On Tuesday 12th Nick carried out a pre-walk check for his Fungus Walk on 15th October. He found many varieties of fungi. Here is an extract from his notes:-
There are two species here that are new records for E.Sussex (photos included):
Paurocotylis pila (Scarlet Berry Truffle) is a native Ascomycete of New Zealand where it grows under Podocarpus. It has cunningly evolved to imitate the plant’s fruit which are eaten by large birds (New Zealand lacks native mammals which commonly disperse the spores of similar truffle-like fungi). It has about 30 UK records and was first reported in 1990.
Inocybe salicis (No common name so we can make one up – I propose Willow Fibrecap) is a small species mycorrhizal with Salix in floodplains and sand dunes. It is new to the entirety of Sussex and also has about 30 UK records. It is considered a rare species in several European Countries.
Like many species of Inocybe, it has beautiful knobbly brown spores and big, thick-walled cells on its gills called cystidia which are topped with crystals (see photo).
Make a note to come to our Fungus Walk on 15th October and learn a lot more.
