I stumbled upon a few Morels (
Morchella sp.) at Oxwich this evening. These really are strikingly different and beautiful fungi! I had a brief chat with M
ervyn Howells who said M. esculenta has been recorded at Oxwich previously, but interestingly the literature I have read states that 'the fungus fruits under hardwoods during a short period in the spring, depending on the weather, but it is also associated with old orchards, woods, disturbed grounds and burnt areas'. So it seems odd these were out in open dune grassland no where near any hardwoods?
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Also had some "Morrels" in Kenfig Dunes last year, with the nearest woods (birch/young) being over 300yds away. They were in the slacks near the saltmarsh on dry /sandy ground with only a light grass covering. Could it be that just under our dune systems is the remanants of ancient woodlands and the fungi have broken through the dune soil. - one for the time team i think :)
Thanks Martyn, from what Charles told me yesterday the taxonomy of Morels is even more complex than that of Lesser Whitethroats, but esculenta is the species recognised as being present on our dune systems. I think this fungus needs a mycorhizal association with living plant tissues, so clearly it is not restricted to hardwoods, unless you class Dewberry as hardwood?
There were several fruiting at the top of the strandline at Kenfig yesterday.
Thanks for letting me know where you found them, had a look this morning and found some nice examples. There were quite a few lizards about today as well but they were far too swift for me to photograph.
Some in the university today, 11th April.
Ian Tew
and 2 more on Crymlyn Burrows today.
I would be very careful about posting the whereabouts of these fungus. Have you seen what is happening in Michigan. Please use some common sense.
No offense intended.
What is happening in Michigan ?
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