- This topic is empty.
-
Posts
-
This is additional species 664t in Peter Thompson’s book. I found this species in June 2013 on a bamboo cane used to support runner beans on my allotment. I could not identify it so sent it to Peter Wilberforce in Oban. He figured it out and sent it to Brian Spooner at Kew, who confirmed the identification. Native to SE Asia. A first for the UK.
In December 2014, I was examining some old canes on my neighbour’s allotment (as you do) and found another specimen. Peter Thompson asked me for a sample and this is what he photographed for his book. (I think my photo is better).
Both specimens were from 6 foot canes, logically from the same source – the allotment site shop. Both on very old and brittle canes where the hard yellow surface had gone. Both on the ends that had been stuck in the ground for some months and most probably in previous years. The canes had then been stored outside.
Difficult to say how long it has been around in the UK. When bamboo canes get as old as these, the end frequently snaps off in the ground or is rotten and thrown away. My neighbour decided his canes were so old that he burnt them all. How many mycological allotmenteers are there who would notice it?
So if you have any old bamboo canes, they might be worth a look.
I’m coming to this rather late, but Brian passed your specimen to Martyn Ainsworth who passed it on to me as I try to maintain an interest in all the British Ascomycota. I’ve created a page for the species on the Fungi of Great Britain & Ireland website – see http://fungi.myspecies.info/all-fungi/astrosphaeriella-stellata ” class=”bbcode_url”> http://fungi.myspecies.info/all-fungi/astrosphaeriella-stellata I think this is a rather nice species. I suspect that it’s originally an introduction along with the bamboo. This could have happened a long time ago and the species is now established. However, I suspect that many of the bamboo canes we buy from garden shops are imports from the Orient – so it’s more likely to be a transient species for the British biota.
Astrosphaeriellaspecies are more or less confined to bamboo and palms. If I remember correctly, the other known UK species ( A. trochus) was found on a living established bamboo clump in one of the great gardens in Cornwall, and may therefore now be a permanent member of the UK biota – unless the bamboo clump has been removed….
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.