English Name: Scarlet Splash
(old scientific names include Thelephora salicina, Corticium salicinum and Cytidia rutilans)

Do you have a patch of old willow growing near you? If so, you might want to check it out for this distinctive and rarely recorded fungus.

This species has an interesting history in the UK with some early records in 1879 and 1900 (from Kinrara and Lynwilg on Speyside) and then nothing anywhere until Roy Watling recorded it from Murder Moss near Roxburgh in 1977 followed by a whole batch of records from 4 different 10Km squares in the Keilder area of Northumberland between 1999 and 2007. My own connection with this species arose when we were compiling the fungal element of the Cairngorms LBAP document. We were keen to establish whether the old Cytidia records from Speyside could be refound and thus Ern Emmett and myself set out on a freezing cold December day in 2002 to check out an area of fen with abundant old willows on Kinrara Estate. Within 5 minutes we had found it and think it likely that both of the old records were from this same locality – amazing, it has probably been growing there unobserved for over 100years! I have found it since at three other localities but not present, or at least not fruiting, at very many more.

Look out for bright red splashes on willows – always check the damper underside of dead branches, especially if they are lying close to the ground but remember to turn them back as you found them. Be warned too, I have seen it looking dry, hard and dark red on standing willow stems – not as obvious then. When young the fungus often forms circular patches that coalesce with age forming an almost gelatinous crust. The bright red surface is the fertile part – the basidia are all over the surface, producing spores. This group of fungi (crusts or corticioids or resupinates) usually produce these fertile structures on the underside of wood to utilise the effect of gravity on the spores.

Fruiting: The majority of records occur between September and January and maybe because the first time I saw this species was in December, I always think of this as a winter species. With single records in May, June and August this may not be the case and it would be interesting to know more about when fruit bodies actually appear, how long they last and when they disappear. If anybody would like to find a site with the species and watch it carefully that would be of great interest!