Fungi of Mill Hill

This mushroom was seen amongst the Horseshoe Vetch and probably the same species next to a Rabbit latrine (photograph on the far right above) on the lower slopes of Mill Hill. The cap diameter of his mushroom was estimated at 45 mm. The central photograph was the orange-gilled mushroom on the right, but this mushroom was not found growing but discarded, so its appearance may be more like a dried mushroom than a fresh growing fungus.
Could the species on the far right be Entoloma sericeum?

27 October 2006
 

There were Jew's Ears on a Hawthorn on the scrub on the lower ridge of Mill Hill. And I spotted what were half a dozen probable  Bearded Milkcap, Lactarius pubescens, (a type of Milk-Cap)* on the verges of Mill Hill Road where the Bee Orchids were discovered earlier this year. They were on grass and herbland about one metre from two Silver Birch trees. This fungus has an ectomycorrhizal symbiosis with Birch. (I identified these as Sulphur Tufts before doubts crept in.)
NB: I should have cut the gills of mushroom to see if it exuded milky fluid ('latex'); something to remember next time.

23 October 2006 After the rain, a couple of mushrooms and the Nostoc commune (an algae) was there as expected on the lower slopes of Mill Hill. Again the mushrooms were difficult to identify. The gills were a greyish-white but similar mushrooms have been seen with black gills on the upper part of Mill Hill before. There was no sign of a ring around the stem. The cap was about the size of a commercial mushroom, an estimated 55 mm in diameter.  Big Blue Pinkgill Entoloma bloxamii Certainly not Agrocybe dura BioImages image link for this species ID by Malcolm Storey (BioImages) on the Fungi of the British Isles (Yahoo Group)

12 October 2006
 

On the lower slopes of Mill Hill, One medium-to-large white mushroom seen at the southern end had a pure white cap with a diameter of 55 mm, white gills and a white 90 mm stem with a ring, and it was probably the White Dapperling, Leucoagaricus leucothites. Two more were seen in the central area of Mill Hill.
Adur Fungi 2006

16 & 8 October 2006
 

On the lower slopes of Mill Hill, a handful of small mushrooms (illustrated above) protruded above the short grass and herbs. This fungus has yet to be identified as there are too many similar mushrooms to be sure. There was another larger mushroom just above the ridge (illustrated below), but this had black gills and appears to be a different but not identified species. These were species seen frequently before and every year at varying times, usually after rain. I have not included the size of the fungus below. The estimated cap diameter is 40 mm.
More Images from previous records

The best suggestion was the species Stropharia coronilla.

8 October 2006
 

The mushrooms above are Agaricus, and probably not with a yellow base to the stalk when cut, thus probably not A. xanthodermus.

The following mushrooms were growing on a Hawthorn and these are Honey Fungus.
 

I think this is a different species:  this is probably the Dung Fungus, Stropharia semiglobata.

Mill Hill 2005

18 April 2005
The strange and unusual looking Morel Mushroom, Morchella esculenta, was seen on the side of the Pixie Path to Mill Hill. It looked dried out but I expect they always look like this. There were small orange ants around the base of the mushroom.

As this species was growing out of the soil it is thought to be Mycena flavescens. There is a similar species Mycena arcangeliana which grows on wood.

11 November 2004
In the fading light of late afternoon, the bare upper slopes of short grass south and south-west of the upper car park hosted a couple of dozen or more of several varieties of mostly small mushrooms. All the small mushrooms were found in an area of about three square metres. The was at least one large mushroom which looked an old brown version of Leucoagaricus leucothites.
 

The identity of this small mushroom, (cap diameter 20 mm) is still a puzzle. It has been discovered before on the lower slopes of Mill Hill. In other specimens the spore print was dark brown.	There at least a dozen, probably more of these small (>30 mm cap diameter) mushrooms. ID is under enquiry. Click on all these images for a larger photograph.	There was only one seen of this similarly sized mushroom, and although the gills did not seem to be decurrent like the white mushroom, it could well be the same species.	This is the same species and same colour as the other white mushroom (larger at 50 mm cap diameter) and flash photograph has produced a colour hue.

The white species (second left and far right) was also found next to the path in the Triangle area. The mushroom top of the shortlist is the Snowy Cap, Hygrocybe virginea var. virginea (= Cuphophyllus niveus) (or it could be the Pale Wax Cap, Hygrocybe pratensis var pallida).

This species has now been confirmed as the Pale Wax Cap, Hygrocybe berkeleyi, (known on the British Mycological List as Hygrocybe pratensis var pallida).

There could also have been a solitary small brown Conocybe mushroom.

9 November 2004
 

The two small mushrooms in the photographs above only reached 30 mm in cap diameter and most of the small clump, on the footpath approach to Mill Hill from the Waterworks Road, were about 20 mm. They have not been identified.
The spore print of this mushroom turned out to be white.
With the latest photographs this species has now been identified as probably being a Dermoloma, if blackening, Dermoloma magicum.

This latter species is a new one to the British fungal list, not because it is rare though. This was difficult for me to identify because all the pictures available show Dermoloma with white or cream gills. All these specimens had brown gills as shown in the photographs. The cap in the specimen above is beginning to show white lines which were not present in the smaller mushrooms. This seems to be a feature of this genus.

8 November 2004
The particular mushroom which is regularly found on the lower slopes of Mill Hill presents a bit of identification problem in its deteriorated state, and it appears to look in a rather poor condition rather rapidly.
 

