GFG Foray: Kilvey Hill

Weathermen; you just can't trust em! Those of us daft enough not to take waterproof trousers , got a little bit damp. Showers aside, it was a productive day and with lots of different fungi out in great numbers, it was worth the odd downfall.

Russulas were out, a purple variety and Russula ochreleuca/Ochre Brittlegill, which has been consistently fruiting here on Kilvey for at least, three months. I've seen so many r. ochreleuca now that I'm almost blind to them but occasionally I find one that is stunning. I'm also taken by the length of the fruiting season for this russula as well as the quantity.

Lactaria/Milkcaps were about in force too. I wonder if the stretch of ground where we found so many fungi, which has constantly produced fruitbodies from the same species for weeks on end, is significant. There is one very important thing about this place: No one walks there!

There were plenty on brow-furrowing cortinarius for me to frown at and nicer things like the bolete family: especially leccinum and suillus.
Other good finds were Tricholoma equestre/Yellow Knight, Pluteus cervinus/Deer Shield, Collybia maculata/Spotted Toughshank.
There were a variety of Lycoperdon/Puffballs, even a jelly fungi. We found only one bracket.

I've included some lichen, along side one of the most bizarrely coloured mushrooms I've ever seen.
Finally, there was an orange-yellow mushroom fruiting on wood. It was growing everywhere, We found it in huge numbers. I admit, I didn't have a clue as to what it was, but that frustration will make me find out.









Collybia maculata/Spotted Toughshank







Pluteus cervinus/Deer Shield






Tricholoma equestre/Yellow Knight

On the left is Mycena pura/Lilac Bonnet, the right: Suillus grevellei/Larch Bolete. This young suillus was identified by Phil and there were older fruitbodies around, (photo above).
Many of this group (of bolete relations) have rings and a glutenous cap. The veil remnant on the stalk can be seen.
This suillus has a distinct light edge around the edge of the cap and
when the fruitbody is mature, the pore openings look sponge-like, with irregular shaped openings. The entire cap has a spongey texture that resists slicing.
Most boletes have a cylindical tube structure: slice through the cap to be sure.

Quick Foray 22nd Oct

Went out for a quick Foray along foxhole road. It was a good couple of hours, lots of boletes and cortinarius. I always 'frown' on the inside when I find a cortinarius, simply because I find attempting to identify them, 'trying' to say the least.
My scowls at cortinarius are replaced with 'wow' when I get two really nice surprises. The first was the Amanita muscaria/Fly Agaric.
Today was the first time I've seen amanita muscaria in this location and the first one I've seen this year.
The second find was a Stropharia caerulea/Blue Roundhead, on the roadside grass. The soft turquoise colour is astonishing I think.

There was also a waxcap that puzzled me a little. I'm certain it is a Hygrocybe conica/Blackening waxcap but what puzzled me was that I found the same species earlier in the year and they were, on the whole, much larger than these. Unlike the ones found today, these were a lemon yellow and black colour. I wondered if they were different types, or just a variation in pigmentation.
It's deepend a mystery for me: Why do fungi have colour? What is its purpose?