Kilvey Hill 23-02-11

On Kilvey Hill with Jersey Park in the background.

I returned to Kilvey Hill on Wednesday specifically to look again at a mushroom I could not identify the day before and for fungi that might be growing on the areas that had been set on fire the previous year. Kilvey Hill is often set alight during the summer and last year very large areas were burnt away. On the way up I came across a fungi I could not identify. (Below)

There was also a mushroom growing out of the bottom of a Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) on the way..

I had been reading about fungi that live on burnt ground and felt that there might be a possability that something might be there and there was. Below is one of the Peziza family clearly growing out of the burnt earth..

The other fungi I had returned to find was also in the same area and as it turned out was in reasonable numbers. Below is one of the Tremella family.

Amongst the tree stumps were piles of cow dung. There's a farm up here and the cows often roam around. As a result dung fungi appear and below is Stropharia semiglobata/Dung Roundhead, a very common species.

Near by and also very common was another dung  fungi; Panaeolus papilionaceus (=P.sphinctrinus)/Petticoat Mottlegill. The common name refers to the veil remnants that hang from the edge of the cap. It's basic appearence is a grey brown and dull or satiny cap that's bell shaped.
Both Stropharia (Roundheads) and Panaeolus (Mottlegills) belong to a large family of fungi called Strophariaceae which also includes the Pholiota (Scalycaps)  Hypholoma and Psilocybe (Tufts and Brownie) fungi.

Panaeolus papilionaceus (=P.sphinctrinus)/Petticoat Mottlegill.

There are plenty of felled logs on the hill and with them various brackets and crusts. Even though I can't identify these it was worth photographing them anyway. I'll attempt to identify them at some point.

The day before I had found a mushroom that I had never seen before and had spent some time looking for it in books and online. I thought, taking a guess based on its physical appearence alone that it was a Tremella/Jelly Fungus.
What I learnt was that Tremella is a parsitic fungi that lives off other crust fungi, particualarly Stereum and Peniphora and below I found a Tremella amongst Stereum. 

Below is another Tremella.  Probably Tremella foliacea.

At the base of the logs was Hypholoma fasciculare/Sulphur Tuft which can be found all year round although I've never seen it this early myself.

On the same pile was this beautiful violet crust. (Possibly Terana caerulea/Cobalt Crust). It might be that this is just the early stages of Trichaptum abietnum/Purplepore Bracket which is very common here so I'll keep an eye on this fungi to see how it develops.

Also here was Dacrymyces stillatus/Common Jellyspot

GFG Foray: The Cliffs by Pilton Green

Today was the last GFG foray. This year has been a bumper year for mushrooms across Britain apparently. The good weather conditions, (good for fungi that is), that we've had over the last three years has probably had big hand in this result. I look forward to seeing what the records will show.

Talking of the weather, as a group we have been lucky with the weather, having great conditions on every foray date this year. I was concerned that the long warm spell we had would damage many mushrooms and this was borne out by what we found at Kenfig. Everything was parched.
But it will go down in my memory as the year it never rained on us and I'm grateful for that.

Finally....

It's good to have company when looking for mushrooms and I thank you all;  for turning up, giving your time to clamber though bushes, get stung by nettles, look at the ground, stare at the grass and occasionally lose our way. It's all good, and still been fun.
It's not often we find a toilet seat on the road walking back to the cars after getting a little bit lost..
To all you guys and gals. I thank you all.

 

We parked at Pilton Green then walked through some fields, crossing many stiles  to get to the cliffs. It was certainly the epitome of a bracing cliff top walk. From here it's not terribly far to find the cave that contained 'The red lady of Paviland'


Of all the mushrooms we found, Stropharia semiglobata was the most common. It likes cattle and horse dung and there was plenty of that around. There was lots of Lepista nuda/Blewits too (in perfect condition if you wanted to cook them).
There's lots of gorse here and lots of Tremella mesenterica/Yellow Brain living on it. More than I've ever seen before.

Below is Stropharia semiglobata. It likes dung.We also found Stropharia aeruginosa in reasonable amounts too.

 Stropharia aeruginosa

 Lepista nuda

 Below is a slime mould. We found quite a lot of this. It's Mucilago crustacea in what's called the plasmodium stage. It's strange to think it moves.

Below are a couple of lichens. I'll have to find what they are because I'm struck by the colours and patterns, both colour and organism design. They intrigue me as much as fungi.

Below is the google map link to Pilton Green
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=pilton+green&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Pilton+Green,+Rhossili,+Swansea&gl=uk&ei=3frrTP6WE6iAhAe4ptjMDA&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBYQ8gEwAA