Orangey Red fungi ID help much needed!

[ivinghoe]

Hello Ive had a look around but I cant seem to get an ID for these...



I found the small group growing in the hollowed out shade of a fallen Ash tree. The trunk had been damaged and was now rotting away. I guess the size at around 3cm diameter for the larger spcimens. The tree was part of a larger wood consisting mainly of Beech with a lower number of Oak and Ash located in the chilterns
Thankyou for anyhelp you may be able to give!
Al

[NickCantle]

May be Gymnopilus junonius!

[Ditiola]

Hi
I think it is Pluteus aurantiorugosus

Nice specimens, I would love to find this species.

Peter

[NickCantle]

Bloody good suggestion Peter, embarrassingly enough I'd never heard of this species before you suggested it This season is going to be another big learning curve!

[ivinghoe]

Many thanks

Its not even listed in my old roger phillips book. Are you able to reccomend a back up?
I would rather a reference rather than a field guide as like almost everyone else I photo first then scratch my chin when I get home
Cheers
Alan

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by ivinghoe

Many thanks

Its not even listed in my old roger phillips book. Are you able to reccomend a back up?
I would rather a reference rather than a field guide as like almost everyone else I photo first then scratch my chin when I get home
Cheers
Alan

It is figured in Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain & Europe by R. Courtecuisse and B. Duhem (Collins Field Guide); though I think that that work may be hard to get hold of . . . .

it is also featured in Profiles of Fungi - 116 Pluteus aurantiorugosus in Pegler, D.N. & Legon, N.W., Mycologist 14(3): 97-144 (2000), p. 132

if you know someone who is a BMS member they might have the latter article

cheers

Chris

[Ditiola]

Alan
The problem is that there are around 3000 larger fungi in the UK. And I would estimate probably something like:
100 very common species
200 common species
300 Frequent species
400 Occasional species

Leaving around:
2,000 rare species

No doubt others will disagree with my approximations, but nevertheless as you go up the scale of rarity the number of species increases.

So the chance of finding a rare species is quite high, but the chance of finding the same rare species twice is much more unlikely (unless you go back to the same spot)

For obvious reasons most of the rare species are not featured in field guides.

I have now collected a range of books containing nearly 20,000 photographs & illustrations of fungi and in all those books the only ones with a photograph or illustration of Pluteus aurantiorugosus are:
Marcel Bon (1987) The Mushrooms & Toadstools of Britain & North-western Europe
Lang & Hora (1963) Collins Guide (old guide) to Mushrooms & Toadstools
Giovanni Pacioni (1981) The MacDonald Encyclopaedia of Mushrooms & Toadstools
Although there are a few new Field Guides that I have not yet obtained.

How do I know what photos I have? I have indexed them all on a database with cross reference to all the synonyms (name changes) because I am very sad and have not got a proper life

In the BMS Database which has records dating back a long way there are only 138 records for Pluteus aurantiorugosus, and many of these will be for the same site over successive years, so you have found quite a rare fungus.

As I am not very familiar with some of the more recent field guides I will leave it to others to recommend books
Peter

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by Ditiola

Alan
The problem is that there are around 3000 larger fungi in the UK. And I would estimate probably something like:
100 very common species
200 common species
300 Frequent species
400 Occasional species

Leaving around:
2,000 rare species

No doubt others will disagree with my approximations, but nevertheless as you go up the scale of rarity the number of species increases.

I think Peter has summed it up well, I would add the proviso that even when a fungus is "very common" or "common" it does not mean that it can be named from macro-characters alone - this does not hold true for this Pluteus which while uncommon is v. distinctive, but look at Parasola - almost every park, playing field edge, or large lawn will have the "very common" Parasola plicatilis - it's in all the books - but as our Parasola expert Melanie has found: 2 fungi found on grass verge for id please

and several Galerina and Psathyrella species will certainly fall into these frequency ranges - and they can be a nightmare to identify

finally it has to be pointed out, that published lists regarding frequency never (or should never) say "the 100 commonest British larger fungi" but "the 100 most commonly recorded British larger fungi" - there is a difference!

cheers

Chris

[SheffieldLass]

Originally Posted by Chris Yeates

but as our Parasola expert Melanie has found: 2 fungi found on grass verge for id please

cheers

Chris

Parasola learner would be more accurate ....

Melanie

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by SheffieldLass

Parasola learner would be more accurate ....

Melanie

naaaaah! - after all we are all learners

C