March Fungi Finds

Springtime is not the time to see an abundance of mushrooms but there is always something out there. The weather for March was one of the driest on record. I didn't find a lot of fungi but instead had a couple of nice surprises.

I returned to Kilvey Hill a couple of weeks ago to see how some of the fungi I had found previously had developed, but most had been dried out by the sunny weather. On one tree I found a lilac coloured crust which could possibly be a fungi.It could also be lichen of some kind.

After a couple of weeks of looking and finding nothing on Kilvey I went down to the 'Pluck' after a night of wet weather. On the way there I came across Trametes versicolor/Turkeytail in good condition growing on a wood bollard.

At Lake Pluck, I checked on the Auricularia auricula-judae/Jelly Ear I had found previously growing on a large tree trunk. The previously evenings wet weather had revived the mushrooms and they had re-inflated to give a fantastic display. Below are the photos..

On the way home, along the foot path that runs parallel to the A4217 road, I was surprised to see another fungi that lives on wood. Daldinia fissa. I've walked this way for years and never seen this before in Swansea and only once before that.

The most common in the family is Daldinia concentrica/Cramp Balls. Daldinia concentrica is a fungi that is almost exclusively found living on ash.

Daldinia fissa (=D. vernicosa) is associated with gorse, particularly burnt gorse and whilst the gorse was not scorched I could not think what else it could be.

The fruitbody was extremely fragile and easy to break. These were hollow inside, except for insects.

In Swansea, the Civil Justice Centre has a scrubby area at the front with some bushes and trees and stumps. 

I 've found quite a number of fungi in this small patch and a few this year already.

Below is a crust, one of the  Peniphora family. The one bleow is Peniphora incarnata/Rosy Crust, due to its pinkish colour. This fungi is found all year round and on all types of tree, usually on the underside.

At Lake Pluck.

On the 8th of February I went for a quick look for fungi down at Lake Pluck. Most of what I found was on two very large sections of cut tree trunks. Other highlights were teenagers smashing up a burnt out car and shopping trolleys taking a dip in the water..Nevertheless Lake Pluck is rich in fungi and last year revealed some great finds. Hopefullly it will be the same this year.

On the way to the Pluck there were two things of note; one was a lichenised fungi, Cladonia pyxidata which is common everywhere and the other was Stereum hirsutum/Hairy Curtain Crust, an extremley common species of fungi.  Below is Cladonia pyxidata...

Stereum hirsutum/Hairy Curtain Crust is generally found on living and dead wood of deciduous trees and shrubs; rarely conifers. The upper side of the fungi as the common name describes, is hairy with the underside smooth and bumpy.

Sadly, the Pluck is a fly tippers paradise and the sheer amount of rubbish thrown here is terrible..Inbetween binbags full of clothes and beercans all over the place I came across the remains of a huge beech tree that had been felled and on one large block there were a couple of mushrooms to be found. Below is a common species called a Smoky Bracket. Bjerkandera adusta.

  

The photo below shows the mycelium of an unknown fungus living off the the wood on the underside of bark

 There were two bracket fungi that I could not identify (below). If I could have cut them off the tree I might have done so but for the moment I'll leave them alone.

Also here was Auricularia auricula-judae/Jelly Ear. Very common and widespread. The samples below had dried out somewhat and were slightly brittle and hard. Auricularia auricula-judae/Jelly Ear is not specific with beech but can be found on most deciduous trees.

Another common beech fungi is Hypoxylon fragiforme/Beech Woodwart. They begin life a pinkish colour and slowly redden until they turn reddish brown and finally black. The surface of the fruit body is pimply.

 On my home I came across a tiny 'oysterling' mushroom. It belongs to the Crepidotus family and could be Crepidotus variabilis/Variable Oysterling but I cannot be sure.