Nature Notes from Skye
(and occasionally other places)

Wed 15 Sep 2004

Here are a couple of leaf galls on Sycamore.

The first has brown or colourless isidia-like growths with thickened ends, on the leaf underside, and must be due to the mite Aceria pseudoplatani.  The second has very thin white hairs below and is caused by a similar mite, Aceria cephalonicus.  I don't know what the small pale blotches are on the leaf in the second picture.  They are only on the upper surface of the leaf, the lower side is intact.

Today we had a Fungus Foray with the Highland Council Ranger Service.  Here are some of the fungi that we found...

This Bolete known as Slippery Jack was under some Corsican Pine.

We decided this was probably the Saffron Milk-cap, Lactarius deliciosus.  It too was under the Pines.

This young Earthball, believed to be Scleroderma citrinum, was growing on a road verge.

Two Russulas now.  The red one was under Corsican Pine.  The green one was plentiful in a Larch plantation.  It was much greener than it looks in the picture, which has turned out very disappointing - it's dark in those plantations.  I could have used flash but I find pictures even in severe shade are generally better without.

The other species that was common and widespread in the Larch plantation was this "Suede Bolete" as someone aptly called it, thought to be a Xerocomus species.  The ones on the right formed a very long, slightly curved, line that probably acts in "fairy ring" style, moving outwards each year.  They are Collybia butyracea.

This hairy fungus was growing on a Larch stump and had everyone stumped.  Apparently it is Oligoporus ptychogaster.  Thanks to Malcolm Storey of Bioimages for this and some of the other id's on this page.

These delicate Mycena mushrooms were at the base of a Larch tree.  Also in the Larch plantation were this pair of small, softly spiny puffballs, Lycoperdon nigrescens.

While in the plantation we saw a very small shrew - either a Pygmy Shrew or a young Common Shrew - scuttling around, it quickly went to ground in a hole beneath a Larch root.

This was thought to be a Cortinarius species.  It was growing by Hazel and Rowan.

Lest it be thought that we were not too successful in identifying fungi on this trip, the specimen on the left was confidently pronounced to be a Brown Birch Bolete despite its advanced state of deterioration.  Many of us were able to recognise the one on the right as the Birch Polypore.  (This picture was actually taken on 9 Sep but is of a specimen that we looked at today.)

These were quite easy to recognise as a Coprinus species, as they were beginning to deliquesce.  They were growing on Eared Willow roots.  But we drew a blank with the wavy-edged white ones on the right.  They may be a Clitocybe, possibly C dealbata.

Finally here are two more kinds of mushroom that I took before the foray started and that we didn't get round to looking at.  No idea what they are.

The foray was great fun and very educational.  Many thanks to John Phillips and the Highland Council Ranger Service.

All photos and other content copyright © Carl Farmer