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The fungi of the Loch Druidibeg Nature Reserve South Uist
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THE FUNGI OF THE LOCH DRUIDIBEG NATURE RESERVE SOUTH UIST by Roy Watling Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh EH3 5LR and M. J. Richardson Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland, East Craigs, Edinburgh EH12 8NJ The Loch Druidibeg Nature Reserve is in the island and parish of South Vist, Inverness. It has a total area of 4145 acres (1678 ha), of which 2577 acres (1043 ha) were purchased by the Nature Conservancy in 1958; this area consists of about half freshwater lochs and half grasscovered moorland, with a small plantation of many exotic plants. The remaining 1568 acres (635 ha) were brought into the reserve by agreement with the owner of the property in 1962 and it includes machair, sand dunes, shore and enclosed land with a complex of lochs and water courses in the crofting townships of Stilligarry and Dremisdale. All the reserve is underlaid by an acid rock system of Precambrian age, which is obscured by glacial rubble in the eastern area and by deep deposits of shell sand in the west. The climate is mild, with little diurnal variation, moist and windy. The summer/winter temperature range of 8 0C is lower than in any other part of Britain except the Shetland Isles, and possibly the SW of Ireland and the Scillies, but the average wind speed is higher than anywhere in Britain except for small island groups such as St. Ki Ida , The average rainfall is 50 in. (1270 mm), which is not high for western Britain, and there are about 240 rain days a year; snow is infrequent and does not lie long. The moorland surrounding the loch consists mainly of shallow blanket bog with heather (Calluna), Molinia, Trichophorum, Eriophorum and Sphagnum - a widespread community typical of the Western Highlands. The machair and dune vegetation is a rich and intricate mixture of grasses and herbs forming a low but dense and consolidated sward. The water of Loch Druidibeg is base-poor and supports at its edge a typical oligotrophic flora. The plantation shows how rich the flora can be, and the patches of mixed scrub on the islands, protected from fire and grazing, provide shelter and shade for plants not found elsewhere on the reserve. The moorland is still grazed by sheep, whilst the machair land is cultivated, growing mainly a thin crop of rye and the little oat, ~ strigosa; evidence of lazy beds can be seen, and peat cutting is still carried out. The area has a long history, as evidenced by the presence of two 'duns' - Viking forts - on islands in the loch. The fungi of the reserve have never been examined. The list which follows is a preliminary one, based on material collected during a threeday period spent on the island in September 1967, whilst waiting for a passage to St. Kilda. It is confined to agarics. Other fungi were col-
98 1ected, mainly micro-fungi on the rye and oats, and coprophilous fungi, but, as the collections were small and certainly unrepresentative of the reserve's tnicro-fungi, they have not been included in our list. We are grateful to the Nature Conservancy, and especially Mr. M. McRury, the Warden of the Loch Druidibeg Nature Reserve, for guidance and the provision of transport to the reserve from Benbecu1a, and to Lt. Col. Oakley of the Royal Artillery and his staff for the pro vision of ac cornrnodation and facilities to exarni ne our collections at Benbecu1a. SYSTEMATIC LIST OF AGARICS Hygrophoraceae Hygrophorus. Subgenus Catnarophyllus berke1eyii 4 ; pratensis 2,4,5 ; russocoriaceus 2,3,4,5 ; Subgenus Hygrocybe aurantiosp1endens 4; cantharellus 1,4; ceraceus 4; chlorophanus 4; coccineus 2, 3; conicus 1,4, 5; flavescens 2, 5; insipidus 4; laetus 4; langei 2, 5 ; tnarchii 4, 5; miniatus 1, 4; nitratus 4 ; obrus seus 3, 4 ; psittacinus 2,4, 5 ; puniceus 4, 5; quietus 4; splendidissitnus 4, 5. Tricholotnataceae Tricho1otna carneum 4 Mycena olivaceotnarginata 4 Otnphalina rickenii 5
C ollybia dryophila 4 Myxotnphalina rnau r a 5
Rhodophyllaceae Ento1otna rriadi durn 5; pr-unulo ide e 4, 5 ; porphyrophaeutn 4, 5. Leptonia griseocyanea 4; d. indutoides 4; pyrospila 2; sericella 1; serrulata 1,4, 5; Nolanea c1andestina 1; cucullata 4 ; fernandae 4; staurospora 1, 2,4, 5. C ortinariaceae Galerina sphagno rum 4.
Pholiota myo soti s 4
Bolbitiaceae Bolbitius vitellinus 5. Conocybe coprophila 3, 5: magnicapitata 5; sordida Kuhn. [nom , nudum}, 5. Strophariaceae Deconica coprophila 3,4, 5. Stropharia sernig lobata 4, 5.
Psilocybe setnilanceata 2,4, 5.
C oprinaceae Coprinus epherne r o ide s 2 .• mi se r 5; niveus 5; patouillardii 5; pellucidus 5 ; plicatilis 5; stellatus 5 ; utrifer Joss ex Watling (inpress) 5 ; vertniculifer Joss ex Dennis, 5. Panaeolina foenisecii 2. Panaeolus fimicola 2. papilionaceus 2, 5; rickenii 2,4; serniovatus 2,4 ; sphinctrinus 2, 3,4, 5; Psathyrella lutensis 5. Agaricaceae Agaricus rnac ro spo ru e 4.
