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FUNGI

P.A. Gainey

The fungi have been relatively poorly studied and recorded in Cornwall over the years due to a lack of experienced, resident mycologists. The frequent need for recourse to high power microscopy and chemical testing has also acted to hinder definitive identification of species, as has the unavailability of precise, relatively easy to use, and up to date fungal keys. J.L. Gregory (1994) and G.B. Miller have prepared Cornish lists whilst more recently B. Candy has recorded extensively throughout Cornwall and has produced very detailed lists for a wide range of fungal groups. Candy (1997) produced the first tentative list of Red Data Book and locally scarce fungi for Cornwall. Ing (1992) has produced a provisional Red Data List of British fungi. With this he attempted to identify those fungi which are extinct or, more importantly, at serious risk because their habitats, substrata or hosts are similarly threatened. Orton (1994) cast doubt upon this list, mainly because observations are largely limited to fungal fruiting-bodies which may only appear at long intervals of time, and the chance of a competent recorder finding them is small. Besides the relative lack of recorders (compared to the number of people recording birds, plants and other groups) there is also a serious lack of specialists in many of the more difficult and obscure groups. The lack of knowledge of fruiting patterns also hinders the assessment of which fungi are genuinely rare and which are not. It is not possible, with any degree of confidence, to state whether a ‘rare’ fungus is genuinely rare, or whether it only produces fruiting bodies rarely.

Recently (2007) the British Mycological Society (BMS) working with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) has produced a Provisional Red Data List of threatened British Fungi which supersedes Ing’s (1992) list. Recently, also, the Association of British Fungus Groups (ABFG), 2006, has produced a list of Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), endangered, species. Visits made by the British Mycological Society (BMS) field groups in 1965, 1982 and 2000 have made valuable additions to our knowledge of the Cornish fungi, and access to the BMS Fungal Records Database of Britain and Ireland (FRDBI) has proved to be invaluable. The recent formation of a Cornwall Fungus Recording Group, affiliated to the Association of British Fungus Groups, has stimulated greater recording effort and has resulted in a greater knowledge and better understanding of the Cornish fungal scene. Work for this Red Data Book has shown that Cornwall has a great fungal diversity including many rare, infrequently recorded species. One of the main reasons for this is the wide range of habitats present: calcareous dune systems on the north coast; ultramafic rocks on the Lizard Peninsula; old, unimproved grassland on country estate lawns, sea cliffs and culm measures; upland acidic moors and bogs; deciduous and coniferous woodland mainly in east Cornwall, much of it being ancient woodland; heathland; shingle; metaliferous mining sites, and many more. The publication of the Checklist of the British and Irish Basidiomycota (Legon et al., 2005) surprisingly the first ever comprehensive list of the British basidiomycota and a milestone in British mycology, has brought a great deal of order to what was a rather chaotic group and has greatly assisted in the compilation of this Cornish fungal account. The BMS checklist has been used as the source for the ascomycete names. I am very grateful to Martin Ainsworth, Michael Jordan, Bruce Ing, Ken Preston-Mafham and members of the Cornwall Fungus Recording Group for their records and helpful comments.

1. RED DATA BOOK LIST OF THREATENED BRITISH FUNGI (PROVISIONAL ASSESSMENT – BRITISH MYCOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 2007).

Species marked with an asterisk also appear in Ing’s 1992 Red Data List. Numbers given in brackets after the Cornish vice county (VC) distribution represent the total records for that species on the British Mycological Society Database as at September 2007.

1.1. AGARICS & BOLETI

Cortinarius orellanus Fool’s Webcap

Cortinarius violaceus Violet Webcap

Entoloma bloxamii Big Blue Pinkgill

Hygrocybe calyptriformis Pink Waxcap

Hygrocybe spadicea Date Waxcap

Hygrophorus nemoreus Oak Woodwax

Limacella illinita Dripping Slimecap

Phylloporus pelletieri Golden Gilled Bolete

Russula aurea Gilded Brittlegill

Russula intermedia

1.2. ASCOMYCOTA

Camarops polysperma Thick Tarcrust

Cordyceps tuberculata

Geoglossum atropurpureum Dark-purple Earthtongue

Geoglossum elongatum

Hypocreopsis rhododendri Hazel Gloves

Microglossum olivaceum Olive Earthtongue

1.3. NON AGARICOID HYMENOMYCETES (including brackets, chanterelles and stipitates).

Cantharellus ferruginascens

Cantharellus friesii Orange Chanterelle

Clavaria straminea Straw Club

Cotylidia pannosa Woolly Rosette

Hericium coralloides Coral Tooth

Hericium erinaceus Bearded Tooth

Hydnellum concrescens Zoned Tooth

Hydnellum ferrugineum Mealy Tooth

Hydnellum spongiosipes Velvet Tooth

Inonotus nodulosus

Phellodon confluens Fused Tooth

Podoscypha multizonata Zoned Rosette

Sarcodon squamosus Scaly Tooth

Geastrum elegans Elegant Earthstar

Puccinia hydrocotyles

Triphragmium filipendulae

Tilletia caries

2. PROVISIONALLY NATIONALLY SCARCE SPECIES

These are according to the number of records on the National Fungus Records Database as at 2007. The number of such records is given in brackets. Some of these may well qualify as Provisional Red Data list species in the future.

All the species listed below are stated to be rarely reported or collected in Legon et. al. 2005. Species marked with an asterisk also appear in Ing’s 1992 Red Data List.