Autumn is here

September has come and gone, with endless rain. While this has made more difficult the mammoth non- Old Copse project that has taken up almost 20 months of our time, the wood has enjoyed a good soaking. Even though it's mid October, the leaves are only just beginning to turn and some of the oaks remain stubbornly green.

Our big project  has kept us from doing much in the wood, apart from quick visits to restore our sanity. It really brings home how the wood operates on a different timescale to urban life. There really is no tearing hurry: the wood operates on it's own time frame. The growing season has finished and everything is now slowing down and preparing for winter.

This autumn has been marked by an astonishing crop of fungi - much enjoyed by the West Weald Fungus Identification Group who made their annual visit on October 16th. The purple web caps were the star of the show, and this year are growing in multiple locations. Up by the car park I found over 20 individuals. Full report to follow once Dick Alder has collated their findings.

Purple web cap growing on the ride

Much work remains to be done in the autumn, once time and other commitments permit.

There's still this fallen beech limb to process for firewood - it came down in July

There's work to begin on our planned hazel coppice for dormice

Not to mention more planting - trees to order and arrange to plant in OC2.

Looks like we'll be busy....

Cortinarius watch

Cortinarius violaceus   - on the west side of the pond

Yesterday (31st August) I decided to check on the progress of the original colony of Cortinarius v. on the west side of the pond, just up from the fishermen's bridge. The original specimens were now old and faded, but I counted six new fruiting bodies in the same area.

The original group - now faded 

New small purple fruiting bodies emerging

 As this seems to be a good year for this rare mushroom,  I went on a hunt to see if I could find anymore and checked all the places where it had previously been seen.

In 2013, I had previously found a single individual on the fishermen's path. Checking in the same area, I found four - terrific.

One of the four found on the fishermen's path at the edge of the pond

However, there was no sign of them up in the birch near the car park where we found them last year, albeit nearly two months later. I have noticed that they seem to prefer growing right at the edge of the trees where the light levels are comparatively high. It may be that with all the rain this year there has just been too much growth leaf growth in the area and not enough light is reaching the ground. It certainly felt cooler and damper in that spot than in the others where I found them

Finally, and completely unexpectedly, I found a single broken specimen growing on the ride in OC1 - a good 300m from the others.

Cortinarius violaceus found in OC1

Its position - right on the ride and under a birch tree -  helps strengthen my theory that they have an association with birch and require reasonably high light levels. The ones up from the fishermen's bridge are growing in a patch of birch only c 4m from the edge of the wood which gets a lot of light from the open field behind (now a vineyard).  The ones down by the fishermen's path are right at the edge of the pond and get a lot of light across the water. The ride itself is one of the sunniest places.

While it's probably just a good year for fungi, it would be nice to think that our work thinning the wood and increasing light levels is helping this rare mushroom to increase.

New Cortinarius site - on the ride under a birch tree in OC1

Update: 23rd September there were seven specimens of varying ages in the colony by the fishermen's bridge. I also found five growing in the birch near the car park where they were found last year. Plus while there were none on the ride under the birch tree (see above) I found two specimens in the adjoining birch wood 15ft away down the slope, which are presumably part of the same group. And for good measure one sole Cortinarius growing on the side of the ride in OC3. So an excellent year for them!

Update: 29th September - Cortinarius tally:
Fishermen's bridge colony - 4 specimens
Car park colony - 2 x groups, 2 + 4 specimens
Fishermen's path colony - 8 specimens (including two new)
OC1 rideside birch - 2 old specimens
Plus I came across three individuals in the OC1 birch to the east of the quarry - at least 50m from the ones previously spotted

Mushroom season

 October marks the height of the mushroom season, and this year has been a particularly good year, even if the season is later than usual - presumably a knock on effect of the late wet Spring.

