Franchises
Sat 12 Oct 2024
Chalciporus piperatus
Photo © Dave Shute
Field event ID HF2428
OS Grid areas: SU2316
Report: Our third visit of the year to RSPB Franchises Wood was arranged at relatively short notice but proved to be a successful day. On this occasion, we began at the entrance near Nomansland and much of our time was spent in pine plantations.
One of the first finds was Laccaria bicolor (Bicoloured Deceiver) with its distinctive purple colouration at the base of the stipe. Nearby, were some Inocybe geophylla (White Fibrecap). There were plenty of Russula sardonia (Primrose Brittlegill) and Mycena epipterygia (Yellowleg Bonnet) in the needle litter along with several of the attractive webcaps, in the Cortinarius hemitrichus (Frosty Webcap) group. More easily identified, was Cortinarius bolaris (Dappled Webcap) with its red-scaled cap.
Where there was scattered oak and birch we came across the tiny, white, nail-like Cudoniella acicularis (Oak Pin) and were able to compare two similar species of Leccinum (Bolete); L. cyaneobasileucum (Greyshank Bolete) and L. variicolor (Mottled Bolete). Both stained blue on the stipe but the latter had much darker scaling on the stem and a mottled grey cap.
Back under the pines we found the yellow-capped form of Russula sardonia (Primrose Brittlegill), Suillus grevillei (Larch Bolete), Russula sanguinaria (Bloody Brittlegill), Tricholomopsis decora (Prunes and Custard) and Suillus variegatus (Velvet Bolete).
Our lunch stop coincided with a heavy shower, but we found Hypholoma lateritium (Brick Tuft) on a pine stump. We then continued across mossy ground where there was a plethora of fungi, with fine examples of Chalciporus piperatus (Peppery Bolete), Xerocomellus chrysenteron (Red-cracking Bolete), Amanita citrina (False Deathcap), Amanita rubescens (Blusher) and Tricholomopsis rutilans (Plums and Custard).
As an aside, we found the pin-mould Spinellus fusiger on Mycena (Bonnets) caps and the striking bug, Graphocephala fennahi (Rhododendron Leafhopper).