Rans Wood and Stubbs Wood, Hampshire
Sat 30 Jul 2005
Field event ID HF0505
OS Grid areas: SU3602 SU3603
Weather: There had been rain in the previous week, the first for some time, but not enough to reverse the effects of the dry spring and early summer.
Report: The first foray of the summer and autumn season was held at Rans Wood and Stubbs Wood. As if to remind us of the recent showers at 10 o'clock, just as we were about to start, there was a brisk shower of rain which sent us scurrying back into our cars for a few minutes. The foray started promisingly with a find of a slightly dry Collybia fusipes before we had ventured a few yards. Most species were to be found on wood but, tantilisingly, there were a few occuring on other substrata. A solitary Leccinum croccipodium and a few Cantharellus cibarius were seen and the New Forest specialty, Poronia punctata was found by Sara Cadbury on just one patch of pony dung. We remarked that the dung was under the shade of a tree rather than in the open where we were accustomed to finding it. A few days past their prime, some fine specimens of Volvariella bombycina were seen nestling in a beech trunk. In the afternoon we decided to make one more detour before returning to the car park and, as is often the case, were rewarded by the excitement of finding Flammaster muricatus on a fallen beech tree. This was the third site now in the New Forest for this beech wood indicator species. There were several specimens on the fallen branches, some young, and some at their prime providing an excellent photo opportunity for the group.
Species list: Amanita vaginata, Amylostereum laevigatum, Ascobolus stercorarius, Basidioradulum radula, Biscogniauxia nummularia, Bjerkandera adusta, Boletus appendiculatus, Botryobasidium aureum, Botryobasidium conspersum, Botryobasidium subcoronatum, Calocera cornea, Cantharellus cibarius, Ceriporiopsis pannocincta, Chlorociboria aeruginascens, Crepidotus variabilis, Dacrymyces stillatus, Daedaleopsis confragosa, Flammulaster muricatus, Fuscoporia ferrea, Ganoderma australe, Gymnopus fusipes, Hymenochaete corrugata, Hymenochaete rubiginosa, Hyphoderma setigerum, Hypoxylon fragiforme, Hypoxylon rubiginosum, Kretzschmaria deusta, Leccinum crocipodium, Lenzites betulina, Marasmiellus vaillantii, Mycena tenerrima, Panaeolus semiovatus var. semiovatus, Panellus stipticus, Peniophora quercina, Phlebia livida, Piptoporus betulinus, Pleurotus ostreatus, Pluteus cervinus, Poronia punctata, Postia tephroleuca, Rickenella fibula, Russula densifolia, Schizopora paradoxa, Simocybe centunculus var. centunculus, Stereum hirsutum, Stereum subtomentosum, Trichoderma pulvinatum, Volvariella bombycina