unidentified fungi

[fiona lea]

Please could any one id these fungi Thankyou

[fairplay]

Hello Fiona,

These do not immediately come to mind so I need to ask - Were these photographed in the UK ?

It may also help you/us in future posts if you read the sticky entitled "Help us to help you"

Meanwhile I'll browse through some books to see if I can come up with a suggestion. The second shot is of a Lepiota species, but whether anybody will be able to say which one I'm not sure.

Neil.

EDIT: The burnt substrate shouldn't be too difficult and I remember seeing a shot of this - now where did I see it ?!

[fiona lea]

Thank you so much. It took me a while to work out how to get the forum to work so I realise I may have slipped up some how! The brown fungus was taken in September in Lancashire in a conifer woodland that had had a forest fire. The fungus was everywhere on the floor.

[fairplay]

Well I've been through about 10 different books and even googled 'Burnt Ground Fungi' and been to 6 sites with no luck.
I now believe the photo that reminded me of the photo here must be the shot of Aleurodiscus amorphus No 45 Page 78 in B&K Vol. 2 (which obviously is not what we have here) I don't even know if this is a Basididiomycete or an Ascomycete - you didn't happen to check by any chance Fiona ?

Having a fresh look at the other photo, I now think it could be an Amanita, but different angled shots are needed (plus more, lots more, info !)

Neil.

EDIT: Aha, I see you slipped in a reply Fiona. I just don't know why I cannot recall what the Burnt Ground Fungus is - I have probably thumbed through the pages too desperately and missed it.

[SheffieldLass]

Is the second one a rather pale Amanita rubescens? It is blushing somewhat...

Melanie

[Lancashire Lad]

Hi Fiona Lea,

Your brown one, for which Neil has been desperately trying to find the name, , is Rhizina undulata - Pine Fire Fungus.
Which, as the common name would indicate, is commonly found in conifer woodland after fires.

Being from Lancashire myself, I'd be interested to know which woodland you found this in. (If you are willing to let me know, you could send me a PM if you don't want to put full details on the open forum).

Regards,
Mike.

PS: I'd agree with Melanie, that your second fungus looks very much like an Amanita rubescens. - The "Pinky" colouring around the margin of the large and floppy ring, is a good identification feature.

[SheffieldLass]

I've not come across Rhizina undulata so far, so decided to check it a bit further. An ascomycete, so no real surprises there. But the surprise to me was that as well as being saprobic, on burned soil and conifer debris, it is also parasitic on conifer seedlings. It can kill off 80% of seedlings so a serious pathogen for conifers on slash burn sites. It isn't restricted to pine, is also parasitic on Sitka spruce, lodgepole pine, Douglas-fir, western larch, western hemlock and more.

From Wikipedia (where else ...)

This is a widespread fungus that grows on burned soil or conifer debris. Although it is regarded as a saprobic species, it can also attack conifers of varying age parasitically.[4] Rhizina undulata attack in recently established conifer plantations in areas where slash burning after clear felling has been performed is a well-known phenomenon. Because the optimum temperature for spore germination is high (35-45°C), the spores may lie dormant in soil for two years.[5] As a result of these fires, the underlying soil is heated so that suitable conditions are created for the germination of ascospores. The use of hot asphalt (110-130°C) for paving new roads has also been observed to cause the same deleterious effect on neighboring conifers.

Could this fungus have been a significant contibutor to the dying out of Pinus sylvestris in England? It did decline dramatically in England during the period that our bronze and iron age predecessors were busy clearing the forests by slash and burn. That together with the fact that pine is killed when cut down, (or when saplings grazed) unlike our broadleaf trees that will grow up from the stumps, so easier to eradicate than the broadleaf trees. Pine was still present in England naturally until about 300-400 years ago, though text books and popular opinion say that pine isn't a native tree to England ....

Melanie

[fairplay]

Rhizina is so 'common' up in Scotland that this was the first I looked up upon, but all the photos looked completely different, then I thought this is how it must look when it is young, but again I could find no pictures to match - yet in the back of my mind something was telling me this is what it was.

Neil.

Rhizina doesn't only rely on spores, it can spread in a similar manner to Honey Fungus and Dry Rot with the use of rhizomorphs - hence the genus name I suppose.

[ashgale]

Originally Posted by fairplay

Rhizina is so 'common' up in Scotland that this was the first I looked up upon, but all the photos looked completely different, then I thought this is how it must look when it is young, but again I could find no pictures to match - yet in the back of my mind something was telling me this is what it was.

Neil.

Rhizina doesn't only rely on spores, it can spread in a similar manner to Honey Fungus and Dry Rot with the use of rhizomorphs - hence the genus name I suppose.

there is a good likeness to it (albeit only a drawing) in "Mushrooms & Toadstools of Britain & Europe" by Courtecuisse & duhem,
which also gives the habitat as "bonfire sites in conifer woodland"

ashgale

[fairplay]

Originally Posted by ashgale

there is a good likeness to it (albeit only a drawing) in "Mushrooms & Toadstools of Britain & Europe" by Courtecuisse & duhem,
which also gives the habitat as "bonfire sites in conifer woodland"

ashgale

I have now been through 27 English language photographic field guide type books, purposefully leaving those with drawings till last and low and behold, both C & D and 'Fungi' by Stefan Buczacki (Colins New Generation Guide) have almost identical drawings and the 'best' match for the photo provided here.
Marcel Bon gives Rhizina a mention, but provides no drawing.

There may be a matching photo in my foreign language field guides and other specialist books or there could be something in the back issues I have of the Mycologist, FM or even the Forayer produced by the ABFG, but I'm now giving up as we now know, thanks to Mike, that it is Rhizina undulata ... ...

BUT WHICH B*@*@Y BOOK DID YOU USE MIKE !

Neil.