Once upon a time, 4 years ago, I had the pleasure of working at an organic farm in Kilkenny. It was a very informative experience, and it showed me how much I absolutely loved working with nature and getting my hands dirty. There were many times I spotted fungus popping up amongst the industrious soil. These ones weren’t hard to miss, standing proud on top of the woodchip pile next to one of the polytunnels.
Agrocybe rivulosa are known to only grow on woodchip and it was first identified in Britain in 2004. The National Biodiversity Centre here in Ireland has one record, apart from this one, from 2014 from Ballincollig Regional Park in Cork. There are 338 records on Cate2 which covers the UK, dating from 26th October 2004 onwards, distributed fairly evenly across England and Wales, less so in Scotland.
The biggest were quite tall at around 10cm and the ring can be clearly seen. It is described as ‘easily torn’.
They were growing in many little clusters in the woodchip which was great as I could see more mature specimens alongside the ones in their prime. The more mature had discoloured browny caps that had flattened out from their more distinctive irregular conical shape.
Basic Profile
Scientific name: Agrocybe rivulosa
Common names: Wrinkled fieldcap
Size of fruiting body: 5-10cm tall, cap 5-10cm wide
Spores: 11.5-12 x 7-8 µm
Gills: Creamy/grey, then brown
Edibility: Unknown
Lookalikes: Agrocybe praecox according to First Nature, though this has a darker cap
On the Red Data List (extinct/critically endangered/endangered/vulnerable/near threatened): No
References:
Cate2 Database, managed and maintained by The Fungus Conservation Trust
National Biodiversity Data Centre
Red Data List, British Mycological Society
http://iucn.ekoo.se/, The Global Fungal Red List Initiative
Collins Complete Guide to British Mushrooms & Toadstools, Paul Sterry & Barry Hughes, 2009
Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain and Europe, Edmund Garnweidner, 1994
Mushrooms, Patrick Hardy, 2013
The Encyclopedia of Fungi of Britain and Europe, Michael Jordan, 2004
Mushroomination 