Gather ye waxcaps while ye may

Okay, that’s not really how the 17th-century poem (‘To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time’, by English Cavalier poet Robert Herrick) begins but, when it comes to gathering waxcaps, you really do need to seize the day because

Old Time is still a-flying;

And this same [fungi] that smiles today

To-morrow will be dying.

This blog was supposed to be full of deliciously luscious photographs of waxcap fungi taken somewhere up a hill in the wilds of the Welsh valleys after an outing with my new friends from the Glamorgan Fungi Group. Then Storm Abigail decided to sweep across Britain, with her whistling winds, hail showers and torrential rain. Though some of the dedicated – some might say mad! – followers of fungi still braved the hill, I chose to remain indoors.

Luckily, I have a magnificent and very abundant source of waxcaps much closer to home, at Cathays Cemetery. The fact that its 110-acre grounds have remained largely undisturbed since the cemetery closed to new burials about 35 years ago means the grassy spaces between and around the graves are ideal for waxcaps, as the hygrocybe species are sensitive both to pollution and to agricultural chemicals.

I am still very much a novice when it comes to identifying fungi – if you’ve ever tried it, you will know what a difficult process it can be. Is the fungus slimy or dry? Where is it growing? Is it alone or in a cluster? What is the texture of the cap? How are the gills attached to the stem? What colour are the spores? These are just a few of the myriad questions you must answer. It is at once frustrating, entrancing, infuriating, captivating … and highly addictive!

I think I know the identities of all the waxcaps in these photographs but, just in case I’m wrong, let’s just focus on how beautiful they are and not bother about what they’re called. Enjoy!

For more facts and an identification guide to waxcaps in particular and fungi in general, check out the First Nature website. 

A feast for Fungus Day

It’s prime fungi time here in the Northern Hemisphere and this coming Sunday, 11 October, is UK Fungus Day. So, what better time to share with you some of the incredibly diverse range of fungi I’ve managed to photograph just this week.

And what better location to go fungi spotting than in a place that’s been designated a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC), a place that’s fast becoming one of my favourite places in Cardiff for so many reasons, Cathays Cemetery.    

The main reason the cemetery was designated a SINC by Cardiff Council was because of its fungi. At least fourteen species of waxcaps have been found within the grounds of the cemetery – for those with a mycological bent, they are Hygrocybe aurantio-splendens, H. calyptriformis, H. ceracea, H. chlorophana, H. citrinovirens, H. coccinea, H. conica, H. glutinipes, H. intermedia, H. pratensis, H. psittacina, H. punicea, H. quieta and H. virginea. Many of these waxcaps are common but, apparently, Hygrocybe punicea, H. aurantio-splendens, H. calyptrifomis, H. intermedia and H. citrinovirens are all significant finds within the county of Glamorgan in which Cardiff is located.

Fairy rings of waxcaps

Of course, the cemetery doesn’t just have waxcaps. You can also find a selection of the more common fungi found in grassland sites, including ‘fairy’ rings of Blewits (Lepista cf sordida) and Clouded agaric (Clitocybe nebularis). And, just this week, I found some Coral fungi (below), which may or may not be Ramarai pallida – it seems positive identification involves the use of a microscope!

I’m a keen fungi-finder but their identification is always a bit of a mystery to me as I find the photographs and descriptions in most books difficult to relate to what I’m seeing in the flesh, and googling doesn’t often help either. That – and the fact that I am new to Cardiff – are my excuses for not having identified most of the fungi in my photographs. If you can help with their identification, I would be very pleased to hear from you.

In the meantime, I hope you can get out and enjoy some fungi spotting this Fungi Day, and in the weeks to come. And, remember, only eat them if you can positively identify them – many are poisonous, some can kill!

On the left, perhaps Sulphur tuft (Hypholoma fasciculare), and the one on the right looks like one of my omelettes!

