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

Fungi Since the New Year

This isn't the best time of year to see many fungi species but there are always some about. One species in particular; Flammulina velutipes/Velvet Shank is a winter fruiting fungi and very common. It's easy to identify not only because of the time of year it arrives but also its appearance. It's capable of resisting severe frosts, even being frozen and indeed when it thaws out will produce more spores. I've found examples here in Swansea and in Milford Haven.

Flammulina velutipes/Velvet Shank.

  It appears in clusters on dead and decaying deciduous trees. The cap is a rich yellowish orange which is usually a darker orange brown in the centre. The edges are paler and faintly striate as can be seen below. When it's wet the cap looks slimy but when dry it has a shiny appearance.

 The gills are adnexed and when young are an bright ivory white and mature to a dirty yellow. The sample below shows the mature stage. The stipe is curved and tough and dark brown, slightly lighter or yellowish at the apex and velvety looking.

Another very common species that fruits through autumn and winter is Tubaria furfuracea/Scurfy Twiglet. There's been a large group of them emerging from the soil in a stretch of grass and trees by Sainsburys car park that have lasted almost a month. They're not the most exciting to look at but they can be identified partially because the mushrooms come around this time of the year.

Tubaria furfuracea/Scurfy Twiglet.

This species lives off wood which was beneath the soil. At first one can see small light specks along the edge of the cap which get lost sometimes as the mushroom matures and the cap changes colour from a reddish brown to cream when dry. When moist there are clear striations running from the cap edge inwards.
The gills are an orange/cinnamon colour.  As it matures the cap curls inwards.

  Below the velar remains on the edge of the cap can clearly be seen in this young specimen.

 Below the scurfy appearance of the cap surface and striations around the edge is visible.

 As the cap drys it changes from reddish brown to cream. The photo underneath shows the fruitbodies at different stages of drying.

 Below is Dacrymyces stillatus/Common Jellyspot. It lives all year round and is very common..