First confirmed record of Xerocomus bubalinus in Essex
Tony Boniface 40 Pentland Avenue, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 4AZ
On 31st August 2008 I collected a species of Xerocomus that I thought was Xerocomus
armeniacus. I sent the specimen to Geoffrey Kibby via Kew, who tentatively confirmed
this identification. The specimen eventually reached the present authority on boletes,
Alan Hills, who identified it as X. bubalinus on the basis of branched elements in the
cuticle (pileipellis) of the cap. This species was first found in this country in Silwood
Park, Berkshire in 2007. It is associated with Tilia and Populus in short grass in urban
areas. This agrees with the site where I found it under Tilia in St John's churchyard in
Moulsham Street, Chelmsford. It has been collected from at leastten sites in the south of
England and one in Scotland since its first discovery in Berkshire to the time that I
found it in Chelmsford. Now that it can be identified more easily using Alan's Hills' new
key in Field Mycology (Hills 2008) similar boletes from urban sites should be examined
carefully as it may well be more widely distributed in the county than this first record
suggests.
References
Hills, A. E. (2008) The genus Xerocomus. Field Mycology 9 (3): 77-96.
Botanical Records - problems and solutions (Part 3)
Ken Adams 63 Wroth's Path, Baldwins Hill. Loughton. Essex IG10 1SH
In Part I of this series I discussed the problem of locating the position of a plant on the
ground and possible solutions using maps and hand held Geographical Positioning (GPS)
devices, to arrive at an accurate grid reference. Since then I have been informed of a
method using Google Earth that I now use for most of my recording in the field, which
is inherently more accurate than a portable GPS device. If you have downloaded and
used the free Google Earth site, you will know that you can zoom down to anywhere on
earth within a few seconds to obtain a high resolution satellite image, and even see
yourself sunning in your deckchair. If you open the site Nearby.org.uk, click on
Downloads and download the free file (No:9) called G.B. and Ireland Grid-lines Layer,
and create yourself an icon for your desktop; when you click on the icon it will open up
in Google Earth and as you zoom in, - first the 10km, and then the 1km Ordnance
Survey National Grid Lines will appear superimposed on the satellite image. Then, at
highest resolution click on the little box just below right of labels in the left hand screen
menu and a 12 figure grid reference will appear next to it [also overlain on the Google
Earth Image], This is the grid reference of the centre of the image. By simply scrolling
and panning with your mouse to get the site you want roughly in the centre, and then
Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 59, May 2009
7