It is debatable if it is a very old example of Leucoagaricus leucothites, without a stem ring and with the mushroom turning from white to brown in a week, or perhaps Lepista sordida, which deteriorates rapidly, or perhaps neither of these species? It is probably the first species which changes from white and appears browner as it ages.

There were at least two specimens of the large mushroom Volvariella gloiocephala (illustrated below) on the road verge. The largest specimen had a flat cap and measured 93 mm in diameter. The smaller more elegant mushroom had a conical cap and this appeared smaller, although the actual mushroom was as tall as the wider specimen.

1 November 2004

Whereas after the dry summer of 2003, Mill Hill was parched and the grass and herblands were almost devoid of fungi, this year, there seems to be dozens of what are almost certainly common species scattered thinly over the whole area. All the images can be enlarged by left clicking on them.
 

The disintegrating fungi south of reservoir come be one of several species. This is a potentially large species with one cap diameter estimated at 95 mm. The gills are much paler and the inset part of the photograph shows the gills to have a grey-lilac tinge. The smaller firmer brown-gilled mushroom (right) is probably another species. This one has been seen frequently on Mill Hill but it has not yet been named.
 

The tall species (illustrated above left) is the first species I have discovered with a volva in the ground. This was left behind on the roadside verge south of the reservoir (country road to from Mill Hill to Beeding Hill) when the stem was pulled off for a closer look. The 60 mm (measured underneath because of the convex cap) diameter cap was slightly greenish and the gills were fawn coloured. There was no sign of a stem ring. The stem was 100 mm high. There was no smell to this mushroom. The light played tricks making the fungus look much paler at times. With my shadow over the mushroom, the gills and cap appeared much darker. This species is Volvariella gloiocephala. It has a recommended name of Stubby Rosegill. It seems to be a species quite often discovered.

Volva:  A "volva" is a ruptured, sack-like covering at the base of the mushroom's stem. The volva results from the mushroom pushing through the universal veil, which covers young buttons to protect them. Many species of Amanita, including some of the deadliest mushrooms on earth, have volvas, as do Volvariella and some other fungi.
Because the deadly Amanita mushrooms have volvas, it is essential for novices to learn how to recognize this feature. Sometimes volvas are buried, and they are not always as prominent as they are in a typical Amanita phalloides or Volvariella gloiocephala -- so you should be sure to dig out the base of the mushroom in question and inspect it carefully!
Mycologist's Glossary

The similar Death Cap, Amanita phalloides, has been mistaken for this mushroom with fatal results.
 

There were what was could be (although lacking the stem ring) poor condition old specimens (left) of Leucoagaricus leucothites in the pasture to the east with the smaller familiar-looking small brown mushroom with a thin brown stem (image on the right, above). The brown mushroom may be a species of Conocybe? Both these mushrooms were on the pasture to the east of Mill Hill.
 

The first (above left) of more than a dozen small brown mushrooms with a pale brown stem were discovered on the edge of footpath approach to Mill Hill from the Waterworks Road, and the second (right), which seems to be a different species with a white creamy stem was a solitary mushroom in amongst the herbs on the lower slopes of Mill Hill. Neither species has been identified. The cap diameters of these mushrooms were from 15 mm to 20 mm. Later, a white spore print was obtained from the mushrooms on the left immediately above. A similar mushroom (on the right) from the same location produced a dark brown spore print.
 

The Golden Wax Caps, Hygrocybe chlorophana, on the A27 road bank had deteriorated (above left) and the larger white-fawn mushroom with pale gills was found on the edge of the ridge on Mill Hill. The cap diameter of this species was about 60 mm with a shortish stalk and brown gills. I am not sure of the identity of this species but I think this is a large Coprinus, an Ink Cap, but I do not know which species. The cap looks like a Lepiota but the gills are more brownish.

Without looking for mushrooms, I could not help but almost falling over them. Identification is very tricky.
 

This mushroom is the Golden Wax Cap, Hygrocybe chlorophana. They were discovered on the A27 road embankment just east of the bridge section where it crosses the Waterworks Road. The Dune Wax Cap, Hygrocybe conicoides, was discovered nearby as well as the poisonous mushroom Clitocybe possibly dealbata.
Fungi of Shoreham
Adur Hygrocybe (Wax Caps)
Adur Fungi: Fruiting Bodies (Monthly Guide)
 

The Wax Caps of yesterday (now: above, centre and right) had now grown and were large enough to try and identify them. The scarlet caps were at least 32 mm in diameter. The fungi are on the path and they are not expected to last. There are 63 species of Hygrocybe found in Britain. They have been identified as the Dune Wax Cap, Hygrocybe conicoides.

25 October 2004
The was a small mushroom (first picture on the left, above) on the the muddy footpath approach to Mill Hill from the Waterworks Road, with a conical cap 10 mm in diameter when measured from the side. I have postponed trying to put an instant name to this small mushroom, photographed immediately on the right. This is likely to be a species of wax cap, Hygrocybe, Hygrocybe conica or Hygrocybe coccinea.

The spore print of this mushroom was white but this does not give an indication to species as the first few Hygrocybe looked at in the book all had white spore prints. This all seem strange to get a white spore print from a brown mushroom.

2 August 2004
Another photograph was possible of the mushroom in the copse at the top of Mill Hill, which looked edible when it was fresh:

Fungi Images on the Web (Index)
Mycologist's Glossary

20 April 2004

Adur Fungi: Fruiting Times
Fungi of Shoreham