A favourite feast for the slugs

I love how these clumps burst from the ground, almost growing before your eyes

A lesson in persistence, as these Common puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum) force their way through cracks in a gravel path. 

Possibly Tricholomopsis rutilans, also known as 'Plums and Custard' fungus 

Auckland walks: Discovering lichen in Cornwall Park

One of the recent free guided walks around Cornwall Park covered the fascinating topic of lichen, a subject I knew next to nothing about – and still don’t! But I did learn a few interesting snippets from our most knowledgeable guide, Dr Dan Blanchon, a lecturer at Unitec and New Zealand’s only lichenologist.  

The basalt rock of Cornwall Park’s ancient lava flows provides a good environment for lichen so the park is rich in species and plentiful in examples. Lichens actually help to erode the rock they live on but this happens so very slowly that any change to the rock would only be noticeable over hundreds, if not thousands of years. Also, for those of you who have lichen living on their garden trees, the lichen won’t kill the trees – they are, apparently, a sign of the tree’s decline.

Some lichens also live on metal, as you can see on this drainage grate. I thought Dan said this was called the ‘sexy path’ lichen, but perhaps I mis-heard (imagined?) that as I can’t find that name anywhere. I do recall though that he said this particular lichen has a chemical in it that has Viagra-like properties.

Lichens seem to contain quite a diverse range of chemicals, which is one excellent reason for studying them. The lichens themselves use chemicals (and smothering) to try to kill each other – lichen warfare, who knew? Many lichens contains chemicals that are used in dyes – there is, for example, one particular lichen in Thailand that is cultivated specifically for the pretty pinkish purple dye it produces. Some lichens are used in the manufacture of sunscreens as they contain chemicals that protect against UV-B irradiation, and others have anti-fungal and anti-biotic properties. One example of this was the Old Man’s Beard we saw growing on a kauri tree. Several of the different varieties of Old Man’s Beard (Usnea) contain antibiotics, something recognised by indigenous cultures around the world – American Indians used a local variety to bind wounds and, here in New Zealand, Maori also realised the lichen’s special properties, naming it angiangi. (It is still used in a herbal dietary supplement, according to the Kiwi Herbs website.)

Don’t go nibbling on the next lichen you see though. Lichens are mostly indigestible, though reindeer and caribou are known to eat some lichens in the harsh conditions of a northern winter when there is little other food available.

A lichen is a complicated beastie – it is not actually one single organism but rather a fungus living in a symbiotic relationship with a photosynthetic partner, which might be a green alga or a cyanobacterium or both. The fungus is the farmer and the alga and/or bacterium produce/s the food it survives on.

Lichens don’t grow near soil – the nutrients in the soil are too rich and kill the lichen, which is why you don’t usually see lichens growing on the lower parts of walls, as soil nutrients get splashed up on to the wall surface during rainfall. Some lichens are sensitive to the nutrients in urine, so are killed by dogs peeing on walls and the bases of trees. Lichens are also highly sensitive to air pollution so will not grow in polluted places. If you see lots of lichens growing on the trees, rocks, etc., in your area, take it as a sign of clean air.

As you see, no lichens are growing on the lower portion of this wall

If you get the opportunity to look at lichens under a microscope, you’ll be amazed to find they are teeming with life: tiny mites, snails, and weevils are just some of the little creatures you’ll see. And, because of these micro-organisms, lichens are also beneficial to other creatures, like the birds that eat all those little bugs, so try to resist the temptation to kill the lichen you find growing on the rocks and trees around your home and garden.

Although we were told the names of many of the lichens we discovered during our two-hour wander around Cornwall Park, I’m not going to include the names here for fear of wrongly identifying the lichens in my photos. Suffice to say, New Zealand has an exceptionally rich lichen flora, with over 2000 species already named and probably twice that number still to be discovered, categorised and named. Considering the potential benefits to humankind of the chemicals in lichens, I think this country needs more than one lichenologist!

