Article for NE Advertiser
North-Eastern Tasmanian Field Naturalists Fungi Field Day by Ross Coad

The North-Eastern Tasmanian Field Naturalists Club recently held a fungi field day on a private northeast property. The group of 16 club members was joined by Dr Genevieve Gates and Dr David Ratkowsky, two very experienced Tasmanian mycologists and authors of the Tasmanian Field Guide to Fungi. Over 60 species of fungi were observed during the course of the day, which sounds like a lot until you realise that over 500 fungi species have been identified at this location.

There are many fungi that come in shades of dull brown with a fairly typical mushroom or toadstool shape. However, fungi are much more than what people usually mean by the non- scientific terms, mushrooms and toadstools. They come in a wide range of shapes, sizes and colours, with many being quite distinctive and far from dull brown in colour. A good example is the pixie’s parasol (Mycena interrupta), which is quite small — the cap is typically less than 1 cm in diameter — and is easily spotted due to its brilliant sky blue colour.

Several coral fungi were seen by the field naturalists, including Clavulinopsis sulcata, which resembles orange fingers reaching up out of the ground, and the unusual purple coral fungus (Clavulina zollingeri). Coral fungi are named for the similarity to marine corals, such as those found on the Great Barrier Reef.

Sometimes, distinguishing one species from another can be very difficult, even for experts. There are various reasons for this, including age, environmental factors, what the fungus is growing on and how closely related the species are to each other. Dr Gates spoke about various techniques that assist in the identification of fungi when more than a simple visual examination is required. Ultimately, DNA sequencing can be used to distinguish between two apparently identical fungal specimens, or to see whether they are related to other fungi in a database. Of course, these techniques are out-of-reach for field naturalists on a weekend fungi walk, so visual examinations and some simple tests were sufficient for our north-eastern field naturalists to make fair to excellent identifications.

In relatively undisturbed wet forests, where the forest floor is covered in a rich layer of leaf litter and fallen tree branches, fungi can flourish and play their role in natural decay processes, releasing nutrients for living plants. The fungi also provide food and shelter for insects, which in turn attract and support a wide range of animal species. Although a few fungi can be found almost anywhere, a vastly greater range of species is supported in those few forests that remain largely undisturbed.