On Sunday 16th October, just over a year since their last visit on September 20th 2015, (see blog post) the Runnymede Ramblers made a return visit for a fungi walk. The foray was led by Dick Alder of the West Weald Fungus Recording Group. The star find of the day was the Purple Webcap  - Cortinarius Violaceus - a rare mushroom which has apparently never previously been found in West Sussex. The nearest known colonies are in the New Forest. In addition to the ones pictured in the previous post, we found a further specimen on the banks of the pond, and the group found another pair in the neighbouring wood. A sample has been sent to Kew, where it will be part of a project on DNA sequencing on the Cortinarius family.

Dick Alder's full list of Sunday's finds is shown at the end of this post and has been shared with the Sussex Biological Records office.

In addition to that list, over the past few days we have also found:

Black bulgar or Batchelor's Buttons - Bulgaria Inquinans

BB growing on dead oakwood

Aleuria arantia

List of fungi finds made 16th October Old Copse:

SCIENTIFIC	ENGLISH
Amanita citrina	False Death Cap
Amanita citrina var. alba	False Death Cap, white
Amanita excelsa var. spissa	Grey Spotted Amanita
Amanita muscaria	Fly Agaric
Amanita rubescens	Blusher
Amanita porphyria	Grey Veiled Amanita
Boletus badius	Bay Bolete
Boletus edulis	Cep
Cantharellus tubaeformis	Trumpet Chanterelle
Clitopilus prunulus	Miller
Coprinopsis atramentaria	Common Inkcap
Cortinarius violaceus	Violet Webcap
Daedaleopsis confragosa	Blushing Bracket
Entoloma nitidum	a Pinkgill
Gomphidius roseus	Rosy Spike
Gymnopilus junonius	Spectacular Rustgill
Gymnopilus penetrans	Common Rustgill
Hydnum repandum	Wood Hedgehog
Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca	False Chantarelle
Hypholoma fasciculare	Sulphur Tuft
Laccaria amethystina	Amethyst Deceiver
Lactarius blennius	Beech Milkcap
Lactarius chrysorrheus	Yellowdrop Milkcap
Lactarius deliciosus	Saffron Milkcap
Lactarius hepaticus	Liver Milkcap
Lactarius rufus	Rufous Milkcap
Lactarius tabidus	Birch Milkcap
Leccinum scabrum	Brown Birch Bolete
Leccinum variicolor	Mottled Bolete
Naucoria escharioides	Ochre Aldercap
Paxillus involutus	Brown Rollrim
Piptoporus betulinus	Birch Polypore
Russula atropurpurea	Purple Brittlegill
Russula claroflava	Yellow Swamp Brittlegill
Russula densifolia	Crowded Brittlegill
Russula nigricans	Blackening Brittlegill
Russula nitida	Purple Swamp Brittlegill
Russula nobilis	Beechwood Sickener
Russula ochroleuca	Ochre Brittlegill
Russula sardonia	Primrose Brittlegill
Scleroderma citrinum	Common Earthball
Suillus bovinus	Bovine Bolete

More fungi

Two more species successfully identified: Boletus luridus and Cortinarius violaceus

Boletus luridiformis (syn Boletus erythropus)  the 'lurid bolete'. Found several clusters each about half a dozen strong growing in the pine in OC1 - just off the new clearing. 'Roger's Mushrooms' suggests 'habitat in coniferous, broad-leaved and mixed woodland. Identifiable by the colour, and the way the strong sturdy stem hardly narrows at all, just goes straight into the cap like a tree trunk. Also discolours blue immediately when cut. Supposed to be edible when cooked - I'm not going to try.

Cortinarius violaceus  - purple webcap. Found one broken specimen  near the path by the pond at the northern end of OC1. Took home to identify - see http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/DisplayBlock~bid~5470.asp. Key features not only colour but shape and the faint woolly covering. Photos do not do it justice. Rare.

Finally, is this a type of honey fungus? Or possibly the shaggy scalecap (Pholiota squarrosa). More research needed. Growing on several old birch stumps cut c 3 years ago in OC1.