Bedgebury Pinetum

[thelawnet]

Anyone been here? It seems they banned fungi collecting 10 years ago or more, which means they won't be having any events, which is a shame as it is supposed to be one of the best sites in Britain for fungi due to the internationally unparalleled conifer collection.

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by thelawnet

. . . .It seems they banned fungi collecting 10 years ago or more, which means . . . . it is supposed to be one of the best sites in Britain for fungi . . .

hi

note the cheeky edit above; you know and I know that collecting doesn't necessarily diminish the fungal richness of a site (though the people at Bedgebury might make the link suggested above; it is only when responsible mycologists start to study an area that that richness becomes evident

it seems a pity that they don't allow serious (non-culinary) collection and study; have you approached them for a permit? a serious mycological student with bona-fides from the local natural history society / museum might be allowed on the site (there are parallels in ornithological studies)

best wishes

Chris

[thelawnet]

Originally Posted by Chris Yeates

hi

note the cheeky edit above; you know and I know that collecting doesn't necessarily diminish the fungal richness of a site (though the people at Bedgebury might make the link suggested above; it is only when responsible mycologists start to study an area that that richness becomes evident

Apparently the reason they forbid it is not they are concerned about losing rare mushrooms, but rather that they use the fungi as indicators of the health of their trees, some of which are very old and rare.

The site is very much open to the public, there are miles of cycle tracks, a Go Ape facility, and a large adventure playground.

You need a licence to collect even single specimens for identification - you can of course look, but you won't get very far with lots of species by looking. Unfortunately also their last fungus foray event was in 2007.

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by thelawnet

. . . .they use the fungi as indicators of the health of their trees, some of which are very old and rare. . . you can of course look, but you won't get very far with lots of species by looking. Unfortunately also their last fungus foray event was in 2007.

I hope that they know their fungi then - and that they are sending the records to someone (they may of course have a private deal with Kew); I've just checked the website - it seems a bit draconian, like saying don't collect anything in case you remove the relatively tiny number of tree-threatening larger fungi! (and if that is their main way of spotting trees in trouble I'm genuinely surprised - Woodsman may prove me wrong); so if someone wanted to make a study of fungi on cones or fallen twigs and needles (irrelevant to their work of preserving the trees) they can't do it

anyway, there are lots of other places and habitats to look at I suppose; and one could argue that a pinetum is a very alien environment and of little significance for the study of the native mycoflora

hey ho

Chris

[thelawnet]

Originally Posted by Chris Yeates

anyway, there are lots of other places and habitats to look at I suppose; and one could argue that a pinetum is a very alien environment and of little significance for the study of the native mycoflora

Well if you don't fancy a trip to Scotland, they have a lot of species otherwise only found up there. Like a fungus theme park I guess.