Gyromitra ancilis

(old scientific names include Discina perlata, Gyromitra perlata and Discina ancilis)

The kingdom of the fungi is broadly divided into two, according to the manner in which the spores are produced and released. All of the fungi of the month species so far have been Basidiomycetes, that is to say that the spores develop on the outside of microscopic peg like structures (basidia) which are located on the fertile surface (the flat faces of the gills, inside the tubes or inside the puffball). When they are mature they rely mostly on gravity to pull them out into the air currents (puffballs are a bit different but that’s another story). Ascomycetes produce their spores inside microscopic sausage shaped sacs (asci), which stand upright to form a palisade across the inside of what is often a cup like structure in the larger fruit bodies. The asci are pressurised and when the spores are mature, they are literally shot out into the air currents. Morels, Truffles and Earthtongues are also Ascomycetes and most of the lichens involved Ascomycetes as the fungal partner. Further background on the fungi.

Gyromitra ancilis can actually get quite large, up to about 8 cm across and has a rich red brown colour. It forms irregular cups or discs on dead conifer wood (Liz has also found it growing on juniper wood) in the spring. The fertile surface is often quite wrinkled in appearance and the flesh beneath is pale where revealed by damage. It could be mistaken for another large brown spring cup fungus – Disciotis venosa (Bleach Cup) which, as the English name suggests, smells strongly of chlorine. Disciotis venosa has a different habitat, preferring richer soils in broadleaved woodlands and gardens and is apparently particularly fond of fruiting below riverside Butterbur leaves. This latter fungus is quite common in England but apparently rarely encountered in Scotland.

Gyromitra ancilis growing in the soil around an old conifer stump

Fruiting: the majority of records on the FRDBI are from April and May, with one or two in December, February and May and a couple of records from September. This certainly seems to be a spring fruiter.

Habitat: found associated with the dead wood of conifers. Sometimes it is directly on the wood itself – large conifer stumps are always worth checking out - and sometimes it appears in the soil around stumps. It has also been found on dead juniper wood

Distribution: the Checklist of the British and Irish Basidiomycota (Legon & Henrici 2005) does not cover Ascomycetes so the following information is taken from Dennis ‘British Ascomycetes’, Hansen & Knudsen’s ‘Nordic Macromycetes’ Vol.1 (NM1) and the records on the Fungal Records Database of Britain and Ireland (FRDBI). The wonderful resource of the revised Mycologia Scotica by Roy Watling does not yet include the Ascomycetes – although rumour has it that Roy is currently working on this omission.

Dennis suggests that it appears in coniferous woods – especially in the Highlands but admits that it is probably under-recorded because there is less fungal recording in the spring. NM1 suggests that it is occasional to rare in the Nordic countries.

The total number of records for this species on the FRDBI is 45 with 23 of those originating in Scotland. Strangely very few of these records appear on the NBN distribution map of this species and none of the Scottish ones (must be a data glitch). It has been found on Deeside from Aberdeen to Mar Lodge, on Speyside (Nethy Bridge) and Tayside (Faskally and Rannoch), with one or two outliers at Duartmore and Aberfoyle. Let’s see if we can extend the known distribution of this species by some more targeted foraying in the spring!

Liz Holden April 2011