Tag Archives: Laccaria amethystina

Natural History

GT Fungi

Mottled Birch Bolete, Leccinum variicolor, in Gunnersbury Triangle.
The species is edible (if found in quantity!) but not nearly as good as the Orange Birch Bolete.
Psathyrella, a smallish toadstool with a fragile stem, a cousin of the Inkcaps (Coprinus)
Yes you spotted it, not a fungus. A Smooth Newt under a nearby refugium.
These seem to be young Agaricus, probably Wood Mushrooms, in the ivy and leaf-litter.
Well, EVERYBODY noticed this mushroom! Giant Funnel, Leucopaxillus giganteus
Amethyst Deceiver, Laccaria amethystina, very different (alas!) from the delicious Wood Blewit which also has “blue legs”.
Natural History

Fungus Foray with Alick Henrici

Fungus Foray
Fungus Foray in Gunnersbury Triangle

Brittlestems, Psathyrella
Brittlestems, Psathyrella, cousins of the Inkcaps

Mycology from the Master
Mycology from the Master: Alick Henrici with a keen pupil

A rare Rhodocybe gemina, the first record for Gunnersbury Triangle
A rare Rhodocybe gemina, the first record for Gunnersbury Triangle

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Purple Swamp Brittlegill, Russula nitida

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Mild Milkcap, Lactarius subdulcis. When scratched, Milkcaps exude a milky liquid (note the drops), with a taste that helps in diagnosis. This one is not peppery!

Earthball, Scleroderma - sometimes used to dilute costly Truffles, but toxic
Earthball, Scleroderma – sometimes used to dilute costly Truffles, but toxic

Turkeytail Bracket, Trametes versicolor
Turkeytail Bracket, Trametes versicolor

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Common Cavalier, Melanoleuca polioleuca

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The Blusher, Amanita rubescens – an edible member of a dangerous genus. Its pink ‘blush’ when damaged can be seen in small patches of the cap and on the broken stalk.

Apart from the fungi named in the image captions, we also saw plenty of the Deceiver (Laccaria laccata); Amethyst Deceiver (Laccaria amethystina); assorted species of Fairy Bonnets (Mycena spp.); the Brown Rollrim (Paxillus involutus); Puffballs (Lycoperdon perlatum); and more. There was hardly any Birch Polypore – we often have fine big white brackets of them: just one small nodule, Piptoporus betulinus.

Alick Henrici on Fungus Foray
Alick Henrici on Fungus Foray

 

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Dreaded by gardeners – Honey Fungus, Armillaria mellea

Inocybe geophylla var. lilacina
Lilac Fibrecap, Inocybe geophylla var. lilacina

Poisonous webcaps, Cortinarius
Webcaps, Cortinarius

An extremely tough bracket fungus
An extremely tough bracket fungus