The Mushroom Thread 2020

M

Mark Crann

Location
North Yorkshire
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5th April 2020, shady woodland, growing on old cinders of a disused railway line in North Yorkshire. A decaying piece of wood nearby, as appears in the photos. On 3rd April it definitely was not showing, so this is a recent fruiting body.

Vernal mushrooms up here are usually confined to morels in early May, and St George's Mushrooms from mid-April onwards.

So I have no idea what this is. A brief trawl through the books has not yielded any candidates. The only clue I can offer is that it is in close proximity to a large and vigorous colony of green hellebores, which are in themselves a relative rarity in this part of the world. But I find it difficult to believe that there is any micorhizzal relationship between them and this mushroom.

Its most curious feature is the corrugated exterior of the cap, a bit similar to gills on the underside of most fungi. I have never seen that phenomenon before.

Help, please.
 
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It's probably either corprinus domesticus or silvaticus - I guessed it was likely in the ink cap family from the shape and then looked them up. Neither are edible, and both are found on dead hardwood. Both are uncommon.
 
Well, maybe, Richard. But the stipe is far more substantial than you would normally find in a coprinus, although I would agree that the gills are not entirely dissimilar to those of young coprinus. And there is no hint of deliquescence.

Phillips says that C. Silvaticus is an autumnal specimen, and his photo shows a small thin specimen. And although C. Domesticus is found late Spring to Summer, it is really only early Spring this far north, and Phillips's photo shows a small number, which on the description would be only 1 - 3 cm high.

Those attributes don't fit this specimen. It is at least 10 cm high. And that arresting ridged cap doesn't chime with Phillips, nor with the old Collins Guide (Lange & Hora), which I find more reliable than any modern guide.
 
Don't worry, Tom & Tom, I never had the slightest intention of eating it! Our interest is solely that of amateur naturalists.

Richard, my problems with a coprinus i/d are the thickness of the stipe, the apparent absence of any deliquescence, and that corrugation on the top of the cap. But I do agree that the arrangement of the gills is similar. And I don't think the time of year is a reliable guide -- my notes from the seventies show that I found C. atramentarius frequently up here in May, and once (fresh specimens) on 9th January 1978 in Lincoln's Inn Gardens, after a frost!
 
Mark - I’d look for them among grass that is infrequently mowed and which grows on soil over chalk. The edges of parks, cemeteries, and sometimes roadside verges can yield the goods, but as I said, they are infrequent in my experience.
 
Richard Zambuni said:
Mark - I’d look for them among grass that is infrequently mowed and which grows on soil over chalk. The edges of parks, cemeteries, and sometimes roadside verges can yield the goods, but as I said, they are infrequent in my experience.
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Thanks, Richard! Not too much chalk around here, which may explain my total lack of success.
 
Yes Richards description of habitat is spot on in my experience.

They grow along the sides of the tracks in a particular campsite I use in the New Forest.

Last year though was a poor year and i was hoping for better this year but alas it’s not to be.
 
We have had no significant rainfall here in Yorkshire since the third week of March. The ground is parched, and the rivers are very low indeed. By now, in a normal year, we would have had plenty of St George's mushrooms, and a good show of morels on the river banks. But so far, nothing. It will be interesting to see whether they make a late appearance when we finally do get some rain, or whether this year they will simply take a rain check.
 
Yes indeed. On both counts! Delicious in slices on the BBQ yesterday evening, after tossing in olive oil, herbs and garlic. The leftovers fried in butter made for a nice omelette this morning, though I was left looking for a bit more flavour. Will maybe add some grated gruyere next time I try it
 
Richard Zambuni said:
That’s a type of puffball Ken and it’s edible!
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Sorry if I was seeming to teach you to suck eggs Ken, but you didn't mention whether it was destined for the table on the original post and I didn't want some good fungus to go to waste. All puffballs are a little neutral in taste and are definitely worth serving with other things. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I think this species is fairly uncommon by the way. I've only ever found it once.
 
Still have my L plates on Richard so always pleased to get some advice, even if it confirms what I already think I know.

Thus would be pleased to hear what sort of puffball you think it was
 
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