99 Russulaceae Russula sardonia 1.
Key to localities 1. Head of Loch by Pine/Monkey Puzzle/Rhododendron. 4 September 1967. (Grid Ref. 08.800388). 2. West of Grogarry in fields grazed by sheep. 4 September 1967. (Grid Ref. 08.7639). 3. Machair-Coast. 4 September 1967. (Grid Ref. 08.756396). 4. Actual Reserve, a western end. Land to east of Road A. 8 65 from Loch Eilean a'Ghille-ruaidh north towards Stilligarry. 5 September 1967. (Grid Ref. 08.769380 to 08.767365) 5. Administered land, west of road to sea. 6 September 1967. (Grid Ref. 08 .7637, 7537 , 7538, 7539) The taxonomy and nomenclature of the fungi follows that used in 'The New Check list of Agarics and Boleti'. Dennis, R . W. G .. Orton, P. D. and Hora, F. B. (1960). Trans. Br. myco l , Soc. 43 (Supplement), except where noted. KURT LOHWAG Many members of the B. M. S. w ill be grieved to hear that one of our distinguished foreign members, Prof. Dr. Kurt Lohwag of Vienna, died on the 5th May, 1970. Kurt Lohwag, who w as the son of Heinrich Lohwag, himself a dist inguished Austrian mycologist, was born in 1913. He engaged in awide range of mycological studies at the Hochschule fur Bodenkultur where he worked from 1938 to 1941 when he was called up for military service. After his release from prisoner of war camp in 1946 he returned to the Hochschule in Vienna and was responsible for advising on the eradication of Dry Rot in the many bomb damaged buildings in that city. During the s ummer of 1949 Dr. Lohwag spent several months at the F. P. R. L. in Prince s Risborough where he made many friends. Members who attended the a u t u m n foray at Oxford i n that year will remember his enthusiasm, and especially his delight in finding a specimen of the rare Polyporus quercinus in Blenheim Park - a fungus for which many of us had long sought in vain. In 1961 he was appointed Hochschule professor and was at the same time in charge of the wood preservation section of the Austrian Wood Research Institute. His publications covered a very wide range of topics, but it was the wood rotting fungi which interested him most, and he was a familiar and popular figure at international meetings dealing with wood preservation. His death at such a relatively early age will be deeply regretted by all who knew and loved him. Our sincere sympathy goes to his widow, who was also his devoted assistant in so many ways. W. P. K . Findlay
THE FUNGI OF THE LOCH DRUIDIBEG NATURE RESERVE SOUTH UIST by Roy Watling Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh EH3 5LR and M. J. Richardson Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland, East Craigs, Edinburgh EH12 8NJ The Loch Druidibeg Nature Reserve is in the island and parish of South Vist, Inverness. It has a total area of 4145 acres (1678 ha), of which 2577 acres (1043 ha) were purchased by the Nature Conservancy in 1958; this area consists of about half freshwater lochs and half grasscovered moorland, with a small plantation of many exotic plants. The remaining 1568 acres (635 ha) were brought into the reserve by agreement with the owner of the property in 1962 and it includes machair, sand dunes, shore and enclosed land with a complex of lochs and water courses in the crofting townships of Stilligarry and Dremisdale. All the reserve is underlaid by an acid rock system of Precambrian age, which is obscured by glacial rubble in the eastern area and by deep deposits of shell sand in the west. The climate is mild, with little diurnal variation, moist and windy. The summer/winter temperature range of 8 0C is lower than in any other part of Britain except the Shetland Isles, and possibly the SW of Ireland and the Scillies, but the average wind speed is higher than anywhere in Britain except for small island groups such as St. Ki Ida , The average rainfall is 50 in. (1270 mm), which is not high for western Britain, and there are about 240 rain days a year; snow is infrequent and does not lie long. The moorland surrounding the loch consists mainly of shallow blanket bog with heather (Calluna), Molinia, Trichophorum, Eriophorum and Sphagnum - a widespread community typical of the Western Highlands. The machair and dune vegetation is a rich and intricate mixture of grasses and herbs forming a low but dense and consolidated sward. The water of Loch Druidibeg is base-poor and supports at its edge a typical oligotrophic flora. The plantation shows how rich the flora can be, and the patches of mixed scrub on the islands, protected from fire and grazing, provide shelter and shade for plants not found elsewhere on the reserve. The moorland is still grazed by sheep, whilst the machair land is cultivated, growing mainly a thin crop of rye and the little oat, ~ strigosa; evidence of lazy beds can be seen, and peat cutting is still carried out. The area has a long history, as evidenced by the presence of two 'duns' - Viking forts - on islands in the loch. The fungi of the reserve have never been examined. The list which follows is a preliminary one, based on material collected during a threeday period spent on the island in September 1967, whilst waiting for a passage to St. Kilda. It is confined to agarics. Other fungi were col-
