earthstars
Various boletes
Various russulas
Amanitas
A mycena (not sure which)
Lots of non-descript brown ones
A bracket fungus
Yellow stainer
Inky mushroom (probably)

Several questions....

1) The inky mushroom that I found had white/cream gills. Is this correct or is it likely to be something else.

2) I am not sure which bolete this is. It does not stain blue when bruised and was found under a leylandii hedge with other broadleaved tress around.






3) I thought that this bracket was chicken of the woods when I first saw it but on closer inspection, I don't think so. Beefsteak fungus, perhaps? It was on an apple tree.





4) I cannot decide what kind of Amanita this is. The ring did not seem to be grooved. Found under an oak tree.








5) No idea what this one is - found under an oak tree.






6) Any suggestions for identifying russulas would be very welcome. No decent specimens but lots of purple and pale red ones.

Many thanks for any help.

Jenny

[mykonik]

Originally Posted by jennyb

For the first time in a week I have been able to get out into the garden and look around to see what fungi have appeared. It looks like it is going to be a great year with all this rain!

As usual I am completely hopeless at identifying them, but I have given it a shot. Unfortunately, many of them were half eaten and therefore no point in taking any photos (lots of very fat slugs around!).

Today I found:

Fairy ring champignons in the lawn
Lots of common earth balls
Lots of collared earthstars
Various boletes
Various russulas
Amanitas
A mycena (not sure which)
Lots of non-descript brown ones
A bracket fungus
Yellow stainer
Inky mushroom (probably)

Several questions....

1) The inky mushroom that I found had white/cream gills. Is this correct or is it likely to be something else.

2) I am not sure which bolete this is. It does not stain blue when bruised and was found under a leylandii hedge with other broadleaved tress around.






3) I thought that this bracket was chicken of the woods when I first saw it but on closer inspection, I don't think so. Beefsteak fungus, perhaps? It was on an apple tree.





4) I cannot decide what kind of Amanita this is. The ring did not seem to be grooved. Found under an oak tree.








5) No idea what this one is - found under an oak tree.






6) Any suggestions for identifying russulas would be very welcome. No decent specimens but lots of purple and pale red ones.

Many thanks for any help.

Jenny

Hi Jenny

No comment about 1 or 2 but.......

3. Is interesting - a common species, Polyporus leptocephalus by the look of it, but interesting since you say it's on an apple and I cannot find any records of it on that host !

4. Looks like Amanita excelsa var. spissa to me - the ring is striate as far as I can see !

5. Is a species of Cortinarius ! And thats all you will get for that one - they are impossible, especially these little brown ones !

Nick

[village wench]

I am very new at this,so the experts are bound to pop in and say no it isn't
But this

looks like Amanita pantherina to me.........

[mykonik]

Originally Posted by village wench

I am very new at this,so the experts are bound to pop in and say no it isn't
But this

looks like Amanita pantherina to me.........

'Expert' popping in to say no, I'm afraid - A. pantherina has pure-white, fleecy, slightly conical scales on a 'proper' brown background [ie. cocoa brown not greyish or bistre-brown), and the edge of the cap is distinctly lined (striate).

A useful one to be able to distinguish since A. excelsa var. spissa is edible, whereas A. pantherina is exceedingly poisonous !! and you really wouldn't want to mix the two up !!

Nick

[jennyb]

Thanks, Nick. I would never have guessed Polyporus leptocephalus. It is definitely on an apple tree but no apples this year unfortunately.

Jenny

[village wench]

Originally Posted by mykonik

'Expert' popping in to say no, I'm afraid - A. pantherina has pure-white, fleecy, slightly conical scales on a 'proper' brown background [ie. cocoa brown not greyish or bistre-brown), and the edge of the cap is distinctly lined (striate).

A useful one to be able to distinguish since A. excelsa var. spissa is edible, whereas A. pantherina is exceedingly poisonous !! and you really wouldn't want to mix the two up !!

Nick

Good job there's the odd expert around to keep me safe
Luckily I wouldn't have munched it having assumed it to be a deadly one
I may go back and read a book or three

[fairplay]

..........or even better, join a local fungus group !!

Neil.

[Nick_in_Scotland]

Originally Posted by jennyb

2) I am not sure which bolete this is. It does not stain blue when bruised and was found under a leylandii hedge with other broadleaved tress around.

I'm not sure what it is but I remember finding something that looked like it years ago. I remember most that they smelled like soap. What about Boletus (Xerocomus??) porosporus, because of the cracked cap cuticle?

Originally Posted by jennyb

5) No idea what this one is - found under an oak tree.

The shape of this one reminds me of Entoloma or Nolanea, also the pinkish gills, although I note Mykonik's (and respect) Cortinarius suggestion.

[mykonik]

Originally Posted by Nick_in_Scotland

I'm not sure what it is but I remember finding something that looked like it years ago. I remember most that they smelled like soap. What about Boletus (Xerocomus??) porosporus, because of the cracked cap cuticle?


The shape of this one reminds me of Entoloma or Nolanea, also the pinkish gills, although I note Mykonik's (and respect) Cortinarius suggestion.

Hi Nick - I don't think that the bolete is B. porosporus (although I can see a very vague resemblence, in the way the cap is slightly cracked - however, in B. porosporus it is usually very much more so !) - the way to eliminate (or otherwise) that query would be to look at the spores microscopically !

The other one is definitely a Cortinarius though - if an Entoloma it would have pink (or at least very strongly 'pinkish') gills (not brown) and absolutely no trace of a cortina (around the cap edges) which this specimen shows very nicely !

You really shouldn't go much on 'shape' as a diagnostic feature (although it may be of limited importance) since it is a very 'plastic' feature in many agarics, for instance just because someting looks 'mycenoid' (for instance) certainly doesn't make it a Mycena !

Nick

[jennyb]

I went back to have another look at the Boletes today after they have matured a bit. The surface is now cracked yellow. However, there is still no blue bruising.

Does this help? I can get more photos if required.

Jenny