Armillaria sp.?

[solus]

I realise these are a tad past their sell-by date but I thought it was worth a try, anyway.

Found Saturday 17th July clustered on a very old stump in a Cotswold wood, predominately of Beech but also including Ash, Sycamore and a few conifer species too. Either these weren't here last Wednesday when we did the same walk the other way round, or I was looking at the opposite side of the track and missed them!

All I can come up with is Armillaria, possibly the ringless A. tabescens with the caps washed clean by recent rain....

Help, please!





I forgot all the things I should have done, like smelling them, looking inside the stipe and bringing one home for a spore print. Then we found a huge Beech branch had blown down across the track (a public bridleway!) during the winds of the past couple of days and we had to clamber over, under and round it to get past!

[Andy Overall]

Originally Posted by solus

I realise these are a tad past their sell-by date but I thought it was worth a try, anyway.

Found Saturday 17th July clustered on a very old stump in a Cotswold wood, predominately of Beech but also including Ash, Sycamore and a few conifer species too. Either these weren't here last Wednesday when we did the same walk the other way round, or I was looking at the opposite side of the track and missed them!

All I can come up with is Armillaria, possibly the ringless A. tabescens with the caps washed clean by recent rain....

Help, please!





I forgot all the things I should have done, like smelling them, looking inside the stipe and bringing one home for a spore print. Then we found a huge Beech branch had blown down across the track (a public bridleway!) during the winds of the past couple of days and we had to clamber over, under and round it to get past!

Rather tricky this going by the pictures but definitely not A. tabescens. I would say more likely to be Kuehneromyces mutablis.

Andy

[solus]

*Sigh* I'm really not very good at this! Actually, for "not very good" read "hopeless"!!

Thanks Andy - off to have a look on t'interweb and in my books.

[flaxton]

Armillaria has white spores and although the gills darken I don't think they get this dark brown. So I will go with Andy.

Mal

[SheffieldLass]

Originally Posted by solus

*Sigh* I'm really not very good at this! Actually, for "not very good" read "hopeless"!!

Thanks Andy - off to have a look on t'interweb and in my books.

Don't worry, even when we are getting more experienced we can be just as hopeless at times ......

I saw some fungi whilst out on a botany field trip the other day. The botanists pointed to some fungi growing on a fallen trunk and said to me as I was the only fungus person there 'What's that? Is it honey fungus?' I picked it up and spotted the ring, and said it might be (well, the colour and general demeanor was something like), but it might be something else ... I was trying to think of Pholiota/ Flammula but couldn't think of the name. And I was getting warning messages as this was on fallen, rather rotten trunk, rather than growing around a stump. I'd forgotten that Armillaria has hyaline spores too, not brown. Anyway I took one home. It had brown spores and was Pholiota alnicola. It is still sitting on my desk too as I write. At least I can dump this one out in my garden, or wood opposite, safely, knowing it isn't honey fungus.

And I've just been agonising over a fungus this last few minutes. In the field the first thought was Psathyrella - it was growing in soil in wet grass and leaf litter under Ash on a woodland edge. Then I spotted a few more, realised the spore print was pinkish rather than dark brown, so thought Entoloma (though the stalk was very like those on Psathyrella .. whitish). Well the spore shape ruled out Entoloma. And whilst the cheilocystidia resembled those of Psathyrella the spores were too rounded, and pale. Just didn't look right. After a lot more head scratching, and realising that the gills were free, decided to check out Pluteus. Bingo! Hadn't realised they also grew in soil. I was thinking that they always grew on wood. Anyway I might have a nice one there. I'm just about to post it on a separate thread.

So perservere. Things (well some) do fall into place, over time ... And at times you will look like a complete idiot, usually in front of those who are expecting you to be knowledgeable, as with those botanists

Melanie

P.S. They are still happy thinking that they identified Honey Fungus correctly .. I haven't let on to them yet, well why burst their bubble ....