The Lyons Share

...yet we managed just that on the course I ran there on the 8th November. This is the third year I have ran the 'introduction to fungi' course there and despite a huge site list, we usually find something new there. The aim of the course is to show the limits of what can be done without microscopy. After a brief indoor session talking the attendees through the anatomy of fungi, we headed out onto the site. In 2016 we recorded around 50 species in the field, last year it was 60. This year it was a little less at just over 40 due to the dry autumn. It is perhaps a little unfair that some of the most exciting species were identified after the course but I will start with one of them as it was so striking.

First up we have a fungus with a conservation status. Not new to Ebernoe (last seen there in 2004) but it was new to me. This is the Gilded Bolete, a Near Threatened species that has only a couple  records in Sussex and these were both from Ebernoe. Well done to the attendee who spotted this one. It keyed out really well using Kibby due to the small size, pink & slimy cap and exceedingly bright (the photo above does not do it justice) and large pores. Here it is from above, you can see flies and other detritus stuck to the slimy cap. I was pleased that Martin Allison agreed on the ID.

This species has been turning up all over recently, it wasn't too much of a surprise that one attendee spotted Plicatura crispa (I was surprised to see it now has an English name in Recorder being Crimped Gill). I recorded this new to all reserves two years ago at Flatropers, it's now been recorded on four of our reserves at least. 

We bumped into Pete Flood who I met a couple of years ago on a lichen day in the New Forest and he tagged along and was a great help. I was pleased that by weight of numbers, we were able to find Holly Parachute without too much effort in the poor light. Thanks to Pete for letting me use this photo. I had never noticed how much this looks like human skin with hair coming out of it. Like someone crossed a fungus with a person. What a weird little thing, love that it only grows from dead Holly leaves.

Nearby (and another one of Pete's photos) we found some Pipe Club.

The Spectacular Rustgill we found was a candidate for one of the biggest mushrooms I have ever seen. It was utterly spectacular but without anything in the image to scale, I was left with an underwhelming brown mass in the photo below that looks like a Vic Reeves drawing of a face. Seriously, it was amazing. You had to be there.

Visual highlight of the day would have to go to Parrot Waxcap in the churchyard. We went on our annual pilgrimage to Ebernoe Cricket Pitch and for the first time ever, there was not a single waxcap anywhere to be seen. Sadly no Pink Waxcaps in the churchyard this year.

And Scarlet Caterpillar Clubs were also good value.

But it was this earthstar that turned out to be the real highlight. First up I need to apologise to everyone for incorrectly identifying this in the field. Last year there were earthstars in the same area that were spotted by Mark Colvin and I was pretty sure we had identified them as Sessile Earthstars and that's what I incorrectly called this as on the course. When I got home and looked at the photo I came to think it might actually be Rosy Earthstar. A quick text to Mark and he was able to go and locate the exact specimen the next day and get it to Martin. It was in fact Arched Earthstar, which I have knowingly seen only once before in Easebourne Churchyard. This is a great record being not only new to Ebernoe Common but also new to all SWT reserves! Thanks Mark and Martin.

And this moth was also new, not an easy thing to get for Ebernoe being heavily 'mothed' over the years. Grey Shoulder-knot, the 659th moth recorded there.

We have recorded 1389 species of fungi on our 32 reserves so far and 967 of them have been recorded at Ebernoe Common, that's 70.0% from one site! No wonder it is one of only around 10 sites in the UK to be designated for its fungi. I love that we are still learning about that too. How long will it take to find another 33 species and get to a 1000?!  A big thank you to everyone who attended and also to Pete, Mark and Martin for their input too. 

Here is the full species list for the day (those marked with an asterisk were confirmed before or after by Martin Allison):

"This is a snakeskin jacket! And for me it's a symbol of my individuality, and my belief...in personal freedom". Sailor, Wild at Heart.

I suspect only the hardcore David Lynch fans will have even the remotest clue as to what I am wittering on about here. Anyways, last week I ran my 'Introduction to Fungi' course at Ebernoe for the second year. It was another great day, it aims to show people that although limited, you can still do quite a bit of mycology in the field before you end up on a spore drive (see what I did there?). So our aim was to beat the 53 or so species were recorded last year and maybe a get a species new to Ebernoe like the Parasitic Bolete we recorded last year. We succeeded on the former but failed on the latter. It's hard to get a new species of fungi at Ebernoe, especially one identifiable in the field when 963 species have already been recorded there. Anyway the highlight was this Snakeskin Grisette. Only the second time I have seen this, the first being on the 1000 species challenge with Dave Green and that was at 2.00 am and I hardly had time to stop and appreciate it. Well done to the attendee who found the specimen!

