Monthly Archives: September 2014

28th September 2014, Wepham Wood near Angmering

The drought continues…

…so almost nothing to find in the woods. Just some odds and ends, apart from one dramatic find: A log covered with hundreds of Fairy Inkcaps – spectacular!


1. Common Funnel (Clitocybe gibba).
Growing in mixed fir/oak wood. One. Cap 3cm. Faint sweet smell. Sporeprint white. Spores 4.5-6.5µ x 3.5-5µ.

2. Unidentified.
Growing in mixed oak/beech wood. One. cap 4.5cm. Faint smell. Looks a bit like a Deceiver to me, but I've never seen one this big before. Could it be Bicoloured Deceiver? Sporeprint Pale but not enough to really say. Spores 6.5-8µ x 5-7µ.

3. Fairy Inkcap (Coprinus disseminatus).
Covering old log. Hundreds. Cap 0.5-1.5cm. No smell.

4. Honey Fungus (Armillaria mellea).
Growing on wood. Several clusters and others dotted around. Cap 7-15cm.

5. Hares Foot Inkcap (Coprinus lagopus).
Growing on bare earth in woods. One. Cap 3.5cm. ID is almost sure.

12th September 2014, Knole Park, Sevenoaks

I used to work near Sevenoaks but never visited Knowle Park, which was very remiss of me… an ancient deer park with a fine collection of gnarly old trees just has to be good for mushrooms. The only hindrance was the lack of rain for a whole two weeks before my trip. I don’t really know how discouraging that is for fungi, but it surely can’t help. Also, I thought there might be some fungi feasting on the plentiful deer dung, but there were none.

Highlights of this trip were the Spectacular Rustgill and the Scarletina Bolete. Both fairly common, but firsts for me, and most impressive.


1. Beefsteak Fungus (Fistulina hepatica).
Growing inside old stump. Bracket 10cm across. Scarlet pink with white underside. Very pink and pretty. Not sure if this really is Beefsteak Fungus but I can't find anything else similar. Happening to be growing next to a yellow fungal blob which was an interesting colour clash. Also, a few hundred yards away was another small red blobby thing. Could it be a very immature version of the the same thing? ID is best guess.

2. Unidentified.
Growing inside old stump. one. Yellow lump - presumably immature. Surface very sticky to touch.

3. Type of Russula.
Growing under oak. Several scattered around. Cap 3cm. No smell. Taste mild. Sporeprint white.

4. Spectacular Rustgill (Gymnopilus junonius).
Growing on base of oak stump. Large clusters. Cap 3-9cm. No smell. Firm tough flesh. Spores 6-7.5µ x 5-6µ.

5. Common Earthball (Scleroderma citrinum).
Growing in mixed woods; oak and birch. Lots everywhere. 3-10cm. Mild fungus smell. Some of the many earthballs could have been other species, but the large size is indicative of Common Earthball. ID is very likely.

6. Mild Milkcap (Lactarius subdulcis).
Growing amongst moss/grass under oak. Cap 3cm. Milk has no heat, but perhaps a bit nutty. ID is very likely. Sporeprint white.

7. Hen of the Woods (Grifola frondosa).
Growing at base of sweet chestnut stump. Lobes up to 8cm across, whole body 25cm across. Smell fungusy. Spores 6.5-8µ x 5.5-7µ.

9. Phyllotopsis nidulans.
Growing on sweet chestnut stump. Two fans. Fan 8-10cm. No smell. ID is almost sure. Sporeprint orangey brown. Spores 5.5-7.5µ x 3.5-5µ.

10. Type of Webcap.
Growing in leaf litter under oak. Group of 4. Cap up to 4cm, but some very small. Smell indistinct. Spores 6-8µ x 4.5-6µ.

11. Purple Russula (Russula atropurpurea).
Growing under oak. Lots scattered. Cap up to 8cm across. Little smell. Little taste - perhaps slight hint of heat. Cap nearly half peeling. ID is fairly likely. Sporeprint white. Spores 7-9µ x 5-6.5µ.

12. Unidentified.
Growing in grass. Cluster. Cap 1.5-3cm. Smell faint. Some with umbo. Sporeprint whitish but not enough to be specific. Spores 6.5-7.5µ x 5-7µ.

13. Parasol (Macrolepiota procera).
Growing under hawthorn. Three. Cap 18cm, 27cm high. Old specimens.

14. Golden Waxcap (Hygrocybe chlorophana).
Growing in long grass. Group of 5. cap 3.5cm, 6cm high. No smell. ID is very likely. Sporeprint white.

15. Birch Milkcap (Lactarius tabidus).
Growing under birch. Several scattered around. Cap 3cm. Milk tastes dry and then bitter. Small darker umbo on immature ones. Colour was pale orange - I think the photos may be a bit misleading. ID is almost sure. Sporeprint white. Spores 6.5-8.5µ x 4.5-6.5µ.

16. Type of Milkcap.
Appears to be growing on debris on rotting log. One. Cap 2cm but probably immature. Faint smell. Milk has no flavour. Not easy to identify as only one small specimen. Strange that it's growing on a log (or appears to be) - milkcaps don't do that. Spores 6-8µ x 5-7µ.

