Please see the Transcriber’s Notes at the end of this text.
IDENTIFICATION OF THE LARGER FUNGI
DEDICATION
To my parents who encouraged my interests in mushrooms andtoadstools and my wife who, later, was sympathetic to my studiesand assisted in the production of the manuscript.
Hulton Group Keys
IDENTIFICATION OF THE LARGER
FUNGI
by
ROY WATLING, B.Sc., Ph.D., M.I.Biol.
Principal Scientific Officer,
Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh
Editor of series: Antony R. Kenney, M.A., B.Sc.
©
1973
R. Watling
A. R. Kenney
ISBN 0 7175 0595 2
First published 1973 by Hulton Educational Publications Ltd.,
Raans Road, Amersham, Bucks.
Reproduced and printed by photolithography and bound in
Great Britain at The Pitman Press, Bath
[5]
PREFACE
This is one of a series of books intended to introduce field-biology tostudents, particularly the sixth form and early university student. Thepresent work is ecologically biased in order to emphasise a ratherneglected aspect of the higher fungi.
Few books on fungi have ever been designed for students. Thisbook is aimed primarily at this level, but if the interested amateur isassisted and encouraged by this same text my hopes will have beendoubly achieved. Many amateurs interested in higher fungi wish onlyto name their collections, or know approximately what they are beforesampling them as an addition to their diet. An understanding of ourcommoner species at an early age will allow the ‘budding’ mycologistto tackle the much needed study of the more critical forms. Mycologyis still at a descriptive stage, but it is hoped this will soon be changedand fungi of all kinds will be studied as part and parcel of courses inecology.
It is of course quite impossible to cover all the species in such asmall volume as this present one, but it is hoped that the exampleswhich have been carefully chosen are sufficiently common throughoutthe country for any student to collect them in a single season. Theexamples, except for very few, in fact appear in the list of higher fungifound about the Kindrogan Field Centre, Perthshire, Scotland, compiledfrom the collections made by students attending my field coursethere.
The present work is arranged in three parts: the agarics are dealtwith first, the non-agarics next, both with particular reference to theirmajor habitat preferences, and lastly a catalogue of those morespecialised habitats which are frequently encountered. All parts aresupported at the end by lists in tabular form of those species expectedto be found in any one habitat. Keys to the major groups, families andgenera, are included to widen the scope of the book and place theexamples chosen and illustrated in the text in their position inclassification.
In the description the synonymy has been very severely pruned andonly covers the commonly seen names; they are included as part ofthe general information under each species. In order for the student[6]to expand unfamiliar names a list of references is added at the e