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Another clue to Amanita inopinata
Field Mycology Volume 2(3), July 2001
A COLLECTION OF FOMITOPSIS PINICOLA IN ENGLAND he perennial bracket Fomitopsis pinicola is common in mainland Europe mostly on Picea and Pinus but in Britain it is a rarity. I was therefore somewhat surprised to discover several specimens growing on a fallen birch trunk whilst walking through an area of deciduous woodland near Winchester, Hampshire on 4th October 2000. There were several fresh brackets; also some older hoof-shaped ones, presumably the previous year’s growths. This weekday walk around Crab Wood was in preparation for the weekend’s (7th October) joint Hampshire Fungus Recording Group/BMS foray, recording fungi for the BMS Species 2000 Project, to which voucher material has been contributed. I asked Peter Roberts at Kew just how rare Fomitopsis pinicola was in Britain. He replied: “It seems to be very rare over here, and at Kew we have just two English specimens an old one from the Forest of Dean (1938) on birch and one from Surrey (1981) on an old fence post. It may be commoner in Scotland, though we only have a single Scottish specimen here”.
T
Fomitopsis pinicola growing on fallen birch in Crab Wood, near Winchester, Hampshire, a rare occurrence in England. Photograph © Graham Mattock.
Graham Mattock 16 Gordon Avenue, Winchester, Hants SO23 0QQ
[Note: The literature stresses the often close resemblance between this species and Ganoderma pfeifferi, but that species is normally on beech - Ed.]
ANOTHER CLUE TO AMANITA INOPINATA r Ernst E. Both, eminent mycologist and Curator Emeritus of Mycology at the Buffalo Museum of Science, has e-mailed me to point out that the late Marie Taylor - who painted the beautiful illustration of Amanita inopinata shown in FM 1(4): 118 - also produced a small guide book to New Zealand mushrooms. The Mobil New Zealand Nature Series: Mushrooms and Toadstools (1981), Reed Books, NZ. has on p.19 a simple painting labelled ‘Amanita sp.’ growing with Leptospermum, which once again shows the characteristic coarse blackish-brown cap scales on the cap and stem, and the striking pinkish gills so typical of A. inopinata. This would suggest that this was a species Marie Taylor knew well since she clearly painted it on two separate occasions, adding further confirmation to the suggestion by Kees Bas in FM 2(2): 40 that it is a native of New Zealand and may well be widespread. My thanks to Ernst for bringing this to my attention and adding another clue in this fascinating detective story! Editor
D
98
A COLLECTION OF FOMITOPSIS PINICOLA IN ENGLAND he perennial bracket Fomitopsis pinicola is common in mainland Europe mostly on Picea and Pinus but in Britain it is a rarity. I was therefore somewhat surprised to discover several specimens growing on a fallen birch trunk whilst walking through an area of deciduous woodland near Winchester, Hampshire on 4th October 2000. There were several fresh brackets; also some older hoof-shaped ones, presumably the previous year’s growths. This weekday walk around Crab Wood was in preparation for the weekend’s (7th October) joint Hampshire Fungus Recording Group/BMS foray, recording fungi for the BMS Species 2000 Project, to which voucher material has been contributed. I asked Peter Roberts at Kew just how rare Fomitopsis pinicola was in Britain. He replied: “It seems to be very rare over here, and at Kew we have just two English specimens an old one from the Forest of Dean (1938) on birch and one from Surrey (1981) on an old fence post. It may be commoner in Scotland, though we only have a single Scottish specimen here”.
T
Fomitopsis pinicola growing on fallen birch in Crab Wood, near Winchester, Hampshire, a rare occurrence in England. Photograph © Graham Mattock.
Graham Mattock 16 Gordon Avenue, Winchester, Hants SO23 0QQ
[Note: The literature stresses the often close resemblance between this species and Ganoderma pfeifferi, but that species is normally on beech - Ed.]
ANOTHER CLUE TO AMANITA INOPINATA r Ernst E. Both, eminent mycologist and Curator Emeritus of Mycology at the Buffalo Museum of Science, has e-mailed me to point out that the late Marie Taylor - who painted the beautiful illustration of Amanita inopinata shown in FM 1(4): 118 - also produced a small guide book to New Zealand mushrooms. The Mobil New Zealand Nature Series: Mushrooms and Toadstools (1981), Reed Books, NZ. has on p.19 a simple painting labelled ‘Amanita sp.’ growing with Leptospermum, which once again shows the characteristic coarse blackish-brown cap scales on the cap and stem, and the striking pinkish gills so typical of A. inopinata. This would suggest that this was a species Marie Taylor knew well since she clearly painted it on two separate occasions, adding further confirmation to the suggestion by Kees Bas in FM 2(2): 40 that it is a native of New Zealand and may well be widespread. My thanks to Ernst for bringing this to my attention and adding another clue in this fascinating detective story! Editor
D
98