Grassland fungi for identification

[forager2]

Had an excellent walk with the dog..but didn't have books or knife with me so apologies for poor quality of specimens. Just glad I had the camera and notepad.

I was quite happy to identify Hygrocybe pratensis, Hygrocybe virginea, Hygrocybe psittacina and Hygrocybe calyptriformis.. but struggling with the rest.

Hygrocybe calyptriformis

1. Grey fungi with striated cap and umbo 2 views . Cap about 2 cm across and straited. Underside, blue tinge in stem whitish gills. Dry cap and stem. Could it be an enteloma still not able to recognise them.





2.Buff top and white gills , grey stem contorted like that of some hygrocybe. Quite large about 6 cm and very dry top.





3. Buff and grey fungi growing side by side. Not sure if this grey one is the same as number 1. Both dry on top and stem on grey one slightly viscid? Both about 2-3cm across cap.





4.Orange waxcap. Sorry only part of stem shown. Dry stem viscid cap. Small about 2cm or less across. Possibly hygrocybe insipida.



5 Red and robust waxcap , Stcky cap and dry stem I think. Noticeable yellow band around edge of cap. White towards base of stem. About 4 cm across.







6. Group of red waxcaps damaged by sheep/rabbits -possibly gone over, but much larger about 8cm across. Sticky cap and stem?



7. Another group of red waxcaps possibly the same again as number 6. 4-8cm across.




I suspect the last two or three might be different stages of the same thing.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Jane

[SheffieldLass]

#1 An Entoloma
#2 Either a pale Hygrocybe colemanniana or a very dried out H irrigata (which is normally very viscid but does tend to dry out rapidly)
#3 Another Entoloma and a Hygrocybe. Maybe Hygrocybe russocoriacea (which has a smell of cedarwood) or a slightly coloured Hygrocybe virginea
#4 Maybe an orangey Hygrocybe chlorophana or possibly Hygrocybe ceracea - difficult to tell from the photo the gill attachment. It doesn't look quite right for H insipida.
#5,6,7 Look like H punicea, particularly given the size.

Melanie

[forager2]

Melanie

Many thanks for your help. Is it possible to identify the entelomas? I've never managed to identify one yet for myself, so I could do with some pointers.

Thanks

Jane

[SheffieldLass]

Originally Posted by forager2

Melanie

Many thanks for your help. Is it possible to identify the entelomas? I've never managed to identify one yet for myself, so I could do with some pointers.

Thanks

Jane

With a microscope Entoloma conferendum is readily identified as it has very distinctive spores
With a microscope, and if the Entoloma has a blue cap and stipe and blue edged gills then that is possible to pin down quite readily.
Entoloma pleopodium has a yellowish cap and pink stem and has a smell of fruit drops ....
Entoloma sericellum, a white one, is another that is possible to identify in the field, given the right habitat and the right look/size.
E. porphyrophaeum is distinctive.

Most of the others extremely difficult even with a microscope and good literature .

Melanie

[NickCantle]

Do you stumble across E. pleopodium much Melanie?

[SheffieldLass]

Originally Posted by NickCantle

Do you stumble across E. pleopodium much Melanie?

No, but once seen (and smelled) then quite easy to remember the fungus, especially as it doesn't really look or smell like a typical Entoloma, and you might have wasted some considerable time wondering what it is (and that usually aids later recall), until you look at the spores or spore print colour .... Then very easy to key out. Trying to remember the name is the difficult part! Particularly as it was called Entoloma icterinum.

Melanie

Here's one I found earlier ...
Interesting Coprinellus/Coprinopsis/Parasola and ...

[Ken Burgess]

Originally Posted by SheffieldLass

#2 Either a pale Hygrocybe colemanniana or a very dried out H irrigata (which is normally very viscid but does tend to dry out rapidly)

This is typical dried out Hygrocybe irrigata as Melanie suggests.

Originally Posted by SheffieldLass

Maybe Hygrocybe russocoriacea (which has a smell of cedarwood) or a slightly coloured Hygrocybe virginea

This is too chunky in the stem for Hygrocybe russocoriacea, and maybe also too chunky for Hygrocybe virginea. It would need microscopy but I think it is probably a pale Hygrocybe pratensis.

Originally Posted by SheffieldLass

##5,6,7 Look like H punicea, particularly given the size.

Number 7 definitely doesn't have a fibrillose stem and is typical Hygrocybe coccinea. It's not entirely clear but I think the other red ones may have fibrillose stems, in which case Melanie is probably right with H. punicea.

As a slight aside on the subject of waxcaps, the second revised edition of 'The Genus Hygrocybe' by Boertmann is now available. As well as adding in a few rarer species, Boertmann no longer accepts the concept of the mysterious H. marchii, which he now thinks is probably either misidentified H. coccinea or H. reidii. And confirming that things never stand still on the nomenclature front, an older name has been found for H. persistens, which becomes H. acutoconica, with varieties acutoconica and konradii.

Ken

[SheffieldLass]

Originally Posted by Ken Burgess

This is typical dried out Hygrocybe irrigata as Melanie suggests.






This is too chunky in the stem for Hygrocybe russocoriacea, and maybe also too chunky for Hygrocybe virginea. It would need microscopy but I think it is probably a pale Hygrocybe pratensis.





Number 7 definitely doesn't have a fibrillose stem and is typical Hygrocybe coccinea. It's not entirely clear but I think the other red ones may have fibrillose stems, in which case Melanie is probably right with H. punicea.

As a slight aside on the subject of waxcaps, the second revised edition of 'The Genus Hygrocybe' by Boertmann is now available. As well as adding in a few rarer species, Boertmann no longer accepts the concept of the mysterious H. marchii, which he now thinks is probably either misidentified H. coccinea or H. reidii. And confirming that things never stand still on the nomenclature front, an older name has been found for H. persistens, which becomes H. acutoconica, with varieties acutoconica and konradii.

Ken

Thanks Ken

With no 2 my first instinct for the pale one was H pratensis, from the underside view, but then wavered on the top view and changed my mind a few times ... you are right about the chunky stem.

With no 7 the smaller ones do have an H coccinea look, but the description of 4-8cm diameter takes them more into H punicea size, well the 8cm does .... Maybe H coccinea reaches that size or maybe there was a bit of a fishy tale there .

Well that new Boertmann book is now on my wanted list ... it has been a bit of a wait. I'm glad that H marchii is H coccinea after all... I'd never been sure what was H marchii as H coccinea can be quite orange. Now will any of those rarer species match any that I've never reached a satisfactory conclusion on ? I doubt it , but it will be interesting to see what they look like.

I came across H colemanniana for the first time last week. I noticed it seemed to like a similar habitat to H punicea, amongst the rougher, tussocky grass, the sort of grass that doesn't suit most waxcaps. I usually find H punicea right in the base of Tufted Hairgrass. I was just wondering if that accords with other people's observations.

Melanie

[Ken Burgess]

Originally Posted by SheffieldLass

I came across H colemanniana for the first time last week. I noticed it seemed to like a similar habitat to H punicea, amongst the rougher, tussocky grass, the sort of grass that doesn't suit most waxcaps. I usually find H punicea right in the base of Tufted Hairgrass. I was just wondering if that accords with other people's observations.

Sounds like you might be on to something. Perhaps you need to build up some more data and then you can help Mr Boertmann out with the revised 3rd edition in another 15 years time.

Ken

[forager2]

Thanks to you all for your help, there are so many Hygrocybe about at the moment that the Boertmann new edition is on my list for my first specialised book on Fungi. Then who knows one day I might get as far as Entolomas and a microscope!

Thanks,
Jane