Mycology – Page 2 – Hoopoe

UK Fungus Day 2023

What is UK Fungus Day?

UK Fungus Day takes place on Saturday 7th October and is organised by the British Mycological Society. This annual celebration of fungi is an open invitation to everyone in the UK to experience and appreciate the wonder of fungi and to find out more about these fascinating organisms. There really is something for everyone: as well as traditional fungal forays where you can join an experienced mycologist to find and identify fungi in the wild, there are also open days at UK university laboratories, special museum exhibits, talks, films, craft activities and quizzes.

Why are fungi important?

Often described as the 5th kingdom, fungi are neither plant nor animal, and our knowledge of their biology and ecology is increasing all the time. They are incredibly important to the functioning of almost all ecosystems on earth (and have even been found in space!).

One of their key roles is as a decomposer. Fungi convert organic matter from dead organisms into a form that other plants or animals can more easily utilise, making them a vital part of the food chain. They also form essential symbiotic relationships with plant roots, providing nutrients to the plant and protecting them from parasites and infection, while they themselves feed on the plant.

Although we usually think of fungi as the mushrooms that are visible above ground, they also create huge networks of strands, known as hyphae, which stretch out beneath the soil. These hyphae contribute to the structure of the soil, holding particles together and helping the soil to retain moisture where it would otherwise rapidly drain away. This underground network is considered to be so important that a project is underway to map the “circulatory system of the planet” in an attempt to protect it from damage and improve its ability to absorb and store carbon dioxide.

As well as these key ecosystem functions, we also value fungi for their role in our own diets. Whether that is by eating them directly, or utilising their ability to ferment foods such as bread or beer, they have been an important gastronomic ingredient for thousands of years. They also contribute to human health in other ways. In the 1920s penicillin was discovered, an antibiotic produced by the mould Penicillium which has since saved countless numbers of lives and changed the entire face of modern medicine.

Fungi may even have a role to play in remediating polluted environments. Current research is looking into whether they could be used to break down petroleum products, heavy metals and plastics, and even absorb radiation following nuclear disasters.

How do I get involved in UK Fungus Day?

To find out what events are on near you on UK Fungus Day, head over to the Fungus Day website where you can find a list of all the activities planned for 7th October. On their website you will also find information on how to enter this year’s photo competition, as well as quizzes, and a host of other activity ideas for you to celebrate UK Fungus Day in your own home.

Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain & Europe series

The fourth and final volume of Geoffery Kibby’s Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain & Europe has now been published. This privately published series consists of four essential, user-friendly guides containing an enormous amount of information, fully illustrated and aimed at everyone, from the fungi enthusiast to the expert mycologist. Author Geoffrey Kibby is one of Britain’s foremost experts on identifying mushrooms in the field.

The first volume, Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain & Europe, Volume 1 was published in 2017 and has since been updated twice, with the third edition published in 2020. It illustrates the non-agarics, including puffballs, stinkhorns, earthstars and chanterelles. A total of 650 species are illustrated via watercolour paintings, along with drawings of the spores and other useful microscopic features. Geoffrey Kibby, professional mycologist and editor of Field Mycology, first became interested in fungi when he was 13 and he now aims to produce the sort of works he would have wanted as an aspiring young mycologist.

These books are based on Kibby’s years of experience in the field, and focus on illustrating species that are not readily available in other guides. Fungi are an understudied group, with around 15,000 different species in the UK, from moulds and mildew to yeasts and mushrooms. They are found in almost any habitat, living on decaying organic matter such as leaf litter or dead wood. They play different roles in many different ecosystems, but many are key in the breakdown of organic matter, recycling nutrients such as nitrogren and phosphorus into the soil. This, in turn, allows the growth of plants which provide food for animals such as insects, mammals and birds. They themselves can also be a source of food for both humans and other animals, and are often rich in vitamins and protein. Fungi also play a role in the carbon cycle, capturing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil, reducing excess atmospheric carbon and helping to fight climate change.

Volumes 2 and 3, published in February 2020 and May 2021 respectively, cover many of the families of the agarics (gilled mushrooms). Volume 2 illustrates 750 species and varieties, mainly white-spored agarics, with volume 3 covering 680 species. The illustrations are watercolour paintings, and highlight important characteristics that are sometimes difficult to ascertain from photographs. All four guides also include illustratations of microscopic features next to each painting.

Fungi have become increasingly vulnerable in the British Isles for a variety of reasons, including the loss of habitats, changing rural practices, intensive land management and over-picking. Important fungi habitats such as unimproved grasslands, woodland, sand dunes and saltmarshes have declined severely in the UK. For example, over 97% of our species-rich grassland has been lost in the last few decades and the UK is one of the least densely forested countries in Europe, with woodland covering only 13.2% of the UK’s land surface. However, many of the current biodiversity and climate change strategies overlook fungi, focusing instead on flora and fauna. One important element of combating this and enabling effective conservation, beyond repairing and expanding habitats, is spreading the knowledge of how to survey and identify many of the fungi species we have in the UK. These monographs provide excellent guidance for any serious field mycologist or for those interested in getting into field mycology.

This newest and final volume covers the families Bolbitiaceae, Tubariaceae, Macrocystidiaceae, Inocybaceae and Entolomataceae. An addendum illustrates a number of species recorded in Britain since volumes 1-3 of this series were produced, and includes a number of recent name changes. With over 380 species illustrations, the whole series covers almost 2,500 species.

The final volume of the Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain & Europe series has now been published.

