This afternoon we had our third annual Autumnal “Fungal Foray” with our local expert naturalist, Steve Joul. This was not a foraging event, but a chance to discover and learn about the amazing world of mushrooms and fungi.
We met in Alwoodley Village Green car park at 1.50 pm and Steve gave an introduction to Adel woods and fungi in general and showed us a spectacular golden bootleg fungus found on a fungal foray in Roundhay yesterday.
Having introduced the talk, Steve led us into the area of woodland between the play area and Crag Lane to see what we could find.
There are over fifteen thousand species of fungi in the UK, which means that it is impossible to know the names of all of them. Some can only be identified with the help of a magnifying glass or microscope and text book. The task of identifying mushrooms and fungi is made more difficult because there is often more than one common name for a species, and the Latin names can change as species are re-classified.
Steve has made a list of the two hundred or so most common mushrooms and fungi which we are likely to encounter in Adel woods, giving their recommended English names and their Latin names. Impressively, Steve knows the Latin names for many of these species. If you would like a copy of the list, please email us or send us a comment via the comment button on this page.
From the woodland, we made our way to the track leading down to the cricket pavilion and from there to the woodland below Adel Moor. As we walked we searched for interesting looking fungi which Steve examined, identified and told us about.
The find of the day was a piece of timber hosting Green Elfcup (chlorociboria aeruginascens). The mycelium (or root structure) of this fungus turns its host into a vivid blue green colour. The wood that this fungus infects, known as ‘green oak’ was highly prized by fine woodworkers in the 18th and 19th centuries, who used it in their intricate inlays for decorative wooden boxes known as “Tunbridge Ware”.
At quarter to four, Steve reviewed all the finds of the day. There is a list of all the fungi and mushrooms, and photographs of some of them, below.
The fungi and mushrooms we found
We found twenty six species, including two new ones (for Friends of Adel Woods) shown in red type:
- Beech Woodwart (hypoxylon fragiforme)
- Birch polypore (formitopsis betulina)
- Birch woodwort (jackrogersella multiformis)
- Blistered cup (peziza vesiculosa)
- Blushing bracket (daedaleopsis confragosa)
- Brown rollrim (paxillus involutus)
- Butter cap (collybia butyracea)
- Candlesnuff fungus (xyaria hypoxylon)
- Common bonnet (mycena galericulata)
- Common earthball (scleroderma citrinum)
- Common rustgill (gymnoplius penetrans)
- Coral spot (nectria cinnaberina)
- Deceiver (Zaccaria laccata)
- Ganoderma bracket (ganoderma sp.)
- Green elfcup (chlorociboria aeruginascens)
- Hairy curtain crust (stereum hirsute)
- Hoof fungus (fomes fomentarius)
- Horsehair parachute (marasmius androsaceus)
- Jelly ear (auricularia auricula-judae)
- Ochre brittlegill (russula ochroleuca)
- Poisonpie (hebeloma crustuliniforme)
- Rufous milkcap (lactarius rufus)
- Stump puffball (apioperdon pyriforme)
- Sulphur tuft (hypholoma fasciculate)
- Sycamore tar spot (rhytisma cerium)
- Willow shield (pluteus salicinus)
JOIN FRIENDS OF ADEL WOODS!
We hope that you have enjoyed reading about our activities and would be delighted if you would like to join us.
Friends of Adel Woods were formed in 2009 to help maintain Adel Woods and encourage people to enjoy them. We meet one weekend morning a month to carry out various jobs or ”work parties”, and we also put on educational events such as bat walks, fungal forays and birdsong walks.
We are a very friendly group and welcome new members who want to help preserve our special woods, enjoy fresh air and exercise in the woods, and make new friends. If you would like to take part in our activities, just come along to one of our work parties or get in touch by leaving a comment on this website – you should be able to see a comment button at the bottom of this page.
Our next events
Our next educational event is a Fungal Foray with our expert naturalist, Steve Joul, on Sunday 17th November 2024.
Our next work party is on Sunday the 24th November 2024 when we will be litterpicking and working with David Preston, our local countryside ranger, to dredge Adel Pond and clear the ditches feeding it.
For further information, please have a look at our home page.
Friends of Adel Woods 