Two for one Suffolk find

Today Neil Mahler, whilst out and about in Suffolk, was attracted to a interesting looking sandy bank, the sort of habitat that has been know to harbour Battarrea phalloides in the past. Although Neil is the County Recorder for fungi in Suffolk he had not previously found a new site for this fungus. His perseverance more than paid off on this occasion when he not only found Battarrea phalloides but also even rarer was the second only record since 1880 for Myriostoma coliforme on mainland Britain. It is almost over the top to mention that Geastrum fornicatum was also present on the site.

Myriostoma coliforme had been considered extinct from England until its rediscovery in Suffolk in 2006 after an absence of more than a hundred years. (Evans 2006) It is a disctinctive fruitbody which lasts for a long time in the wild and should be readily recognised by anyone with a passing interest in fungi. A second appearance is truly remarkable. There were records in 1996 and 1999 in Jersey but not on the mainland. Evans reminds us that this is a species on the Red Data List of 11 European countries and has been considered for the Bern convention.

The previous British records on the FRDBI can be seen here and a map is available on the NBN gateway

Reference

Evans, S.E. Field Mycology, Volume 7, Issue 2, April 2006, Pages 69-71