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Rozites caperatus (Pers. Ex Fr.) Karst. in Southern England
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Transactions British Mycological Society
their range, either northern or southern, yet this critical region is largely excluded. Another area of special interest which is scarcely covered is western France. Here again, certain species have an Atlantic-type distribution but this would certainly not be apparent from the maps. Judged from these, western France would seem to be as devoid of fungi as would Ireland. To return to the British contribution; I repeat, has the exercise been worthwhile? I think not. The only reliable feature that emerges is the presence of the selected species in Britain. The familiar argument that a start has to be made somewhere, sometime, by someone, will no doubt be raised; true, but only if there is sufficient data presented in a critical manner by someone with sufficiently deep knowledge of the fungi concerned. There can be no justification for the premature publication of incomplete, often erroneous, data which will inevitably become a permanent source of misleading information. REFERENCES
LANGE, L. (1974). The Distribution of Macromycetes in Europe. A Report of a Survey Undertaken by the Committee for Mapping of Macromycetes in Europe. Dansk Botanisk Arkio 30, 1-105. REID, D. A. (1975). Rozites caperatus (Pers. ex Fr.) Karst. in Southern England. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 65, 146-148.
ROZITES CAPERATUS (PERS. EX FR.) KARST. IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND D. A. REID
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew This agaric has a very localized distribution in the British Isles, contrary to the current distribution map published by L. Lange (1974) which shows it to be widely distributed throughout the country. It is found in open forests of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) with a ground cover of Calluna vulgaris, notably in the Scottish highlands. The Rothiemurchus Forest, Invernessshire, is a particularly good area where it grows in reasonable abundance most years. The occurrence of this striking, easily recognizable, typically calcifuge species in a beech wood on chalk in the Chiltern Hills, at College Wood (=Abbots Wood), nr Woodcote, Oxfordshire, by Dr M. Hassell, 29 September 1974, is therefore surprising in the extreme. However, on the mainland of Europe Rozites caperatus is more catholic in its requirements, and while showing a preference for coniferous forests it does occur elsewhere. For example J. E. Lange (1937) notes that in Denmark it grows chiefly in rather dry beechwoods which is perhaps comparable with its habitat near Woodcote. The conspicuous fruitbodies are readily recognizable even in the field. Immature specimens have a drumstick like appearance with a globate or Trans. Br. mycol. Soc. 65 (I), (1975). Printedin Great Britain
Notes and Brief Articles
147
clavate pileus in which the gill chamber is covered by a well-marked veil. With age, the cap expands and becomes conico-hemispheric and finally shallowly convex, usually with a broad obtuse umbo. At the same time the veil ruptures leaving a narrow membranous ring on the upper part of the stem. The cap, which may be up to 10 em wide, is bright ochraceous, fading with age and is at first entirely covered with a whitish or silvery arachnoid veil, which soon disrupts into fine filmy patches; these are most readily seen against the slightly darker coloured disk. The tall stem, up to 12 em high, and 2-3 em wide at the base, is pallid, often with inconspicuous darker streaks, and bears a well-defined but narrow membranous ring toward the apex. The gills are yellowish brown and the flesh creamy white. The brown verrucose spores are broadly amygdaliform to limoniform, and measure 10-14 x 8-g pm. There are a number of reports of R. caperatus in the literature from various places in Britain, quite apart from the more plausible Scottish records. These are listed from south to north as follows: Bromley, Kent (Howse, 1879); Burnham Beeches, Bucks. (Wakefield, 1924); King's Cliffe, Northants (Berkeley & Broome, 1882, as var. macropus Fr.); Shrewsbury, Shropshire (M. C. Cooke, 1884-6, pl. 375(348)); Stratton Strawless, Norfolk (G.]. Cooke, Ig40); Ormskirk, Lanes. (Wheldon, Iglg); Masham, N.W. Yorks. (A. E. Peck, Ig2g); S.E. Yorks (Mason & Grainger, 1937); north-east Ireland (Adams & Pethybridge, Ig1O). The Shrewsbury record was erroneous in that the specimen illustrated by Cooke not only came from Den of Airlie, Scotland, but should have been referred to the fungus now known as Phaeolepiota aurea (Mattuschka ex Fr.) Maire, as noted by Plowright (I 8g8) who was present with the Rev.]