17. Scarletina Bolete (Boletus luridiformis).
Growing in wide grassy trackway about 30 foot from very large oak. Two. Cap 5-6cm. Faint smell. Photos make the pores look orange/red but really they were more browny. Flesh immediately bruising dark blue. A strikingly attractive mushroom! ID is almost sure.

9th September 2014, Ladywell Fields

When I saw this group of Matt Boletes with the central one being pure white, I got very excited about finding a rare albino mushroom. So I went back the next day to take some photographs and realised that it had simply expired and become covered in white mould. But it still looks quite striking next to its healthy brothers.


1. Matt Bolete (Xerocomus pruinatus).
Growing under maple. Two small groups. Cap 3-6cm. Faint pleasant mushroom smell. Flesh in cap bruising blue. Flesh in stem bruising yellow. One of mushrooms was covered with white mould. ID is almost sure.

2. Unidentified.
Growing under maple. several scattered around. Cap 1.5-2cm. 3cm high. No smell.

3. Type of Fibrecap.
Growing under maple. One cluster and also trooping. Cap 1.5-3cm. No smell.

4. Brown Rollrim (Paxillus involutus).
Growing in waste ground, not particularly close to trees. Several scattered around. Cap 6-10cm. No smell.

5. Scaly Earthball (Scleroderma verrucosum).
Growing in grass near small oak. Small clusters and some scattered. 4-8cm across. Faint mushroom smell. Flesh staining red.


1. Lepiota oreadiformis.
Growing under raspberry plants. One cluster and several scattered around. Cap 4-7cm. Smell strongly mushroomy and fruity. ID is guess. Sporeprint Pure white. Spores 8.5-11.5µ x 4-5.5µ.

6th September 2014, Ladywell Fields

Another outing in Ladywell and lots more good finds. Two highlights: a Silky Rosegill and a large ring of Horse Mushrooms. Both very impressive.

The Rosegill was a puzzle to me, having never seen a mushroom with a big volva and a brown spore print, so I asked the londonfungi Yahoo group and was soon put straight by Geoffrey and Kier.  The brown spore print I called “cinnamon brown” but I suppose it is pinkish brown. The official colour is pink.

I never expected to see a Horse Mushroom ring on Ladywell Fields and I keep being surprised at the mycological delights in my local park. It was about 15 foot across and really only half a ring. The mushrooms were immature, so I went back 2 days later, but they had all been kicked over, unfortunately.


1. Charcoal Burner (Russula cyanoxantha).
Growing in grass near beech tree. Two or three. Cap 8-9cm. No smell. Mild taste with no heat. Cap half peeling. Found these in the same place and date as last year. ID is best guess. Sporeprint Pure white. Spores 5.5-7µ x 4.5-5.5µ.

2. Chicken-of-the-Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus).
Growing at base of ash tree. Immature specimen 17cm across. Fungusy mushroom smell. Four of the photos are from 2 weeks later when it had become a very fine mature specimen.

3. Giant Puffball (Calvatia gigantea).
Growing in grass in park. Probably two but broken up. Around 25cm across. Fungusy mushroom smell. Shame it had been kicked around.

4. Shaggy Scalycap (Pholiota squarrosa).
Growing at base of sycamore. One big cluster. Cap up to 5cm, cluster 18cm across. Smell mushroomy. Same place as last year. Spores 5.5-7µ x 3-5µ.

5. Unidentified.
Growing in grass under oak. Just a few. Cap 0.75-1.5cm. Mushroomy smell. Spores 8.5-9.5µ x 8-9µ.

6. Brown Ear (Otidea cochleata).
Growing in earth amongst grass under oak. Two or three. 2cm across. No smell. My spore size seems to be too small, but I'm still fairly sure about the id. ID is almost sure. Spores 10.5-12µ x 6-7µ.

7. Horse Mushroom (Agaricus arvensis).
Growing in grass in large partial ring about 15 foot across. About 20 immature mushrooms. Cap of immature specimens up to 8cm. Smell mild mushroomy perhaps a hint of almond/aniseed. ID is almost sure. Sporeprint Chocolate brown. Spores 4.5-5.5µ x 3-4µ.

8. Silky Rosegill (Volvariella bombycina).
Growing beside log in rotting grass debris. Two. Cap 12cm. Earthy smell, I thought with hint of radish but book says beansprout. Two beside each other, one open with large open volva and one still contained in large volva. Volva sticky and smelly and attracting small flies. Stem stongly rooting. Gills whitish, later after picking becoming flesh coloured. Stem tapering towards top. Top of cap with small fibrils and wooly feel, except centre smooth. No ring. Photo with pink gills was taken a few days later. Sporeprint Pinkish brown. Spores 7-8µ x 5-6.5µ.


1. Unidentified.
Growing in long grass beside log sleeper. Troop of about 10. No smell. Fragile stem and cap. Bulb at base of stem. Looks like spring fieldcap, but spore size is completely wrong. Sporeprint dark, maybe black, but not enough to be sure. Spores 5.5-7µ x 4-5.5µ.