10
RED CAGE FUNGUS APPEARS IN BRAINTREE
In mid-September 1996 a specimen of fungus was shown to Jeremy Ison by a member of
the local council, who had received it from a resident of Braintree. Mr Malcolm
Lockwood of 17 John Ray Street had found it growing in his garden at the end of a row
of runner beans. Jeremy thought it was the Red Cage fungus Clathrus ruber and told
Tony Boniface, who contacted Mr Lockwood and went to photograph another specimen
on 5th October 1996.
This relation of the Stinkhorn is a rare visitor to southern England and has only been
recorded 62 times in the British Isles before 1995. It is a Mediterranean species which
may be taking advantage of the warmer climate of recent years. Readers should watch
out its mesh of lattice-like red spongy arms. Like the Stinkhorn it grows from an egg and
attracts flies with a foul smelling mucilage
Tony Boniface
 CHURCHYARD RARITY
On a visit to Dovercourt on 14th September 1996 I found what appeared to be an
Agaricus species in the churchyard of the local church. However it had white gills and
turned out to be Leucoagaricus subcretaceous (Bon in Bon & van Haluwyn). The fungus
is illustrated in Fungi of Switzerland Volume 4 by Breitenbach and Kranzlin. Its identity
was eventually confirmed by Alick Henrice and now resides in the herbarium at Kew. It
appears to be a new record for Essex. It was growing in short grassland near the church,
demonstrating once again the value of our churchyards as a refuge for fungi.
Tony Boniface
WHATS ON: ESSEX FIELD CLUB
FEBRUARY
Saturday 8th General Meeting 1410. "The Ice Age in East Anglia" talk by Gerald
Lucy at 3.00pm. Red Cross Hall, London Road, Chelmsford (car park
entrance in Writtle Road).
Sunday 16th Bird Group. Visit to Bradwell Bird Observatory by courtesy of the
Essex Birdwatching Society. Park at TM 024078. Meet at 9.45am.
Details from John Bath (01277) 651890.
MARCH
Saturday 15th Annual General Meeting 117. Red Cross Hall, London Road,
Chelmsford (car park entrance in Writtle Road) at 3.00pm followed by
address by Vice President Colin Plant on an insect topic.
Sunday 23rd Bird Group. Woodpecker search in Weald Park. Meet car park by
cricket pitch. TQ 574940 at 10.00am. Leader David Williams (01245)
225119.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NEXT NEWSLETTER
Please send contributions for the next Newsletter, due out early May, to the Editor, Mr
Peter Harvey, 9 Kent Road, Grays, RM17 6DE by the end of March. Remember that the
production of the Newsletter depends on contributions from members. I am sure that many
members must have news, observations or the results of fieldwork that would be of interest
to others. If text has been typed on a PC computer then a disk with the file would be very
helpful Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 20, February 1997