Fungi On Woodchips

Some fungi, mainly species which grow on dead wood, occur throughout the year but the main season for fruiting of most ‘mushroom’ types is the autumn. However, some fungi only appear in the spring and a few of these are described below.

St. George’s Mushroom, Calocybe (Tricholoma) gambosa, so called because it first appears around St. George’s Day, 23rd April, although it is more plentiful in May, grows in meadows and pastures, often forming rings. This species is not common locally but has been recorded in grasslands in Cuerden Valley Park, at Rivington and by Bretherton Fish Ponds.

The Brain Gyromitra or False Morel, Gyromitra esculenta, was found in the Chorley area for the first time on 28th April 2001. Seven fruiting bodies were found on private land adjoining Duxbury Woods, growing on a sandy soil slope, under pines, its typical habitat. Other VC59 (‘South Lancashire’) sites for this species include the pinewoods on the sand dunes at Ainsdale and in Longworth Clough near Bolton. Its irregular-shaped cap has brain-like convolutions, hence one of the common names. False Morel is poisonous but it may be confused with the edible Common Morel, Morchella esculenta, another spring fungus, which grows on rich soil at the base of hedgerows, on banks or in woodland clearings. The Common Morel has not been recorded locally but a related species, Morchella conica, was recorded several years ago near the canal tow path at Three Steps.

Scarlet Elf Cups, Sarcoscypha spp., which grow on dead, decaying wood early in the year, have not yet been recorded locally although I have seen them growing on mossy logs in several other places not far away. Unfortunately, there are two species, S. coccinea and S. austriaca which look alike and cannot be distinguished in the field. They are separated by the excipular hairs on the under side of the cup which, when viewed under a microscope, are either straight or slightly bent on S. coccinea or curly on S. austriaca. The former species is the one normally mentioned in books and herbarium specimens indicate that it was recorded more frequently in the past. However, the latter species seems to be the one found now, all specimens of Scarlet Elf Cups which have been checked recently by the North West Fungus Group’s recorder, John Taylor, were found to be Sarcoscypha austriaca.

Other spring fungi include Verpa conica, which grows on grassland and amongst heather on sandy soils. This species has not been recorded locally but is found at Ainsdale. Agrocybe praecox, with a ring on its stem and a pale brown cap which is smooth when young but often becomes cracked as it ages, is typically found on wastelands and roadsides amongst grass. Several of these mushrooms were growing on wood chips, an increasingly common substrate for this species, by the car park at Birkacre in May 1997 and again in June 1998.

The Society has very few records of the spring fungi and would welcome any records of sightings or notes of where spring species have been seen in the past.