Waterside Natural History Society and a Fungi Foray
In October our normal walk turns into a foray. A foray is the same as a walk except you look at the ground in search of fungi; always hoping that the person in front of you is more of a walker so you don’t get lost. Fungi and foray go together like apples and pears or cake and walk but it probably has more to do with them starting on the same letter. Fungi are very fickle and don’t always appear when and where you want them. The rains we had in early autumn encouraged lots of fungi but the recent dry spell reduced the chances so it was with some trepidation that we embarked on our quest to find and identify the fungi around Dibden Enclosure.
This year we were lucky enough to have with us an expert in the form of Phil Budd which not only makes things easier but has a greater chance of getting the identifications right.
It is usually a help to try and place fungi into groups and the first such group was the Milk Caps or lactaria. We saw the Ugly Milk Cap which has a large slimy dirty olive cap, the Liver Milk Cap which has a liver coloured cap and the Saffron Milk Cap which is mottled orange in colour. The milk which gives the fungi their name can best be seen by drawing a finger nail across the gills beneath the cap. Another group are the boletes which have a spongy mass of pores in place of gills. The Bay bolete with its brown cap and streaky brown stem was found growing on the forest floor.
The group of small fungi growing in massed patches was represented by the Deceiver which is normally red brown or brick in colour but as its name suggests is very variable in form. The Glistening Ink Cap also grows in patches around old tree stumps as does the Sulphur tuft whose name offers a good description.
The Amanita group was represented by theTawny Grisette which gets its name from the grooved cap margins. Also in this group were the Blusher which stains red when cut or bruised and the Fly Agaric. The Fly Agaric is one of the most recognised fungi from its representation in cartoons and gets its name from the ibotenic acid it contains which is a mild insecticide. The False Death Cap, also an Amanita, is distinguished from the true death cap by its paler colour and smell of new potatoes. It is not so deadly poisonous but no one wanted to put this to the test.
The False Chanterelle has decurrent gills running down onto the stem and is separated from the true Chanterelle by having thinner more crowded gills.
The Russula group was represented by the Sickener with a scarlet cap, white gills and stem which if eaten is a stomach irritant and also by the Purple Pine Russule.
Several fungi grow in the form of brackets on the trunks of trees. Some are quite large like the Blushing Bracket and some smaller like the Many Zoned Polypore or Turkey Tail fungus which was once used for jewellery.
Some fungi such as the Green Wood cup are very small but this particular one has the ability to stain the wood on which it grows a bright green.
Another fungus called the Common Stinkhorn is noted for its foul smell and phallus shape which makes it instantly recognisable.
The English names are very descriptive either of the fungi appearance or other characteristics but the Latin names are useful for classification purposes particularly if you want to identify all of the species available.
Altogether 33 different fungi were identified of which the above is a small selection and represent a slightly less number than expected. There are over a thousand fungi varieties in the New Forest area which gives an idea of the unlikelihood of getting the identification right. It is debateable whether picking fungi harms the stock in the wild since the spores will have already spread when they are picked but at best it stops other people from the pleasure of finding them and at worst it could be fatal.
