Fungi -- Great Britain -- Identification; Mushrooms -- Identification
It is useful to consider the fungi of different woodland types
separately, but this in some cases is very difficult because some
species are not exclusive; indeed some species may grow in completely
contrasting habitats, e.g. _Amanita muscaria_ (Fries) Hooker in both
birch and conifer woods, or on contrasting substrates, e.g. _Fomes
fomentarius_ (Fries) Kickx on birch in Scotland and beech on the
continent of Europe. The picture becomes even more complex because
frequently woods, in fact, often include several tree species growing in
close proximity and it is then difficult to draw connections between a
fungus and the tree with which it is truly growing--we know little or
nothing except for mycorrhizal fungi, why certain fungi prefer certain
habitats.
A parallel example is that phenomenon seen in certain polypores which
only attack twigs or branches and not stumps or trunks, whilst others
grow exclusively on stumps. We know little of the reasons for these
demarcations, even when they occur within the same host. Mycology,
therefore, offers to the beginner and the professional many
opportunities in physiology and ecology.
In grassland areas it is difficult to know where to draw the line
between one plant-community and another when listing species, for
although ecologically distinct both would come under the name grassland.
In the field, however, this is often very obvious and there is little
doubt that fungi can give just as accurate an indication as to the
soil-type, as many mosses or vascular plants. In sand-dune systems, the
mobile dunes offer a different ecological niche to that of the fixed
dunes which in many ways resemble grasslands. Thus although the lists
below are split into easily manageable units, some flexibility must
still be allowed. It is meant only as a guide--and will differ in some
cases from one place to another, even within the British Isles.
=General Woodland=
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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