{"id":1853,"date":"2014-10-30T17:08:58","date_gmt":"2014-10-30T17:08:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.obsessedbynature.com\/blog\/?p=1853"},"modified":"2014-11-23T19:24:00","modified_gmt":"2014-11-23T19:24:00","slug":"autumn-fungi-at-last","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.obsessedbynature.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/30\/autumn-fungi-at-last\/","title":{"rendered":"Autumn Fungi, at last: Gunnersbury Triangle"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Lepiota,<\/a>
Lepiota hystrix,<\/span> a Dapperling<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Well, despite the extraordinary warmth of both September and October – I was still working in a T-shirt down at the Gunnersbury Triangle nature reserve today, anything more being too hot – the fungi have finally come out in earnest. This small speckly Dapperling seems to be Lepiota hystrix<\/em>, a rare species.<\/p>\n

\"Birch<\/a>
Birch Log fungi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Several fungi were on show on a pile of birch logs, including a large Birch Polypore and some elegant smaller Turkeytail brackets as well as Orange Curtain Crust.<\/p>\n

\"Turkeytail,<\/a>
Turkeytail, Trametes (Coriolis) versicolor<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These handsome Common Cavaliers were growing beside the path.<\/p>\n

\"Common<\/a>
Common Cavalier Melanoleuca polioleuca<\/span> (aka M. melaleuca<\/span>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many damp rotting sticks and stumps had Stagshorn or Candlesnuff fungus growing out of them, Xylaria hypoxylon<\/em>. These were thin and stick-like early in November, well-developed by 20 November.<\/p>\n

\"Stagshorn<\/a>
Stagshorn Fungus, Xylaria hypoxylon<\/span>, well developed<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the anthill meadow were plenty of puffballs, Lycoperdon perlatum<\/em>. They certainly looked pearly, as their specific name suggests.<\/p>\n

\"Handsome<\/a>
Good big Common Puffballs, Lycoperdon perlatum<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the picnic meadow was a tall slender yellow Inkcap, Coprinus auricomus<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"Coprinus<\/a>
The delicate, lemon-yellow Coprinus auricomus<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A long-bodied wasp, surely a queen, was trapped in the surface film of the pond by the parish boundary stones. We rescued her with a stick to get a closer look.<\/p>\n

\"Queen<\/a>
Queen Wasp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two days later: the weather has turned more autumnal and showery. More fungi have popped up, including quite a few Clouded Funnels, Clitocybe nebularis<\/em>, behind the anthill meadow. The display of Puffballs is fine, the large clean specimens having an obviously grainy, almost pearly surface.<\/p>\n

\"Clouded<\/a>
Clouded Funnel, Clitocybe nebularis<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some Sulphur Knights, Tricholoma sulphureum<\/em>, have grown up behind the loggery at the base of the mound by the pond. They are deep orange-yellow,\u00a0 quite thick-stemmed, with an flattened or dished cap and widely-spaced gills that barely touch the stem.<\/p>\n

\"Sulphur<\/a>
Sulphur Knight, Tricholoma sulphureum<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I found a broken Blusher mushroom, Amanita rubescens<\/em>, in the anthill meadow. In this family of poisonous fungi, some deadly, it is edible when properly cooked, though the water it is cooked in must be thrown away.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Blusher, Amanita rubescens<\/span> (broken)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And a single small Slippery Jack, a suitably slimy bolete. It was yellower than the photograph shows, the cap appearing a shining light brown, the pore surface underneath rather yellow.<\/p>\n

\"Slippery<\/a>
Slippery Jack, Suillus luteus<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By the 6th of November it was far colder, and there were fewer species on show, with Fly Agaric, Clouded Funnel, quite a few Butter Caps, and this small gelatinous fungus on dead willow, Tremella mesenterica<\/em>. I also found a small fragment of an brown Amanita with a white stem, probably A. pantherina<\/em>, the poisonous Panther Cap.<\/p>\n