. Stevenson when the specimen was collected. Boudier (lg06), Maire & Quelet (in Pearson, Ig36) were all in agreement that the fungus illustrated by Cooke (1884-6) represented P. aurea. Unfortunately there would seem to be no specimens to substantiate any of these records. However there are a number of collections in the Kew Herbarium determined by both Berkeley and Cooke as Agaricus caperatus, viz: Edinburgh Show, II October 1878 (2 packets); Rainhill, nr Liverpool, Lanes, colI. Higgins, November 1857; Berwick, colI. Dr Johnston; Wrexham, Denbighshire, coll. ]. B. Acton, October 1879; and from Pitlochry, Perthshire, 1871. None of these collections is correctly named, but with the possible exception of the Pitlochry specimen, all are referable to Phaeolepiota aurea. (This in itself is interesting since it would seem to indicate that the latter fungus may formerly have been more abundant than at present.) In fact until 18g8 when Plowright drew attention to the situation, British mycologists appear to have consistently misnamed specimens of P. aurea as R. caperatus. It is clear, therefore, that all early records prior to this date should be rejected, irrespective of locality. This leaves the collections reported from Burnham Beeches, Stratton Strawless, Masham, S.E. Yorkshire, and the Irish collection, as possible genuine records. Of these it would seem probable that Carleton Rea determined the material from Burnham Beeches, and that A. A. Pearson Trans. Br, mycol. Soc. 65.( r), (r975). Printed in Great Britain IC-2
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may have named the Masham specimens. These two records are therefore more authoritative than the remainder, about which nothing is known regarding their reliability. In the absence of supporting specimens all these records must still be treated with caution. However the definite occurrence of R. caperatus in Oxfordshire raises the possibility that some of these reports, together with two from the West of England shown by L. Lange (1974) on her distribution map, but about which I have no data, could be accurate. The situation remains that R. caperatus is a fungus of extreme rarity outside Scotland and that the Woodcote collection represents the first substantiated record of its occurrence in England. Credit for the recognition of this important fungus is due to Mr E. E. Green, Imperial College Field Station, Silwood Park, who having correctly identified it, kindly sent me the material. REFERENCES
ADAMS,]. & PETHYBRIDGE, G. H. (1910). A Census Catalogue of Irish Fungi. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 28 (B), no. 4, 143. BERKELEY, M.]. & BROOME, C. E. (1882). Notices of British Fungi. Annals and Magazine of Natural History Ser, V, 9, 524. BOUDIER, E. (1906). Quelques rectifications et observations critiques sur les 'Illustrations of British Fungi' de Cooke. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 2, 153. COOKE, G.]. (1940) Norfolk County List of Fungi. Transactions of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists Society 15, 114. COOKE, M. C. (1884-6). Illustrations of British fungi, pI. 375 (384). London. HOWSE, T. (1879). The Cryptogamic Flora of Kent. Joumal of Botany, London 17, 119. LANGE,]. E. (1937). Flora agaricina danica, Copenhagen 3, 54. LANGE, L. (1974). The Distribution of Macromycetes in Europe. Dansk Botanisk Arkiv 30, 1-1 0 5. MASON, F. A. & GRAINGER,]. (1937). A Catalogue of Yorkshire Fungi, p. 63. London. PEARSON, A. A. (1936). Cooke's Illustrations of British Fungi. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 20, 54-55. PECK, A. E. (1929). Mycologists at Masham. The Naturalist no. 874, 399. PLOWRIGHT, C. B. (1898). Notes and comments on the Agaricini of Great Britain. Transactions of the British Mycological Society I, 44. WAKEFIELD, E. M. (1924). Windsor Foray. September 28th to October 3rd 1923. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 10, 1-7. \VHELDON, H.]. (1919). Fungus Flora of Lancashire. Lancashire and Cheshire Naturalist 11,293·
EFFECT OF VISIBLE LIGHT ON THE PARTIAL SYNCHRONIZATION OF MEIOSIS IN ASCOBOLUS IMMERSUS L. A. LEWIS*
Laboratoire de genetique, Faculte des Sciences, Orsay, France The complete synchronization of meiosis in the coprophilous ascomycete Ascobolus immersus Pers., is impossible since apothecial development involves the formation of a succession of asci but partial synchrony might be
* Present address: York College, C.U.N.Y., 150-14 Jamaica Ave., Jamaica, N.Y., U.S.A. Trans. Br. mycol. Soc. 65 (I), (1975). Printedin GreatBritain
Transactions British Mycological Society
their range, either northern or southern, yet this critical region is largely excluded. Another area of special interest which is scarcely covered is western France. Here again, certain species have an Atlantic-type distribution but this would certainly not be apparent from the maps. Judged from these, western France would seem to be as devoid of fungi as would Ireland. To return to the British contribution; I repeat, has the exercise been worthwhile? I think not. The only reliable feature that emerges is the presence of the selected species in Britain. The familiar argument that a start has to be made somewhere, sometime, by someone, will no doubt be raised; true, but only if there is sufficient data presented in a critical manner by someone with sufficiently deep knowledge of the fungi concerned. There can be no justification for the premature publication of incomplete, often erroneous, data which will inevitably become a permanent source of misleading information. REFERENCES
LANGE, L. (1974). The Distribution of Macromycetes in Europe. A Report of a Survey Undertaken by the Committee for Mapping of Macromycetes in Europe. Dansk Botanisk Arkio 30, 1-105. REID, D. A. (1975). Rozites caperatus (Pers. ex Fr.) Karst. in Southern England. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 65, 146-148.
