Safety first! Many mushrooms are poisonous, some are deadly poisonous. Never eat any wild mushroom until an expert mycologist has checked your identification. Even when you know a mushroom well, weather conditions or animal damage can cause differences in appearance that could lead to misidentification.
Fungi are most well known as mushrooms and toadstools but the group also includes truffles, brackets, yeast used in bread making and brewing and Penicillium from which the antibiotic Penicillin was discovered. They can cause disease in humans (Athlete's Foot) and plants (Dutch Elm Disease). However, far more significant is the part fungi play in their many important roles in ecosystems. They are essential in the carbon cycle for decaying organic matter leading to soil formation and they often form beneficial partnerships with plants and animals.
Of the 70,000 known species of fungi, more than 14,600 species occur in Britain. Although most seen growing in the countryside occur in woodland habitats and unimproved grassland, fungi occur in every habitat. With woodland and wood pasture representing only 3.5% of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, to see fungi growing in the wild here you need to know where to look. In addition to wild fungi the the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority have been working with local landowners on a pilot project to create a profitable additional income for woodland owners by harvesting edible mushrooms from specially impregnated logs. The mushrooms being harvested in this way include the species enoki, shiitake, Yorkshire oysters and chicken of the woods which appear in gourmet dishes on the tables of up-market restaurants around the country.
Brief descriptions of ten examples of fungi found growing wild in the Dales are given below:
Birch polypore (Piptoporus betulinus)
Birch polyporeThe birch polypore, also known as the razorstrop, is a bracket fungus (a fungus which grows on the sides of logs or trees). It is most commonly found growing in broadleaved woodland on old, dying or dead silver or downy birch trees between September and November. P. betulinus has a bracket 10–20cm across and 2–6cm thick. It has a rounded shape at first expanding to a hoof-shape. The lower surface has pores rather than gills. They grow annually but remain intact from one year to the next.
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Chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius)
The chanterelle mushroom is a rare find in the Yorkshire Dales. It is most commonly found growing on the ground in broad-leaved semi-natural woodland, associated with oak trees between July and October. C. cibarius has a cap 3–10cm across, at first flattened with an irregular incurved margin, later becoming wavy and lobed and depressed at the centre. The colour is pale to deep egg-yellow which fades with age. They are fragrant, apparently smelling of apricots. The gills are narrow, vein-like and irregularly forked. They are highly sought after for gourmet cooking.
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Common puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum)
The common puffball grows on the ground in various habitats, but is most commonly found in woodland associated with beech or oak trees among leaves or moss between August and November. L. perlatum is 2.5–6cm across, 2–9cm high, rounded with a distinct stem. The colour is white at first becoming yellowish brown. The head of the mushroom has short pyramidal ‘warts’ which rub off in time. Later the head breaks open releasing puffs of spores, hence the name.
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Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria)
Fly agaric fungusThe fly agaric is a poisonous fungi occurring in the Yorkshire Dales. It is found growing on the ground in various types of woodland associated with silver birch trees between September and November. The cap is 8–20cm across, bright scarlet covered with distinctive white pyramidal warts which may be washed off by rain leaving the cap almost smooth before the colour fades. The gills and stem are white.
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Penny bun (Boletus edulis)
The penny bun otherwise known as the cep or porcini mushroom is a rare find in the Yorkshire Dales. It is most commonly found growing on the ground in broadleaved woodland, associated with beech or oak trees between September and November. B. edulis is brown with a convex to shield shaped cap 8-20cm across and the stem is bulbous at the base.
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Shaggy inkcap (Coprinus comatus)
Shaggy inkcap fungiThe shaggy inkcap grows on the ground in various habitats but is most commonly found in neutral grassland or woodland growing in among the grass between September and November. It is also often seen in more urban areas on disturbed ground. The cap is 3-7cm across and 5-15cm high, white and very shaggy-scaly, often with a pale brownish "skullcap" at the apex. The gills are white becoming black and inky when the cap expands. The stem is 10-37 cm tall with a slightly bulbous base.
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Sulphur tuft (Hypholoma fasciculare)
Sulphur tuft fungiThe sulphur tuft grows in dense clusters in various habitats, but is most commonly found in woodland and neutral grassland. It thrives on tree stumps and other dead wood of beech, oak, hazel and pine trees between September and November. H. fasciculare has a cap 2–7cm across with a convex shape. The colour is bright sulphur-yellow changing to an orange-tan towards the centre. The thin stem is often curved and can be up to 10cm long.
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Sycamore tarspot (Rhytisma acerinum)
Sycamore leaf withtar spot fungus
The sycamore tarspot is a common fungal infection of sycamore leaves most noticeable between August and November. It forms small black patches on the leaves, but causes no major damage to the tree apart from reducing the photosynthetic area of the leaf.
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Turkeytail (Trametes versicolor)
The turkeytail is a common bracket fungus (a fungus which grows on the sides of logs or trees). It is most commonly found growing on the deadwood of a wide range of native broadleaved tree species, throughout the year. T. versicolor has a dense cluster of stalkless, overlapping spoon or cup shaped caps. It is multi-coloured with bands of white, tan, orange, brown, red or purple.
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Wood hedgehog (Hydnum repandum)
The wood hedgehog is a rare find in the Yorkshire Dales. It grows on the ground in various habitats but is most commonly found in broadleaved semi-natural woodland growing among moss between September and October. H. repandum usually appears one at a time. The cap is 3–17cm across, flattened convex or centrally depressed. The surface looks velvety at first and then becomes more suede-like. The colour is cream, yellowish or pale flesh-coloured. The striking feature of this toadstool is that instead of gills the undersurface of the cap is made up of spines, hence its English name. The stem is 3-7 cm tall and 2-4 cm wide and if often off centre.
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Acknowledgements:
Many thanks to Archie McAdam (President of the Mid Yorkshire Fungus Group) for his contributions to this page.
