Pepperpot fungus - further information.
by wuffa on Mon 15 Jan 2007 13:50 GMT | IP: 63.169.77.66

I saw the article in Issue 64 of White Admiral on the rediscovery of the Pepperpot fungus (Myriostoma coliforme). I presume the information was picked up from Shelley Evans' article in Field Mycology. I am the Chris Povey referred to in the White Admiral article, the person who reported the find.

There was also a piece by Dr Peter Roberts on the discovery in the first programme of the new BBC series of a Year at Kew a couple of weeks ago (which I am afraid I missed).

I thought you might be interested in a few further observations.

1. The site where the pepperpot was found is not actually in Ipswich, but in open countryside some six miles north on the town. The site is on the edge of a small piece of oak woodland; part of my property, but not in my garden, as I think the BBC programme suggested.

2. The then anonymous dog walker (who knows rather more about fungi than I do!) has now been identified. He has been regular walker along the footpath that skirts the edge of the woodland for more than thirty years and has seen the myriostoma there on several occasions over that period - the conclusion that it has been fruiting sporadically at the site for some time is correct. He has also observed other relatively rare fungi at the site.

3. We first identifed it in early 2006 and I reported it to the British Mycological Society and then to Kew. The specimen at Kew that featured on the TV programme was one that fruited in the Autumn of 2005. Last Autumn (ie 2006) two further specimens fruited in the same place. I have pictures of the fruiting fungus but I am not sure how to attach these to this message.

4. Very few people know where the site is at this point. There were some newspaper reports trailing the Kew programme a couple of weeks ago that said that "local naturalists have since been dispatched to the site to monitor the survival and potential spread of the fungus" - this is not true, at least to my knowledge (they wouldn't know where it is!). As yet I have had no visits as a result of the contact with the BMS and Kew, nor any suggestions on what I should try to do to conserve/preserve it. I agree that it is safer not to publicise the exact location, although I would be happy to show it to anyone with a particular interest.

Pleased you made it io the blog Chris,I am aware the site was not in Ipswich - that's how the final draft came out, I left it like that to put off treasure hunters and beleive me, there are some. Is there any chance of the 'dog walker' getting in touch? he sounds knowlegable about fungi and like minds need to get together. Neil Mahler.

Hi Chris,

Many thanks for taking the time to post some interesting background notes to the Pepperpot discovery (I appreciate I'm not exactly on the ball here seeing as this was posted 6 mnoths ago!!).

For my sins, I am one of the founder members of the Suffolk Fungus Group and have been recording fungi since childhood, my interest first starting when I lived at Nacton Decoy on the Orwell Estate. I've been exiled up in the fens for 25 years where I am responsible for leading numerous forays for Forestry Enterprise every year and also the 2 highly popular forays at Brandon Country Park.

However my main interest and specialist field is that of Earthstars (Geastrum) species and have had the great fortune to find and to be involved in the recording of several rare species in both Suffolk and Norfolk. Therefore I would be really appreciative if you could get in touch (jonathan.revett@virign.net) with regards to the Pepperpot and its site.

Many thanks,

Jonathan.

Further to this, my correct e-mail address is:

jonathan.revett@virgin.net and not as I had previously typed!