ROZITES CAPERATUS (PERS. EX FR.) KARST. IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND D. A. REID
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew This agaric has a very localized distribution in the British Isles, contrary to the current distribution map published by L. Lange (1974) which shows it to be widely distributed throughout the country. It is found in open forests of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) with a ground cover of Calluna vulgaris, notably in the Scottish highlands. The Rothiemurchus Forest, Invernessshire, is a particularly good area where it grows in reasonable abundance most years. The occurrence of this striking, easily recognizable, typically calcifuge species in a beech wood on chalk in the Chiltern Hills, at College Wood (=Abbots Wood), nr Woodcote, Oxfordshire, by Dr M. Hassell, 29 September 1974, is therefore surprising in the extreme. However, on the mainland of Europe Rozites caperatus is more catholic in its requirements, and while showing a preference for coniferous forests it does occur elsewhere. For example J. E. Lange (1937) notes that in Denmark it grows chiefly in rather dry beechwoods which is perhaps comparable with its habitat near Woodcote. The conspicuous fruitbodies are readily recognizable even in the field. Immature specimens have a drumstick like appearance with a globate or Trans. Br. mycol. Soc. 65 (I), (1975). Printedin Great Britain
Notes and Brief Articles
147
clavate pileus in which the gill chamber is covered by a well-marked veil. With age, the cap expands and becomes conico-hemispheric and finally shallowly convex, usually with a broad obtuse umbo. At the same time the veil ruptures leaving a narrow membranous ring on the upper part of the stem. The cap, which may be up to 10 em wide, is bright ochraceous, fading with age and is at first entirely covered with a whitish or silvery arachnoid veil, which soon disrupts into fine filmy patches; these are most readily seen against the slightly darker coloured disk. The tall stem, up to 12 em high, and 2-3 em wide at the base, is pallid, often with inconspicuous darker streaks, and bears a well-defined but narrow membranous ring toward the apex. The gills are yellowish brown and the flesh creamy white. The brown verrucose spores are broadly amygdaliform to limoniform, and measure 10-14 x 8-g pm. There are a number of reports of R. caperatus in the literature from various places in Britain, quite apart from the more plausible Scottish records. These are listed from south to north as follows: Bromley, Kent (Howse, 1879); Burnham Beeches, Bucks. (Wakefield, 1924); King's Cliffe, Northants (Berkeley & Broome, 1882, as var. macropus Fr.); Shrewsbury, Shropshire (M. C. Cooke, 1884-6, pl. 375(348)); Stratton Strawless, Norfolk (G.]. Cooke, Ig40); Ormskirk, Lanes. (Wheldon, Iglg); Masham, N.W. Yorks. (A. E. Peck, Ig2g); S.E. Yorks (Mason & Grainger, 1937); north-east Ireland (Adams & Pethybridge, Ig1O). The Shrewsbury record was erroneous in that the specimen illustrated by Cooke not only came from Den of Airlie, Scotland, but should have been referred to the fungus now known as Phaeolepiota aurea (Mattuschka ex Fr.) Maire, as noted by Plowright (I 8g8) who was present with the Rev.]. Stevenson when the specimen was collected. Boudier (lg06), Maire & Quelet (in Pearson, Ig36) were all in agreement that the fungus illustrated by Cooke (1884-6) represented P. aurea. Unfortunately there would seem to be no specimens to substantiate any of these records. However there are a number of collections in the Kew Herbarium determined by both Berkeley and Cooke as Agaricus caperatus, viz: Edinburgh Show, II October 1878 (2 packets); Rainhill, nr Liverpool, Lanes, colI. Higgins, November 1857; Berwick, colI. Dr Johnston; Wrexham, Denbighshire, coll. ]. B. Acton, October 1879; and from Pitlochry, Perthshire, 1871. None of these collections