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The object of our visit was to look for Fungi.
Actually finding fungi was the easy bit; it was the identification of them that was the difficult part.
The original intention was to have an expert with us but he could not make the date so we had to do our own identifications.
Not being expert does have its problems however since some fungi are edible, some are poisonous, and some are deadly poisonous.
This problem was overcome by the simple solution of not eating anything and cleaning our hands frequently.
The other main problem is that there are thousands of different fungi in this country alone and there were over a thousand in one of the books that we took with us.
We did have a written key that we tried to use but that was not always foolproof out in the field.
One thing that was in our favour though was to work as a team. Each person tried to identify the same fungus and it was only accepted when everyone agreed on all aspects.
Matley wood is an old broadleaved wood that during the summer is used as one of the forest campsites.
In the autumn it returns to nature and the increasing number of walkers enjoying the late summer.
This year however the weather has been particularly dry which does not encourage fungi but the small amount of rain and heavy dews from the cold nights has encouraged some varieties.
Fungi are not only useful for breaking up dead plant material but they can also form a symbiotic relationship with trees and other plants such that the fungi obtain carbon and other organic substances from the tree in return for helping the tree take up water and mineral salts.
Different fungi form this relationship with different varieties of tree so that identifying the tree often helps to identify the fungus growing beneath it.
One of the first fungi that we came across, which illustrates this association, had a bright red cap with pure white stem and was called the beechwood sickener or russula mairei.
As its name suggests this fungus was found under a beech tree and is called a sickener because of its affect when eaten.
The sulphur tuft or hypholoma fasciculare was another easily identified fungus because of its yellow cap and was found on a dead tree stump in a small clump.
The conifer tuft hypholoma capnoides was also seen.
A brown rollrim or paxillus involutus was conspicuous by its large size and was indeed brown with an incurved cap and gills that ran down on to the stem.
Some of the fungi are very small and fragile such as the oak bonnet cap and the rooting bonnet cap, both of the mycena group.
The bracket fungi however can be quite large and difficult to dislodge which makes them easy to find and the birch polypore or piptoporus betulinus found on a birch log at the side of the path was easily within reach.
Another bracket fungus was the beefsteak fungus or fistulina hepatica which was tongue shaped and looked like a lump of raw beef.
Pushing the surface with a finger was like moving a blister on the skin.
Apparently this fungus produces a brown rot and generates the brown oak used in cabinet making.
The largest and most distinctive fungus seen was the grifola frondosa which produces tongue like protuberances, grey on the surface and white beneath, branching out from a central stem; the whole being larger than a football.
This was growing on the base of an oak tree.
The common puffball lycoperdon periatum and the common earthball scleroderma citrinum were scattered throughout the forest floor and after identifying the first one or two were ignored.
Other fungi seen included the parasol or macrolepiota procera and the false chanterelle hygrophoropsis aurantiacus.
Altogether a wide range of fungi were seen and identified which provided a very satisfying experience.
Flowers were not expected to be seen at this time of year particularly in the middle of a wood but a humming sound as of a swarm of bees attracted us to a tall oak tree.
The humming sound was coming from a large number of insects feeding on the globe like flowers of ivy which climbed up the oak to a height of over fifty feet.
These will turn in to black berries and provide valuable food for birds in the winter.
One or two butterflies such as the small copper and peacock were still flying in the late autumn sunshine.
The next outdoor meeting is to Blashford Lakes.
Meet at the Oak Road car park Dibden Purlieu at 10am on 15th November 2009.
Non members welcome at no charge.
The next indoor meeting is a talk on the impact of human activities on the Hampshire coast by Alan Inver.
Meet at St Andrews Centre, Beaulieu Road, Dibden Purlieu at 7.30pm on 23rd November 2009.
Non members welcome at a charge of £2.
Contact the secretary on 023 8089 3803 for membership details.
Any comments to mharrison67@btinternet.com |
