Beautiful Lepiota
This beautiful fungus, Lepiota ochraceofulva (no English name), was found by Margaret and Steve under a cedar in south Herts just before Christmas. Its definition is attributed to the famous mycologist Peter Orton, who gave our Recorder Alan a lot of encouragement in his study of fungi when Alan was a young man.
There are only 41 records of Lepiota ochraceofulva in the new BMS database (FRDBI) but I know that not all historical records have yet been transferred across to it. Marcel Bon says it is “uncommon” and Alan has confirmed that it is a new county record for Herts.
Pat
Bolete news from Kerry
Kerry and Glenda have sent me this photo of the fungus they recently found near Cottered - the Iodine bonnet (Hemileccinum impolitum aka Boletus impolitus). Its English name derives from the smell you get when you cut the stem. The epithet "impolitus" means "rough" or "unpolished" and refers to the appearance of its cap, which some people describe as looking as if it has been knocked about with a hammer.
Spring programme now available
Members will recently have received the Spring progamme. It is also in the calendar. Newsgroup members will receive an email reminder before each meeting.
Extra meeting!
I have just added an extra meeting to the calendar, which was not in our programme - field meeting and BBQ near Berkhamstead on Sunday 15 December. See calendar for further info.
Interesting finds at Gobions Wood
Margaret & Steve had some interesting finds at Gobions Wood in the spring, in spite of the dry conditions.
Autumn programme now in calendar
Meetings for the rest of the autumn have now been entered into the events calendar (on pc, calendar is bottom right of home page; on tablet / phone, scroll down to bottom). In some cases you will need to click Read More to see full entry
Autumn programme
Members should have received our autumn programme. Meetings for September have been entered into the events calendar (on pc, calendar is bottom right of home page; on tablet / phone, scroll down to bottom). More to follow.
Tropical fungus in Beds?
Last year Alan found a collybioid species in Whipsnade Zoo butterfly house which he tentatively identified with reservations as Gymnopus inodorus. Feeling that it was not quite right for that, he asked Geoffrey Kibby about it on the basis that Geoffrey might perhaps have seen something similar at Kew. Geoffrey responded “Your Gymnopus resembles a species which turns up at Kew regularly and which we have decided is a tropical species called G. multijuga. I will be writing this up as a profile fairly soon in Field Mycology so you can read about it there”. It is, of course, new for Beds.
Scarlet elf cup time
Sarcoscypha austriaca can be found at any time between November and April. It likes wet conditions and especially alder/willow carr and is apparently not worried by snow or frost. This photo was taken some years back by Alan Outen at Oughton Head, Herts.