- Email: [email protected]
Memories of La Palma
Field Mycology Volume 1(2), April 2000 Breitenbach, J. & Kränzlin, F. (1986). Fungi of Switzerland 2. 412pp. Lucerne:Verlag Mykologia.
Eriksson, J. & Ryvarden, L. (1975). The Corticiaceae of North Europe Vol. 3. Legg, A.W. (1999). A momentous discovery in Northumberland. TheVasculum 84: 3.
Fig 1. Cytidia salicina, Kielder Forest collection. Photograph © Colin R. Stephenson.
MEMORIES OF LA PALMA THE BMS OVERSEAS FORAY 1999 Anne Andrews 26 Weigall Road, London SE12 8HE
T
end with an area of more recent volcanoes to the south. Much of the terrain is extremely steep and most of it is forest covered.There is a variety of habitats but a large part consists of montane laurel forest and native Canary pine forest (with a certain amount of planted Monterey pine). We visited different sites each day and benefited from advice from a very knowledgeable local naturalist, Juan Castro, and from an American couple, Donna and Bill Roody, who contrive to spend their winters on the island and seemed to know every corner of it. Rose Marie Dähncke of “1200 Pilze in Farbfotos” fame also lives on the island and has produced a local Field Guide illustrated with excellent photographs and a CD-ROM guide to supplement it. Nevertheless we were able to find a large number of new species and records for the island. We hit a very productive period for fungi as there had been a good deal of rain shortly before we arrived. Every
his was my first experience of an Overseas Foray and what a splendid introduction it was. La Palma is one of the greenest islands in the Canaries and one of the least popular with package holiday tourists; both distinct plus points. The foray organiser Patrick Leonard, who knows the island well, did a magnificent job and looked after us extremely well. He’d booked apartments in a block of holiday accommodation at Los Cancajos, near the main town of Santa Cruz, so we were all together but independent. He had also taken two extra apartments, which were magically transformed into lab space for everybody by lifting the balcony furniture from all the other units and even managed to supply two microscopes and a dryer. He arranged for us all to bring different books to share and laid on a fleet of hire cars. The island consists of a huge volcanic caldera broken through at the southwestern 46
Field Mycology Volume 1(2), April 2000 participant will have their own individual memory of the finds that pleased or excited them most - not always the greatest rarities. The full foray list will be available in due course. My favourites included two
among the Canary pines. It was also great to see fungi resembling Phellodon niger and Hydnellum ferrugineum which were new to me and Thelephora caryophyllea which is rare in Britain. Russula species new and familiar were widespread and the Mycena expert was kept very busy. Slime mould enthusiasts quickly doubled the size of the list for the island. Site after site produced something new. At the same time records were certainly broken in the ruggedness of terrain traversed by small non-4WD cars. A non-mycological bonus was a visit to the Observatory for which the island is well known. We were shown round the Herschel telescope and given a most interesting and detailed discourse on its working and the general set-up by a Dutch lady who lives on the island and serves as one of the guides. This was a very pleasant friendly gathering. As we are nowhere near as experienced as many mycologists on the foray we had felt a little diffident about joining the party but everyone was extremely patient and helpful. While a lot of serious mycology was carried out, there was also plenty of sociable eating, drinking, sight seeing and general enjoyment. We are most grateful to Patrick and his wife Brenda for all their hard work, which made it such a successful Foray.
Boletus fragrans, one of the striking fungi found on the island, distinguished by forming large clumps of fruiting bodies and its strongly blueing flesh when cut.
Cystoderma species. C. fallax is a rather pale fawn-yellow and has a sharp umbo when young, a whitish powdery veil and a persistent stocking ring on the stipe. C. terrei has a striking bright orange brown cap and white powdery stipe Both are extremely common
The spectacular mountain scenery of La Palma, site of the BMS Overseas Foray in December 1999
47
Eriksson, J. & Ryvarden, L. (1975). The Corticiaceae of North Europe Vol. 3. Legg, A.W. (1999). A momentous discovery in Northumberland. TheVasculum 84: 3.
Fig 1. Cytidia salicina, Kielder Forest collection. Photograph © Colin R. Stephenson.
MEMORIES OF LA PALMA THE BMS OVERSEAS FORAY 1999 Anne Andrews 26 Weigall Road, London SE12 8HE
T
end with an area of more recent volcanoes to the south. Much of the terrain is extremely steep and most of it is forest covered.There is a variety of habitats but a large part consists of montane laurel forest and native Canary pine forest (with a certain amount of planted Monterey pine). We visited different sites each day and benefited from advice from a very knowledgeable local naturalist, Juan Castro, and from an American couple, Donna and Bill Roody, who contrive to spend their winters on the island and seemed to know every corner of it. Rose Marie Dähncke of “1200 Pilze in Farbfotos” fame also lives on the island and has produced a local Field Guide illustrated with excellent photographs and a CD-ROM guide to supplement it. Nevertheless we were able to find a large number of new species and records for the island. We hit a very productive period for fungi as there had been a good deal of rain shortly before we arrived. Every
his was my first experience of an Overseas Foray and what a splendid introduction it was. La Palma is one of the greenest islands in the Canaries and one of the least popular with package holiday tourists; both distinct plus points. The foray organiser Patrick Leonard, who knows the island well, did a magnificent job and looked after us extremely well. He’d booked apartments in a block of holiday accommodation at Los Cancajos, near the main town of Santa Cruz, so we were all together but independent. He had also taken two extra apartments, which were magically transformed into lab space for everybody by lifting the balcony furniture from all the other units and even managed to supply two microscopes and a dryer. He arranged for us all to bring different books to share and laid on a fleet of hire cars. The island consists of a huge volcanic caldera broken through at the southwestern 46
Field Mycology Volume 1(2), April 2000 participant will have their own individual memory of the finds that pleased or excited them most - not always the greatest rarities. The full foray list will be available in due course. My favourites included two
among the Canary pines. It was also great to see fungi resembling Phellodon niger and Hydnellum ferrugineum which were new to me and Thelephora caryophyllea which is rare in Britain. Russula species new and familiar were widespread and the Mycena expert was kept very busy. Slime mould enthusiasts quickly doubled the size of the list for the island. Site after site produced something new. At the same time records were certainly broken in the ruggedness of terrain traversed by small non-4WD cars. A non-mycological bonus was a visit to the Observatory for which the island is well known. We were shown round the Herschel telescope and given a most interesting and detailed discourse on its working and the general set-up by a Dutch lady who lives on the island and serves as one of the guides. This was a very pleasant friendly gathering. As we are nowhere near as experienced as many mycologists on the foray we had felt a little diffident about joining the party but everyone was extremely patient and helpful. While a lot of serious mycology was carried out, there was also plenty of sociable eating, drinking, sight seeing and general enjoyment. We are most grateful to Patrick and his wife Brenda for all their hard work, which made it such a successful Foray.
Boletus fragrans, one of the striking fungi found on the island, distinguished by forming large clumps of fruiting bodies and its strongly blueing flesh when cut.
Cystoderma species. C. fallax is a rather pale fawn-yellow and has a sharp umbo when young, a whitish powdery veil and a persistent stocking ring on the stipe. C. terrei has a striking bright orange brown cap and white powdery stipe Both are extremely common
The spectacular mountain scenery of La Palma, site of the BMS Overseas Foray in December 1999
47