Swansea Fungi: Walk to Pluck Lake

I went for a foray down Pluck Lake today, taking the pathway that runs next to Pentre-chwyth Rd then alongside the A4217 then, crossing over the road into a disused railway track which on the left will lead into the area around Pluck Lake, opposite Morrisons.
The map below shows my route...

It's never been the most exciting of places and previously has returned virtually next to nothing in mushrooms. I have found some of course but never a great deal.

This year everything has changed and since the 12th of August I've found more mushrooms here than anywhere else, certainly more than on Kilvey Hill; not just in the variety of species but in quantities.
A few weeks ago Amanita rubescens carpeted the Pluck wood in numbers I'd never seen there before; in fact I can't remember even seeing that mushroom there before. Most of those have gone now and Russula Ochroleuca have replaced them in similar numbers.

Yet it's not just at the Pluck that I find a wide variety of fungi today but on route there. There's a path that runs alongside the A4217. It's only used by the odd person, except on match days when football or rugby supporters use it as a route to the stadium. On one side is the main road on the other, a recent housing development and it's here on the banks that what I find leave my collection boxes virtually full.

Finding Lactarius.
Before I reach the beginning of the pathway I have already found some Lactarius. L pubescens which has been here a while but another, with orange gills has only just started fruiting. Also here is Sullius leteus, in the same place as last year, Paxillus involutus, still producing mushrooms but less Russula than before.

I don't know which Lactarius this is at first examination. (below).

Below is another Lactarius that has been attcked by another fungi, one that attacks Lactarius and Russula and fuses the gills together covering the gills and stem in a finely pimpled mould. (see below). It's called Hypomyces tulasneanus.

Finds on a Pathway.
The start of the path is by a roundabout that is the start/end of the A4127. Crossing the road here is a bit hair raising to put it mildly as the motorists don't care, so it's easier to pass underneath the bridge near by.

There's not much to start with but the banks on the left hand side are full of mushrooms. The other side is a bit overgrown at the moment. The banks here are predominately birch.
Below is a Leccinum scabrum/Birch Bolete. This particular specimen interested me because of the shape of the cap. As the mushroom has matured, the cap seems to have become taut, pushing out the spore tubes, probably to expel the greatest amount of spores possible.

Near by was a few other mushrooms, below was another Lactarius, Lactarius torminosus/Woolly Milkcap. It's quite easy to identify. It has a very woolly edge to the cap and a tomato like colour. the milk in the gills is white.

Below the woolly cap edge more clearly seen.

Lactarius pubescens on the left and Lactarius torminosus. Both of these species have the distinguishable hairy features.

It wasn't the only milkcap here, close by was another but one I couldn't identify, in fact I didn't even know it was a Lactarius. But the milk that exuded from its gills when later cut gave it away. (See photos below). One of the peculiar things about the milk is the colour. At first it was white, abundant and slightly thick and when it dried, turned grey and solidified.

Below the milk can clearly be seen when fresh and dried. After searching through books and cross referencing I'm convinced its Lactarius vietus/Grey Milkcap. It's not just the distinctive milk however. If you take a look at the stipe, one can that there is a lighter ring at the apex, below the gills. Even though the cap colour is far from grey, it can be variable.

There was also a couple of brackets and a parachute mushroom. Trametes hirsuta. This specimin was very small but the hairy top can be seen in this photo. (below)

Marasmius ramealis/Twig Parachute

Daedaleopsis confragosa/Blushing Bracket, living on a dead branch.

The photo below shows the underneath and it's white but handing the gills and age makes it change colour as can be seen in the photo .

Further along was Mycena Pura/Lilac Bonnet. Possibly the easiest of the Bonnet family to identify...

and also Tremella mesenterica/Yellow Brain living on dead hawthorn.

I also found a Tricholoma. It's grey with a slight yellow tint and turned out to be Tricholoma scalpturatum (=T. argyraceum). See below. The mushroom starts to tinge yellow with age and a little of that can be seen in the photos.

An Inocybe too. I'm not which but I think it's Inocybe sindonia but I find this species exceptionally difficult to identify. It's virtually headache inducing.