Pluteus for Confirmation & Slime Mould for ID Please.

[Lancashire Lad]

Found both of these today: -

Fairly sure this is Velvet Shield - Pluteus umbrosus



This was found on the same log. Reasonably sure it's a slime mould, but not one I've found before. Note the gradual change in colouration from yellow to white (or vice-versa). I think the dark brown similar sized spheres at the top right corner may also be part of this mould


Any & all replies appreciated.

Regards,
Mike.

[NickCantle]

P. umbrosus confirmation from moi mate!

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by Lancashire Lad

Found both of these today: -

Fairly sure this is Velvet Shield - Pluteus umbrosus

Velvet Shield - I ask you! if people are going to insist on this English name malarkey this should be the Flock Wallpaper Toadstool

on a serious note I think putting the Velvet Shield (a Pluteus) alongside the Velvet Rollrim (Tapinella atrotomentosa - a bolete!) alongside the Velvet Shank (a Flammulina) can only help the beginner start to get a grip on the complexities of fungal taxonomy . . . .

cheers

Chris

[RobSutton]

Originally Posted by Chris Yeates

Velvet Shield - I ask you! if people are going to insist on this English name malarkey this should be the Flock Wallpaper Toadstool

on a serious note I think putting the Velvet Shield (a Pluteus) alongside the Velvet Rollrim (Tapinella atrotomentosa - a bolete!) alongside the Velvet Shank (a Flammulina) can only help the beginner start to get a grip on the complexities of fungal taxonomy . . . .

cheers

Chris

I'm not sure how many of the youngsters I work with would be familiar with the term Flock Wallpaper perhaps Indian Restaurant Wallpaper Toadstool would be more accessible. I do like the idea of making up names to help people remember what things look like, I used to do it a lot with mosses - Dennis Healey Eyebrow Moss for Dicranum majus was a popular example when people could still remember him. It's actually got more difficult for me than it used to be with standardised names for fungi and mosses.

I'm not sure whether beginners need to get to grips with the complexity of fungal taxonomy, that can come later, they just need to become excited about fungi and other wildlife in whatever form it comes. If common names help some do that it's OK by me but a bit more imagination in the choice of names might help. I find that as people develop a real interest they switch over to the latin names fairly readily anyway.

[Lancashire Lad]

I can see what Chris is getting at, as many common names are fairly similar, but relate to fungi from different genera, and sometimes the common names could imply that they might be related.

I agree with Rob though, that for all but the academic, beginners to fungi will no doubt "discover" the common names far more readily than they will the Latin names.

I don't particularly think there is any real problem here, since most people will only ever have a passing interest, so common names will always be the "norm". - When did you last have a conversation with a neighbour or friend where they recalled a day's outing to the countryside with Latin names for everything they had seen?

I still very much count myself as a fungi beginner, but with perhaps a little more interest than most folk, and it now seems natural to want to know the Latin names. (Which in a lot of cases I now remember when I can't remember the common names).

What I see as more of a problem to the person who does take the interest a little further, is the amount of conflicting information contained within readily available literature etc.

For example, I recently found Yellow Stainer - Agaricus xanthodermus.
Phillips says "Occasional, vulnerable on Red Data List". (I thought I had found something special). However: -
Jordan says "frequent".
Sterry/Hughes say "Widespread & common. Probably the most common Agaricus species".

Another example - Olive Oysterling - Panellus serotinus: -
Phillips says "Frequent".
Jordan says "Infrequent or rare".
Sterry/Hughes say "Frequent in England".

I now know that cross checking with FRDBI or Index Fungorum gives a truer picture, but you would think that there wouldn't be directly opposing information in what are generally recommended as the best of the non specialist field guides.

Ah well, it all adds to the fun I suppose

Regards,
Mike.

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by Lancashire Lad

. . . When did you last have a conversation with a neighbour or friend where they recalled a day's outing to the countryside with Latin names for everything they had seen? . . . . . .

yesterday!

but I take your point . . . . up to a point

C