8th November 2013, Andrew’s Wood near Shoreham

This outing had 3 objectives: Ceps, Wood Blewits, and Wood Hedgehogs. I’ve found all of these in this wood at times, but never all three on the same trip. On this occasion I got them all except the Cep. The curious thing is that each of these species is located in their own tiny patch and nowhere else in this substantial wood. The Wood Blewits were only growing very close to fir trees which is a bit curious as they’re not supposed to have any tree species preference. The Wood Hedgehogs were very large – up to 14cm. I found them on the same spot last year but then they were very small. Shame about the Ceps. When I found them two years ago there were lots, but last year and this there were none. Another good find was the Wood Mushroom. I only ever seem to find these as single mushrooms which is a shame as they’re exceptionally tasty.

I’m delighted that I’ve made an identification for virtually all of my finds, even if some of them are a bit shaky! The least likely id is Stereum ostrea (22), but you never know…


1. Tripe Fungus (Auricularia mesenterica).
On dead oak (probably) branches. 2-3cm long. No smell. Jelly like. Never seen any fungus like this before! I think it must be a very young example of something that will enlarge and become lobed later. Something like Tripe Fungus or Witches Butter. ID is possible.

2. Purple Jellydisk (Ascocoryne sarcoides).
On dead oak (probably) branches. Single bits 1cm across, but clustered in groups. Rubbery. ID is fairly likely.

3. Wood Mushroom (Agaricus silvicola).
Under pine and oak. Cap 12cm. Smell sweet aniseed. Spores seem a bit too big for Wood Mushroom, but I'm still fairly sure of the ID. Single specimen only. Eaten. Sporeprint very dark purply black/brown. Spores 5.5-7µ x 4-5.5µ. Spores seem a bit too big for Wood Mushroom, but I'm still fairly sure of the ID.

4. Unidentified.
Growing on leaf litter. Cap 4-6cm. Slight mushroomy smell. Very variable appearance. Sporeprint white. Spores 7-9.5µ x 4-5µ.

5. Lilac Bonnet (Mycena pura).
Growing on leaf litter. Cap 5cm. Very slight meally smell. Not sure on the id but Lilac Bonnet is the closest I can find. ID is very likely.

6. Ochre Brittlegill (Russula ochroleuca).
Cap 4-7cm. ID is almost sure. Sporeprint white. Spores 8.5-10.5µ x 7-8.5µ.

7. Clouded Funnel (Clitocybe nebularis).
Growing on leaf litter close to rotting wood. Quite a lot of these in groups around the wood. Cap 7-11cm. Smell slight, sweet and pleasant. Very tough stem. Possibly Clouded Funnel except that I happened to notice that the stem was very tough and the Clouded Funnel should have an easily broken stem. ID is fairly likely. Sporeprint pale ochre. Spores 5.5-7.5µ x 3.5-5µ.

8. Jelly Rot (Phlebia tremellosa).
Growing on birch logs. Jelly Rot should have a white top which this doesn’t, however the underside looks exactly right. ID is fairly likely.

9. Ugly Milkcap (Lactarius turpis).
Growing on or through leaf litter around beech trees. Cap 7-10cm. No smell. ID is very likely.

10. Lemon Disco (Bisporella citrina).
Small yellow dots on rotting wood. This is an experiment with a narrow aperture. The 1st photo is macro auto-focus, and the 2nd is with an aperture of f/8. Neither is very successful. The 1st is only in focus for a narrow section (as expected) and the 2nd is has very deep focus depth but looks slightly out of focus everywhere. Could be that it was affected by a bit of hand shakiness.

11. Tawny Funnel (Lepista flaccida).
Growing on leaf litter under beech. Cap 8-10cm. Slight smell. ID is almost sure.

12. Butter Cap (Collybia butyracea).
Growing under beech. Slight mushroom smell. ID is almost sure. Sporeprint whiteish. Spores 5-7µ x 3-4.5µ.

13. White Saddle (Helvella crispa).
6-10cm high. No smell. 10cm is very tall for this species.

14. Rooting Shank (Xerula radicata).
No smell.

15. Unidentified.
12cm. A very old ugly thing.

16. Lactarius fluens.
Growing under beech. Cap 4-8cm. No smell. Milk tastes immediately hot. Not certain about this id, but seems likely. ID is fairly likely.

17. Common Puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum).
Including a rather rude looking one.

18. Wood Blewit (Lepista nuda).
Growing under fir and seemingly avoiding broad leaved trees. Cap 6-12cm. Smell perfumed. Eaten. Sporeprint very pale pinkish. Spores 7-8µ x 4.5-5.5µ.

19. Clouded Funnel (Clitocybe nebularis).
Cap 8-12cm.

20. Stump Puffball (Lycoperdon pyriforme).
Growing on rotting wood. 2-4cm.

21. Beige Coral (Clavulinopsis umbrinella).
Growing on ground. It looks like Beige Coral, although that is rare so might be something else. ID is best guess.

22. Stereum ostrea.
Growing on rotting wood (beech wood?). Cups 1-2cm. This looks exactly like Stereum ostrea but that’s most unlikely as Roger Phillips says it’s very rare with no confirmed British records. (But it does appear in greenhouses as it’s a tropical species.). ID is best guess.

23. Wood Hedgehog (Hydnum repandum).
Cap 7-14cm. Smell faint. Taste a little bitter after a moment. Eaten. Sporeprint white. Spores 6.5-8µ x 5-7µ.

24. Pestle Puffball (Handkea excipuliformis).
Growing in grass under trees. Up to 15cm high. Huge and impressive!

25. Coconut Milkcap (Lactarius glyciosmus).
Growing under birch. Cap 3-5cm. Smell was more fruity than coconutty but perhaps fruity is near enough. Milk tastes very mild. Slimy look is misleading as photo was taken just after a very heavy rain shower. Probably would have said this was a Grey Milkcap but that has hot acrid milk so it can’t be that. ID is fairly likely.

26. Purple Russula (Russula atropurpurea).
Growing under some kind of broad leaf tree, not sure which. Cap 6-8cm. No smell. Taste hot. ID is very likely.