August 25th :
Rubinoboletus rubinus, formerly
Chalciporus rubinus (a species that is crying out for an English name!) is an extremely beautiful but scarce member of the
Bolete, that is usually found growing under oaks. The small size, pale brown cap, cardamine pores (which are decurrent down the stem) and pale flesh, which turns pink in the cap and bright yellow at the base of the stem, generally serve to identify it. In his article on the
Bolete of Essex in EN Vol.19 (2002) Tony Boniface lists records from (inevitably) Epping Forest and also Ian Rose's garden lawn at Mistley (!) while there have been at least four subsequent sightings from Hatfield Forest by Shirley Watson. There is also an earlier record, from Chigwell, in 1986, on the BMS Database. Thus this record appears to be the fifth recorded locality in Essex and is a welcome addition to the fungi of the Writtle Forest and surrounding area. I hope to include the photos in a display on the Bolete of the area at the Club's exhibition in December.
The fungi season is gradually gaining momentum in this area and if we can avoid any long spells of dry weather shows promise of being the best for years. A good recent find was Lactarius hysginus, found growing under Corsican Pine at The Hyde Lake, Ingatestone on August 27th. This is a fairly distinctive species - one of those with an extremely viscid cap - but I can find no Essex records either on the BMS Database or in Tony's article on Lactarius in the EN (Vol.24). Unfortunately, no specimens were kept (an oversight) although a full description was taken. It is described as 'seldom reported but apparently widespread' in the Checklist of British Basidiomycota. September 2nd was another good day, a sheltered hedgerow alongside College Wood, Fryerning yielding eight species of Bolete, namely, Boletus appendiculatus, B. reticulatus (over 40), B. edulis, B. luridiformis, B. radicans, Xerocomus subtomentosus, X. cisalpinus and Leccinum carpini - a fine haul and all within a few yards of each other.