is correctly named, but with the possible exception of the Pitlochry specimen, all are referable to Phaeolepiota aurea. (This in itself is interesting since it would seem to indicate that the latter fungus may formerly have been more abundant than at present.) In fact until 18g8 when Plowright drew attention to the situation, British mycologists appear to have consistently misnamed specimens of P. aurea as R. caperatus. It is clear, therefore, that all early records prior to this date should be rejected, irrespective of locality. This leaves the collections reported from Burnham Beeches, Stratton Strawless, Masham, S.E. Yorkshire, and the Irish collection, as possible genuine records. Of these it would seem probable that Carleton Rea determined the material from Burnham Beeches, and that A. A. Pearson Trans. Br, mycol. Soc. 65.( r), (r975). Printed in Great Britain IC-2
148
Transactions British Mycological Society
may have named the Masham specimens. These two records are therefore more authoritative than the remainder, about which nothing is known regarding their reliability. In the absence of supporting specimens all these records must still be treated with caution. However the definite occurrence of R. caperatus in Oxfordshire raises the possibility that some of these reports, together with two from the West of England shown by L. Lange (1974) on her distribution map, but about which I have no data, could be accurate. The situation remains that R. caperatus is a fungus of extreme rarity outside Scotland and that the Woodcote collection represents the first substantiated record of its occurrence in England. Credit for the recognition of this important fungus is due to Mr E. E. Green, Imperial College Field Station, Silwood Park, who having correctly identified it, kindly sent me the material. REFERENCES
ADAMS,]. & PETHYBRIDGE, G. H. (1910). A Census Catalogue of Irish Fungi. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 28 (B), no. 4, 143. BERKELEY, M.]. & BROOME, C. E. (1882). Notices of British Fungi. Annals and Magazine of Natural History Ser, V, 9, 524. BOUDIER, E. (1906). Quelques rectifications et observations critiques sur les 'Illustrations of British Fungi' de Cooke. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 2, 153. COOKE, G.]. (1940) Norfolk County List of Fungi. Transactions of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists Society 15, 114. COOKE, M. C. (1884-6). Illustrations of British fungi, pI. 375 (384). London. HOWSE, T. (1879). The Cryptogamic Flora of Kent. Joumal of Botany, London 17, 119. LANGE,]. E. (1937). Flora agaricina danica, Copenhagen 3, 54. LANGE, L. (1974). The Distribution of Macromycetes in Europe. Dansk Botanisk Arkiv 30, 1-1 0 5. MASON, F. A. & GRAINGER,]. (1937). A Catalogue of Yorkshire Fungi, p. 63. London. PEARSON, A. A. (1936). Cooke's Illustrations of British Fungi. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 20, 54-55. PECK, A. E. (1929). Mycologists at Masham. The Naturalist no. 874, 399. PLOWRIGHT, C. B. (1898). Notes and comments on the Agaricini of Great Britain. Transactions of the British Mycological Society I, 44. WAKEFIELD, E. M. (1924). Windsor Foray. September 28th to October 3rd 1923. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 10, 1-7. \VHELDON, H.]. (1919). Fungus Flora of Lancashire. Lancashire and Cheshire Naturalist 11,293·
EFFECT OF VISIBLE LIGHT ON THE PARTIAL SYNCHRONIZATION OF MEIOSIS IN ASCOBOLUS IMMERSUS L. A. LEWIS*
Laboratoire de genetique, Faculte des Sciences, Orsay, France The complete synchronization of meiosis in the coprophilous ascomycete Ascobolus immersus Pers., is impossible since apothecial development involves the formation of a succession of asci but partial synchrony might be
* Present address: York College, C.U.N.Y., 150-14 Jamaica Ave., Jamaica, N.Y., U.S.A. Trans. Br. mycol. Soc. 65 (I), (1975). Printedin GreatBritain