We picked up some Heath Waxcaps in Leconfield Glade, the first record for the reserve for over 20 years so that was probably the most exciting record. Other highlights included Sinuous, Trumpet and regular Chanterelles, Sulphur Knight, Fluted Bird's-nest Fungi, White Saddle, Horn of Plenty, Magpie Inkcap, Pink Waxcap and a very VERY sloppy Tiered Tooth and a few little extras at the end on Ebernoe Cricket Pitch...

The same attended that found the Snakeskin Grisette found this freaky little oddity that after some discussion with Martin Allison, we think is a young Mosaic Puffball. So, we will be running the course again next year. If you fancy a romp around Ebernoe looking for some of our most charismatic fungi, then please come along.

If you don't like stuff dripping and covered in slime, I direct you at this point to the Ryvita website. If you do, read on. I've been on a jaunt around Ebernoe today with Martin Allison (county fungi recorder) and some of my colleagues. Part recording session, part training session and part management advice trip, today proved a valuable day in the field for all. It's vitally important to continually hone and advance your natural history skills working in the field of ecology and conservation and today provided just that. Ebernoe is known for having well over a 1000 species of fungi so where is there better to go looking for them?

Above is the Bay Bolete, a common enough species but I love how the cap glistens with rain water and slime. I took this in the Leconfield area of Ebernoe where we have worked hard recently to manage Holly for other interest features on the site whilst being sympathetic to the bat's requirements. We were pleased to see that fungi in this area were more prolific today than anywhere else on site. There are limited mycorrhizal (the subterranean parts of fungi) assemblages under Holly so a more varied woodland structure is likely to produce more fungi on the woodland floor.

Now I've been saying "I don't do slugs!" for years. I still don't but today I got a little closer. I managed to take a few photos of a slug I saw on a tree that I thought looked a little different. Turns out it's just one of the large Arion species and I'm not going to get it to species from this photo. However, I'm really pleased with this shot and I'm hoping this might finally give me a way in to this disgusting group of animals. It's kinda cute though. Aaaaghhhh, the internal conflict.

We then had time to have a quick look on the cricket pitch where even more waxcaps were found including these Slimy Waxcaps, Spangle Waxcaps and...

...what we think are the VERY slimy Heath Waxcaps. It's so slimy, one can barely maintain a purchase when holding its stype betwixt thumb and forefinger!

And finally the rather odd looking Smoky Spindles. 

So out of nowhere in the last month, I've really rekindled my interest in fungi. As has my friend, TinyBirder, whom I helped photograph Holly Parachute at Ebernoe today. Follow his adventures on Facebook here.

This is Pipe Club, and I've been waiting years to see this again just so I can write a blog with this title. Indulge me.

"The first rule of Pipe Club is: You do not talk about Pipe Club. The second rule of Pipe Club is: You do not talk about Pipe Club. Third rule of Pipe Club: Someone yells stop, goes limp, taps out, the recording session is over. Fourth rule: only two guys to a specimen. Fifth rule: one identification at a time, fellas. Sixth rule: wear shirts, wear shoes. Seventh rule: Photo shoots will go on as long as they have to. And the eighth and final rule: If this is your first day at Pipe Club, you have to find a rare fungus".

(This is either going to make NO sense to you, or if you seen the film/read the book will at best be mildly amusing. Hey, I like my incongruous natural history/popular culture references and it's my blog, OK?).

Anyways, for the first time since last May, I've been out with the WWFRG to Whithurst Park where we mopped up and I added 27 new fungi to my list. I was very pleased to see that my old friend Shaun Pryor has become an active member of the group and we had a good catch up. Shaun has literally just signed up to Pan-species Listing and is attempting something no one else has: he is starting completely from scratch! You can follow Shaun's progress here. Anyway, Whithurst Park. Fungi have some pretty bonkers common names and Pipe Club has always made me chuckle. It's also almost exactly the same colour and texture as Morph...

Perhaps the most ridiculous name of the day was Elastic Saddle, a new one for me and quite an uncommon species. I think it kinda looks like a fortune cookie.

Other new species today included these tiny Twig Parachutes growing on a bramble stem.

And this Peeling Oysterling. 

As per usual though, Magpie Inkcaps stole the show.

A big thank you to all the people at the WWFRG for sharing their incredible wealth of knowledge. Shaun and I then carried on to Ebernoe Cricket Pitch and there were even more waxcaps there this week than last. With a little help, we are fairly sure we saw nine species, including two new ones for me, these huge Splendid Waxcaps.

And the strongly honey-scented Honey Waxcap. It is impossible to take a photo of a fungus at Ebernoe Cricket Pitch without it being photo-bombed by Chamomile leaves!

And a single Orange Grisette was up again too.