If you want to discover more about these incredible organisms, our guide recommended Allison Knight’s Lichens of New Zealand: An Introductory Illustrated Guide, published by the Botanical Society of Otago and available as a pdf download.  

More of that F word: Fungi in Cheshire

Some of you will remember my fascination with the fungi I discovered everywhere during my strolls around Auckland last autumn – that blog is here.

Well, of course, I’ve done a spot of ‘shrooming since I landed in Blighty at the end of October so, now that the English autumn has well and truly passed over into winter – we had minus 3 degrees Celsius overnight, I thought I’d share some photos of the fungi I’ve encountered during my walks in Cheshire woodlands.

Many of these fungi varieties are the same as those I found in New Zealand, probably because they hitched a ride from here on native British tree roots. That quintessential mushroom the scarlet flycap, or fly agaric as it’s more commonly known here, is definitely more at home in England’s countryside and I’ve found several others that will look familiar to Antipodean eyes. But many more are unfamiliar and I’ve noticed the fungi here are often more colourful.

Here are some I’ve found …

Aleuria aurantia or Orange Peel fungus, so named because it looks just like orange peel that’s been thrown on the ground. It’s vibrant colour is a treat in the brown autumn landscape.

Ascocoryne sarcoides is commonly known as Purple Jellydisc or Jellydrops, making it sound a little like a sweetie though I wouldn’t want to eat it. Its purple colour provides another visual treat amongst the dead trees it inhabits.

Auricularia auricular or Wood Ear. This fungus can often be found growing on the elder tree and, according to wikipedia, the fungus got its original common name of Judas’s Ear from the belief that Judas Iscariot hung himself from an elder tree. Over time, the epithet Judas’s Ear changed to Jew’s Ear. I guess that’s not considered politically correct these days, hence wood ear.

The stereum hirsutum is one of the most common fungi in Britain and can be found in numerous colour variations. It’s also known as the Hairy Curtain Crust, from stereum meaning tough, hence crusty and hirsutum meaning hairy and I guess it does resemble the heavily draping fabric of a curtain.

Hypholoma sublateritium. Commonly known as Brick Caps, these little fungi like to cluster together on stumps and logs. I hope I’ve got this identification right as there seem to be a huge number of similar looking small round mushrooms!

Xylaria hypoxylon. You might think Candle Snuff got its common name from its physical resemblance to a candle but no! This tiny fungus is, in fact, bioluminescent – in a very dark place it can be seen to emit light because the phosphorus that accumulates within the mycelium reacts with oxygen and other chemicals in the fungus.

Collybia dryophila. Dryophila means ‘lover of oak trees’ so you can tell this fungi’s preferred tree but it can also be found on other broadleaf trees and on conifers. It has several common names: Penny Top, Russet Shank and Russet Toughshank.

Coriolus versicolor is a very common fungus, found throughout the world and, as the name implies, includes a wide variety of colours. It is often used in traditional Chinese herbal remedies and is commonly called Turkey Tail.

Commonly known as the Deceiver, laccaria laccata varies in colour from red and pinkish brown to orange so its looks are deceptive (hence that common name), making it hard to identify with certainty and meaning I have probably got it wrong!

Nycena galopus var candida (i.e. the white variety) is more often known as the Milking Bonnet and does a very good job at decomposing leaf litter.

I found this hypholoma fasciculare (or Sulphur Tuft) in its most typical position, growing in a tight clump on the side of an old tree stump. Apparently, it tastes bitter and is poisonous, causing vomiting, diarrhoea and convulsions so don’t be tempted to have a nibble.

Lactarius torminosus, also known as the Woolly Milkcap, varies in colour from pink to ochre and, as my image shows, it often has concentric rings of alternating bands of colour. It’s also quite shaggy when young. 

I'm very much an amateur when it comes to identifying the different species of fungi so if you think I’ve mislabelled something, please do let me know in the comments section below.