The NHBS Guide to UK Puffball Identification

Puffballs are a type of fungi in the division Basidiomycota. They are so named due to the dust-like spores that are emitted as clouds when the fruitbody bursts. They are characterised by their lack of an open cap with visible spore-bearing gills. The spores are, instead, produced internally within the gasterothecium, a spheroidal fruitbody. Stalked puffballs have, as the name suggests, a stalk to support this structure, which is tough, woody and made of infertile material, whereas true puffballs have no visible stalk. Some species, such as ones attached to the substrate by mycelial cords, may become unattached and roll with the wind.

Puffballs are saprotrophic, meaning they feed on non-living organic matter, known as detritus. They break down detritus into utilisable nutrients and minerals, which maintains soil health and aids plant growth. Puffball species can be identified by the shape and size of the fruitbody, any surface features and the presence and shape of a stem. Species can also be determined by the examination of spores using a microscope. When cut in half, young puffballs whose spores have not begun to develop will be pure white all the way through. Older species turn yellow or brown on the inside. This can help distinguish them from earthball species, which has a dark interior (or gleba), or other mushroom species, which have visible gills.

Most puffballs are not poisonous but can resemble young poisonous mushrooms such as the death cap. True puffballs are edible when immature but any spore can cause digestive upset if consumed and caution should always be taken as some fungi are highly poisonous. This blog is not meant to be used as a guide for foraging. This blog covers the key identification features, distribution, season and habitat preference of some of the puffball species known in the UK.

Common Puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum)

Distribution: Common and widespread in Britain and Ireland
Habitat preference: Deciduous and coniferous woodlands, grasslands and along roadsides.
Season: July to November
What to look for: This species usually has a pear-shaped fruitbody that is 3–6cm tall. Its surface is covered in pearl-like attachments, called pyramidal warts, that are different sizes. These warts begin as a cream colour before turning ochre and falling off to leave an olive-brown surface marked with scars. Older specimens will have a dark area at the apex, where the pore hole develops. The common puffball has a visible stem that resembles an often distorted inverted cone. The spore mass is olive-brown and turns dark brown when fully mature.

Giant Puffball (Calvatia gigantea)

Distribution: Widespread and fairly common
Habitat preference: Roadside verges, field edges, nettle and other rank vegetation, woodland edges and occasionally found in open woodland or woodland clearings
Season: July to November
What to look for: This species can achieve a massive size, typically 10–80cm across. They are initially white, with a lumpy and leathery appearance, connected to the substrate by a root-like mycelial cord. While the interior of the immature puffball is white, mature specimens have a greenish-brown gleba.
Did you know? This species is known to form fairy rings. The mycelium hyphae spreads horizontally in a radial pattern. The hyphae can then sprout fruitbodies on the surface, forming a circular pattern thought in folklore to be the dwelling places of fairies and other magical beings.

Peter O’Connor aka anemoneprojectors via Flickr

Pestle Puffball (Lycoperdon excipuliforme)

Distribution: Widespread and fairly common
Habitat preference: Woodland and short grassland
Season: August to November
What to look for: The pestle puffball is initially white but turns ochre as it ages, and grows to between 10–20cm tall. The globe-shaped head grows between 4–10cm wide. The stem-like section, called a stipe, is often wrinkled in appearance and usually around half the diameter of the head. It is covered in pointed warts that fall off, leaving a smooth surface.
Did you know? After the head has ruptured and released the spores, the stipe will grow and remain intact throughout winter.

Dusky Puffball (Lycoperdon nigrescens)

Distribution: Widespread, fairly common
Habitat preference: Variety of habitats, such as woodland, moorland and sand dunes
Season: June to September
What to look for: The dusky puffball is usually between 2-3.5cm tall and 2-4cm across. It is pear-shaped, with a surface that begins pale brown before turning darker. It is covered in dark-brown spines that fall off as the puffball matures. This species has a visible, short stem with shorter spines. The spore mass inside is initially white and firm, before turning yellowish-brown and then dark brown and powdery.

Mosaic Puffball (Lycoperdon utriforme)

Distribution: Widespread but uncommon
Habitat preference: Sandy open pastures or heaths
Season: July to November
What to look for: The common name for this species is derived from the pattern across the head of the fruiting body, which develops as the specimen matures and the outer wall breaks into patches. It is subspherical to pear-shaped, between 6–15cm across and up to 15cm tall. The fruitbody turns grey-brown with age and the scales begin to fall away before the fruitbody eventually ruptures.
Did you know? The base of this species can also persist for several months after the fruitbody has burst. It resembles a blunt-ended inverted cone.
Other synonyms: Calvatia caelata, Calvatia utriformis, Handkea utriformis, Lycoperdon bovista, Lycoperdon caelatum, Lycoperdon sinclairii, Lycoperdon utriforme

Brown Puffball (Bovista nigrescens)

Distribution: Widely distributed, more frequent in southern counties
Habitat preference: Grassland and pastures, but can also be found in fields, lawns or roadside verges
Season: Late summer to autumn
What to look for: The fruitbody is between 3–6cm across, with a slight point at the bottom. This species lacks a stem and is attached to the substrate by a mycelial cord. The outer wall is initially white but flakes off as the fruitbody matures to expose the dark purple-brown inner wall.

Saxifraga/Peter Meininger via freenatureimages.eu

Stump Puffball (Lycoperdon pyriforme)

Distribution: Widespread and fairly frequent
Habitat preference: Grows mainly on decaying trees and logs
Season: July to early December
What to look for: This species is typically 1.5–4cm across and around 3–4cm tall. It has a pestle- to pear-shaped fruitbody that is initially covered in short pyramidal warts. The originally white surface browns with age, developing a dark area at the apex where the pore will occur. The stump puffball is attached to the substrate by several mycelial filaments. The stem remains white as the head matures.

Tag: Mycology