\"Yellow<\/a>
Yellow Brain, Tremella mesenterica<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Butter<\/a>
Butter Cap, Collybia butyracea<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There were several Pale Brittlestem at the edge of the Anthill meadow under Birches, bordering the strip of acid grassland where the railway used to be.<\/p>\n

\"Pale<\/a>
Pale Brittlestem, Psathyrella candolleana<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By the 9th of November, things were visibly more autumnal; the Clouded Funnels were still about, now large and more clearly funnel-shaped; a few Butter Caps persisted, along with the Puffballs. The small fungus Phoma hedericola<\/em> (‘hedera’=Ivy)was by now making large obvious spots on ivy leaves.<\/p>\n

\"Phoma<\/a>
The Ivy Spot fungus, Phoma hedericola<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These little toadstools with a cream-coloured, slimy cap and whitish fleecy stems were growing out of a loggery, the dead wood half-buried in the soil. They may be the Sticky Scalycap, Pholiota gummosa<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
? Sticky Scalycap Pholiota gummosa<\/span> on 9 November
<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sticky<\/a>
Same group of ? Sticky Scalycap, Pholiota gummosa<\/span> on 19 November<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Finally, no collection of fungi is complete without The Deceiver, Laccaria laccata<\/em>, which comes in a variety of sizes, shapes and colours. It’s typically rather russet-brownish and the stem is quite thin, often a bit flattened and twisted. The cap can be round or wrinkled; it begins rather globular and flattens out. It’s rather well-named. Mind you there are several similar species: this could easily be L. fraterna<\/em>, given its smooth brown stalk and rather rufous cap.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Deceiver Laccaria laccata<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fungi are continuing to appear as late as the 11th of November. The magnificent Collared Earthstar, Geastrum triplex<\/em>, was growing under birches, willows and oaks behind the anthill meadow.<\/p>\n

\"Collared<\/a>
Collared Earthstar Geastrum triplex<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the 12th of November:<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A yellow Russula<\/span>, perhaps R. claroflava<\/span> (Yellow Swamp Brittlegill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A Bonnet, Mycena<\/span> sp.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On 18th November, a troop of smallish, tall, pale Coprinus<\/em> that don’t really turn to the usual black ink, growing on woodchip beside the path. Seems close to Coprinus impatiens<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"Coprinus<\/a>
Coprinus<\/span> cf impatiens<\/span> on woodchip<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well, despite the extraordinary warmth of both September and October – I was still working in a T-shirt down at the Gunnersbury Triangle nature reserve today, anything more being too hot – the fungi have finally come out in earnest. This small speckly Dapperling seems to be Lepiota hystrix, a rare species. Several fungi were … Continue reading Autumn Fungi, at last: Gunnersbury Triangle<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[90,88],"tags":[593,596,605,620,592,597,600,624,567,576,621,604,16,619,591,594,614,613,625,616,615,599,622,603,595,626,367,618,612,598,623],"class_list":["post-1853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-natural-history","category-nature-reserves","tag-birch-polypore","tag-candlesnuff-fungus","tag-clouded-funnel","tag-collared-earthstar","tag-common-cavalier","tag-common-puffball","tag-coprinus-auricomus","tag-coprinus-impatiens","tag-fly-agaric","tag-fungi","tag-geastrum-triplex","tag-golden-scalycap","tag-gunnersbury-triangle-nature-reserve","tag-laccaria-laccata","tag-lepiota","tag-orange-curtain-crust","tag-pale-brittlestem","tag-panther-cap","tag-pholiota-gummosa","tag-phoma-hedericola","tag-psathyrella-candolleana","tag-queen-wasp","tag-russula","tag-slippery-jack","tag-stagshorn-fungus","tag-sticky-scalycap","tag-the-blusher","tag-the-deceiver","tag-tremella-mesenterica","tag-turkeytail","tag-yellow-swamp-brittlegill"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.obsessedbynature.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.obsessedbynature.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.obsessedbynature.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.obsessedbynature.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.obsessedbynature.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1853"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.obsessedbynature.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2431,"href":"https:\/\/www.obsessedbynature.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1853\/revisions\/2431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.obsessedbynature.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.obsessedbynature.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.obsessedbynature.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}