Interesting Finds

This page highlights interesting records made not just on NIFG forays from January 2001- August 2001. So if you have any good finds, please send them to me. This could include any records in Ireland, not just Northern Ireland.

On the Learmount Foray (11 August), two good finds were Russula queletii and Pholiota flammans the latter of which is illustrated here.

Pholiota flammans

Russula cessans was found in People's Park in Ballymena on 8 August under Scots Pine.

Russula cessans

I am currently going through many of my unidentified finds from last year. There have been some good species including Russula faginea from Ormeau Park, Belfast, Russula cremeoavellana from Barnetts Park also in Belfast, Lactarius sphagneti from the conifer plantation by the Carricklittle Track in the Mourne Mountains and Lepiota ventriosospora from Muckros Wood in Fermanagh.

Amanita submembranacea: This Amanita was found in the Tober Mhuire Monastery wood in Crossgar beside the Ulster Wildlife Trust Centre on 1 August by David. It is recognized by its brown cap, long striations and friable grey volva. It is one of the first records in Ireland for this species. (the pink tinge to the gills is an artefact of the scan!)

Agrocybe praecox: Strangely this is the first record for Northern Ireland (2 June 2001). It was in wood chips in a flowerbed at Bloomfields Shopping Centre in Bangor and is probably commonly found in June. Look out for it now and send any records of it to me.

Verpa conica: A second record for this rare Ascomycete within a couple of weeks! It was found by Dr John Faulkner in a garden in Loughgall on composted bark in the same garden as Disciotis venosa was found.

Russula amethystina. This is an older record from Roy Anderson recently confirmed. It was growing on peat in the Peatlands Country Park. The cap was a purplish brown with large pale yellow areas in the depression in the centre. It is very close to Russula turci, but turci is usually found on alkaline soils under pine or spruce and the Peatlands is certainly not alkaline!

Verpa conica: This is possibly the first Irish record and was found by Mark Wright in Portstewart Dunes on May 2nd. It is often found associated with Hawthorn, but seems to be found in a lot of different habitat types including sand dunes.

Verpa conica Copyright: Mark Wright

Disciotis venosa : This is a very characteristic spring ascomycete, a cup fungus with strong veining on the upper surface that smells very strongly of chlorine. Chris Stretch found this at the entrance to Downhill in Co.Londonderry on Sunday 29th April. Cave Hill is the only other site for this species so far in Northern Ireland.

Hygrocybe lacmus : Windy Gap (J286735), Belfast Hills, 3 December 2000 found by Roy Anderson; several, in clumps of sheep's fescue with Calluna; cattle-grazed grassy sward at 330m. altitude facing Belfast. This is the first record in Northern Ireland and was confirmed by David Boertmann. There is one old record for H.lacmus from the Republic, but this could have been H.lacmus or H.flavipes which is more common. This species is a very good indicator of unfertilised grassland.

Roy has also been finding a number of new Irish records of Ascomycetes in this very productive Spring: including several Nectria's - cucurbitula, pinea (both found on pine), magnusiana (on Sphaeriales), ditissima (on Beech); some lovely little cup fungi - Dasyscyphus (now Capitotricha) bicolor (on Oak twigs), Lachnellula pseudofarinacea (Scots pine); even the disco which lives on stromatized haws - Monilinia johnsonii.

Chris Stretch found Dumontinia (Sclerotina) tuberosa, the cup fungus that is attached to the roots of Wood Anemone at the Roe Valley Country Park on the 22nd of April. Look out for this lovely species in bare patches amongst the Wood Anemone. It has a very tough "root" that joins many of the fruiting bodies together. It has not been found often here at all despite hunts for it.

Tarzetta cupularis. Found in Crawfordsburn Country Park on 25th April 2001 by my six year old daughter on a school trip. This attractive cup fungus is also rarely recorded in Northern Ireland, but is also probably overlooked as it is often found early in the year.

Morchella (Mitrophora) semilibera. This morel was found under a gooseberry bush in Loughgall and is commonly found in gardens in April and early May. This find caused a reexamination of other morel records and we now know it has been found three times in Northern Ireland. It and the other morels have to be more common, so if anyone sees any, please contact us. They are one of the most edible sorts and cost a lot of money if bought in a delicatessan. However there are look alikes like Gyromitra esculenta and look carefully before eating.

Peziza cerea March 15 2001, found by Fiona Maitland in her garage in Ballyclare. This brown cup fungus was found on mortar in the garage. It was 3.5cms across and has a small stipe (stem) sometimes buried in the substrate. There is another species, Peziza domiciliana, that is also found in similar situtions, but this has warty spores. The spores of Peziza cerea are smooth. What is it doing there? It likes the lime in the mortar and a spot of damp. Beware the brickwork? This is the first record of this species in Northern Ireland, but this is a little surprising as it is reasonably common in GB. It is probably under-recorded.

Tulostoma brumale, the Winter Stalk Puffball. Found by Roy Anderson in December 2000 at Killard NNR in County Down. This is the first time this species has been found in Northern Ireland and is rare but is found on sandy coastal soils.

Leccinum cyaneobasileucum, found by Jenny Moore under Birch at Peatlands Park in September 1999. This was a beautiful specimen in perfect condition. The cap was 9cms diameter, white with rusty tinges. After some hours, definite slate blue tones were visible from the margin, but not in the centre. The margin was not appendiculate. The stipe was white with white scabers darkening after handling. It was blue-green at base and where damaged. The flesh was white and very slowly (~20 minutes) turned a very faint pink. After 1 hour, it was blue-green in centre of stipe. The cap cuticle disarticulated strongly and was of type B2.

Russula anatina. Found at Barnett's Park, Belfast on 25 August 1992 by Roy Anderson. It was found in grass under a dying sycamore sapling but also near oak Quercus robur, by the main driveway. The cap was pale ochre at the centre to silvery blue-grey at edges, underlain with soft pinkish-silvery pigment, the cuticle split near the margin to give a mottled effect with the underlying pinkish colour.

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