98 1ected, mainly micro-fungi on the rye and oats, and coprophilous fungi, but, as the collections were small and certainly unrepresentative of the reserve's tnicro-fungi, they have not been included in our list. We are grateful to the Nature Conservancy, and especially Mr. M. McRury, the Warden of the Loch Druidibeg Nature Reserve, for guidance and the provision of transport to the reserve from Benbecu1a, and to Lt. Col. Oakley of the Royal Artillery and his staff for the pro vision of ac cornrnodation and facilities to exarni ne our collections at Benbecu1a. SYSTEMATIC LIST OF AGARICS Hygrophoraceae Hygrophorus. Subgenus Catnarophyllus berke1eyii 4 ; pratensis 2,4,5 ; russocoriaceus 2,3,4,5 ; Subgenus Hygrocybe aurantiosp1endens 4; cantharellus 1,4; ceraceus 4; chlorophanus 4; coccineus 2, 3; conicus 1,4, 5; flavescens 2, 5; insipidus 4; laetus 4; langei 2, 5 ; tnarchii 4, 5; miniatus 1, 4; nitratus 4 ; obrus seus 3, 4 ; psittacinus 2,4, 5 ; puniceus 4, 5; quietus 4; splendidissitnus 4, 5. Tricholotnataceae Tricho1otna carneum 4 Mycena olivaceotnarginata 4 Otnphalina rickenii 5
C ollybia dryophila 4 Myxotnphalina rnau r a 5
Rhodophyllaceae Ento1otna rriadi durn 5; pr-unulo ide e 4, 5 ; porphyrophaeutn 4, 5. Leptonia griseocyanea 4; d. indutoides 4; pyrospila 2; sericella 1; serrulata 1,4, 5; Nolanea c1andestina 1; cucullata 4 ; fernandae 4; staurospora 1, 2,4, 5. C ortinariaceae Galerina sphagno rum 4.
Pholiota myo soti s 4
Bolbitiaceae Bolbitius vitellinus 5. Conocybe coprophila 3, 5: magnicapitata 5; sordida Kuhn. [nom , nudum}, 5. Strophariaceae Deconica coprophila 3,4, 5. Stropharia sernig lobata 4, 5.
Psilocybe setnilanceata 2,4, 5.
C oprinaceae Coprinus epherne r o ide s 2 .• mi se r 5; niveus 5; patouillardii 5; pellucidus 5 ; plicatilis 5; stellatus 5 ; utrifer Joss ex Watling (inpress) 5 ; vertniculifer Joss ex Dennis, 5. Panaeolina foenisecii 2. Panaeolus fimicola 2. papilionaceus 2, 5; rickenii 2,4; serniovatus 2,4 ; sphinctrinus 2, 3,4, 5; Psathyrella lutensis 5. Agaricaceae Agaricus rnac ro spo ru e 4.
99 Russulaceae Russula sardonia 1.
Key to localities 1. Head of Loch by Pine/Monkey Puzzle/Rhododendron. 4 September 1967. (Grid Ref. 08.800388). 2. West of Grogarry in fields grazed by sheep. 4 September 1967. (Grid Ref. 08.7639). 3. Machair-Coast. 4 September 1967. (Grid Ref. 08.756396). 4. Actual Reserve, a western end. Land to east of Road A. 8 65 from Loch Eilean a'Ghille-ruaidh north towards Stilligarry. 5 September 1967. (Grid Ref. 08.769380 to 08.767365) 5. Administered land, west of road to sea. 6 September 1967. (Grid Ref. 08 .7637, 7537 , 7538, 7539) The taxonomy and nomenclature of the fungi follows that used in 'The New Check list of Agarics and Boleti'. Dennis, R . W. G .. Orton, P. D. and Hora, F. B. (1960). Trans. Br. myco l , Soc. 43 (Supplement), except where noted. KURT LOHWAG Many members of the B. M. S. w ill be grieved to hear that one of our distinguished foreign members, Prof. Dr. Kurt Lohwag of Vienna, died on the 5th May, 1970. Kurt Lohwag, who w as the son of Heinrich Lohwag, himself a dist inguished Austrian mycologist, was born in 1913. He engaged in awide range of mycological studies at the Hochschule fur Bodenkultur where he worked from 1938 to 1941 when he was called up for military service. After his release from prisoner of war camp in 1946 he returned to the Hochschule in Vienna and was responsible for advising on the eradication of Dry Rot in the many bomb damaged buildings in that city. During the s ummer of 1949 Dr. Lohwag spent several months at the F. P. R. L. in Prince s Risborough where he made many friends. Members who attended the a u t u m n foray at Oxford i n that year will remember his enthusiasm, and especially his delight in finding a specimen of the rare Polyporus quercinus in Blenheim Park - a fungus for which many of us had long sought in vain. In 1961 he was appointed Hochschule professor and was at the same time in charge of the wood preservation section of the Austrian Wood Research Institute. His publications covered a very wide range of topics, but it was the wood rotting fungi which interested him most, and he was a familiar and popular figure at international meetings dealing with wood preservation. His death at such a relatively early age will be deeply regretted by all who knew and loved him. Our sincere sympathy goes to his widow, who was also his devoted assistant in so many ways. W. P. K . Findlay