Hankley Common, 9 September 2022

This was the first walk with the new group led by Sara Shepley. We walked along Woolfords Lane at Hankley Common. Below is the report and species list from Sara.

Despite the summer drought and then recent, torrential rain we found a good selection of fungi including some unusual species. It is difficult to conclusively identify species that are waterlogged so in some cases I’ve resorted to including possible identifications rather than definite ones. I’ve marked these with an *

Sara Shepley

The list is in order of finding.

• Lepiota cristata — Stinking Dapperling
• Hortiboletus rubellus  — Ruby Boletus
• Trametes versicolor  — Turkey Tail
• Gymnopus dryophilus  — Russet Toughshank
• Crepidotus variabilis — Variable Oysterling (very similar to C. cesatii)
• Clitocybe gibba — Common Funnel
• Marasmius quercophilus — Oak Parachute (i don’t think Oak Parachute is a bona fide name – yet but maybe we’re ahead of the game)
• Fomitopsis betulina — Birch Bracket/Razor Strop fungus
• Boletus chrysenteron — Red cracking bolete         (No, it probably wasn’t this species at all – see below for details as it all gets rather complicate             
• Polyporus leptocephalus — Blackfoot Polypore
• Stereum gausapatum — Bleeding Oak Crust
• Polyporus tuberaster  — Tuberous Polypore         
• Plicatura crispa — Crimped Gill
• *Russula sp.  — Possibly grisea or heterophylla
• *Mystery on Twig — Small, fawn toadstool with white gills and stipe
• Psathyrella candolleana — Pale Brittlestem
• Crepidotus mollis — Peeling Oysterling
• Mycena galericulata — Common Bonnet
• Gymnopus erythropus  — Redleg Toughshank
• *Russula sp (Parazurea?)  — Grey green cap – couldn’t get a spore print
• Lactarius serifluus  — Watery Milkcap (very small fruitbody. Did eventually produce a small amount of watery milk)
• Xerocomus porosporus  — Sepia bolete
• Stereum subtomentosum  — Yellowing Curtain Crust
• Lycoperdon perlatum  — Common puffball
• Cystolepiota seminuda (used to be L sistrata) — No English name
• Coprinellus disseminatus  — Fairy Inkcap
• Pluteus cervinus — Deer Toadstool
• Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca — False Chanterelle
• *Russula amoenolens?  — I question this because I couldn’t smell Camembert Cheese!
• Tubaria furfuracea  — Scurfy Twiglet
• Aleuria aurantia — Orange Peel Fungus
• Marasmiellus ramealis  — Twig Parachute (on dead honeysuckle stems)
• Imleria badia (used to be Boletus badius) — Bay Bolete
• Geastrum triplex  — Common Earthstar

There were also a lot of grey-brown Mycena species growing in moss

Xerocomellus (Boletus) chrysenteron and Xerocomellus cis-alpinus

In the good old days (and they were good because life was much simpler) all sponge caps were in the genus Boletus and one of the species was Boletus chrysenteron (the red-cracking bolete). So far so good. But the powers that be have split the genus Boletus into several different genera – Suillus, Xerocomus, Xerocomellus, etc. They are now splitting these into even smaller groups (don’t you love – but can you say – the name Rheubarbariboletus)? Boletus chrysenteron is currently in the genus Xerocomellus. Then it was discovered that most  of the Xerocomellus chrysenteron fruitbodies found  in Britain and Ireland (and Europe) are in fact not X chrysenteron but a closely related species, Xerocomellus cis-alpinus (Bluefoot Bolete)*. Historic records may be unreliable and X chrysenteron may be an unusual or even rare species. I am now completely confused, but it looks as though we must get used to Bluefoot Bolete and, despite appearances, ditch the name Red-cracking Bolete! Happy hunting.

Sara Shepley