Split Gill - Schizophyllum commune

[fairplay]

Does anybody know how this silly name came about in preference to the widely accepted Split Gill name, as 1. I have never knowingly found it, so it is not common, 2. it is not a crust fungus and where are the pores ?

Neil.

[Alantb]

I've found Schizophyllum on the joints of (dead!) ornamental bamboo in a garden timber supplier near Wakefield and also on a beech stump a few miles away in Bretton Park and recently on dead wood in a wood...(where else..) - but as Chris says, it's not common.
P.S. - call it Split-gill or whatever, but if recording always use the international name, then nobody will be confused - until the taxonomy is revised, that is....
Cheers, Alan

[diggleken]

Thanks for input everyone on a revitalised thread, as promised, have uploaded a couple of pics, so here are top and bottom views, so to speak!
Gorgeous gills.
And yes, quite right alan, I try and always use the scientific name, prob is that it switches off some of the public on our events, but you can only try!
Cheers, well found Peter, saved a trip............
Ken

[thebeard]

I have now found it on wood at Attenborough Nature Reserve in Nottinghamshire

was that recently? i might pop down and take a look, whereabout on the reserve was it found?

[cybershot]

Originally Posted by fairplay

Does anybody know how this silly name came about in preference to the widely accepted Split Gill name, as 1. I have never knowingly found it, so it is not common, 2. it is not a crust fungus and where are the pores ?

Neil.

It's recommended by the BMS in their published list of English names. They have or had a working party tasked with coming up with names piece meal for the remaining species still to be dubbed thus. The excel sheet of futher proposals makes amusingly interesting reading.

David

P.S. Extract from Guidelines on dealing with taxonomic changes to fungi with accepted English names
"Scientific names should only be re-assessed following publication of an appropriate checklist, or in exceptional circumstances where the conservation status of the species might be compromised (eg Sarcodon imbricatus / S. squamosus).

In most cases it should not be necessary to amend, create or make a decision about the priority of an English name and only the Scientific will need to be changed.

Exceptions:

Where a genuine mistake is made in the publishing process eg Schizophyllum commune was given the agreed English name Splitgill. An error late in the editing process lead to the English name Common Porecrust being erroneously applied."

Ref: Liz Holden (March 12th 2007)

[fairplay]

Yeh, yeh, I have the book, T shirt, video, etc. but I just wanted to know really why change it from Split Gill, which is very apt, to Common Porecrust, which comes nowhere near to describing it. Totally Illogical.

Neil.

EDIT. Ha Ha, I see you edited your post now, so forget what I just said. (Ooo, those faceless people do infuriate me at times.)

Cheers David,

Neil.

[cybershot]

Read my post again and you will see it was 'erroneously applied' i.e. it was an editors typo

OK Neil, you just have so no problem

Cheers

David

[CapAndBracket]

Three years ago this species was quite abundant in one area of the common near me but i havn't seen it since.
Found one group on old cow dung (the hard lumps put out by scrub feeding cattle rather than the soggy cow pat).

Like Chris's comment about scientific name rather than latin name as really we might call them psudo-latin names in that the original users of latin confronted with a list of scientific names would look bemused (probably) and possibly ammused. Aparently Carl linnaeus who started the binominal "latin" system was a bit impish and literal translation of some things he named could make one blush.

Cheers J.P.

[BROCSMAN]

At the first fungi course I attended at the FSC the tutor told us that this fungus can invade the human body, and create large fungal growths. He said it's the only one he never smells when he comes across it.

Has anyone else heard that?

[diggleken]

I'm sorry I raised it now...or not, always helps to get things off our chests.
I also use 'biological name', so should we have a committee to decide if its latin, scientific, taxonomic or biological or whatever?
The english language is a wonderful thing.
I'm just sooo pleased to find such a lovely thing - and ID it.........
tee hee.
Ken