This Autumn, we are highlighting two species of readily identifiable fungi to look out for on your patch.
The Orange Ping-Pong Bat (pore cap) Fungus- Favolaschia claudopus (Favolaschia calocera)
This species was first described in 1933 from a collection from Madagascar, but it is now considered invasive in many parts of the northern hemisphere including Britain and Ireland1,3.
It is identifiable by the bright orange colour and lattice of pores on the underside of the cap. The fruiting bodies can be variable in size but are usually no more than 2cm across with a stipe of up to 1.5cm long and 15mm diameter4.
Help us to map the spread of this species across the region.
Keep an eye out for this in your local woodlands and report any sightings to us through WWBIC online
- Invasion of the Orange Ping-Pong Bats: the rapidly changing distribution of Favolaschia calocybe; A. Martyn Ainsworth, David Farley, Paul Gainey, Pauline Penna & Laura M. Suz; Field MycologyVolume 16 (4) Oct. 2015, British Mycological Society.
- Navarro D, Drula E, Chaduli D, Cazenave R, Ahrendt S, Wang J, Lipzen A, Daum C, Barry K, Grigoriev IV, Favel A, Rosso MN, Martin F. Draft genome sequencing and assembly of Favolaschia claudopus CIRM-BRFM 2984 isolated from oak limbs. J Genomics. 2024 Feb 17;12:44-46. doi: 10.7150/jgen.92255. PMID: 38434106; PMCID: PMC10905254.
- Favolaschia claudopus Q.Y. Zhang & Y.C. Dai, Forests 12(10, no. 1397): 9 (2021)
- Favolaschia claudopus, Orange Porecap
The Pink Waxcap (Porpolomopsis calyptriformis) 
Waxcaps are excellent indicators of ancient, unfertilised grasslands taking as many as 50 years to re-establish if ploughed (Prof. Gareth Griffiths). In Wales we have a number of international, national and locally important grassland sites for waxcaps. A good place to start to look for these is in churchyards and chapels.
The Pink waxcap is easily identifiable but less abundant than some of the other waxcaps.
It has a Pink cap with white stem and usually fruits late summer to early autumn. As it ages the cap whitens and curls up at the edges. The gills are not attached to the stem.
Report your sightings here WWBIC online
Plantlife-UK-Waxcap-ID-guide-2024-WEB.pdf