Local fungus expert Keir Mottram found Hemipholiota populnea, a nationally rare fungus, in Copperfield Road Woodland Walk in Mile End Park in mid-November. Typically for the species, it was growing from the cut end of a large poplar log. While some fungi have few records because they are not easily noticed or very hard to identify, that is not the case for Hemipholiota populnea, of which the ‘Checklist of the British & Irish Basidiomycota’ states “This is a large and distinctive species, unlikely to be overlooked and thus probably genuinely rare”.
Keir said “it’s a big, butch toadstool, so very easy to see and recognise as a fungus. It’s also an absolute doddle to identify and rarely seen, so the fact it hasn’t got a common English name is a bit of a mystery to me. That might encourage people to go out and look for more of it. Poplar Scalycap, anyone?”
All photos by Keir Mottram
