Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus – new to Norfolk

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Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus

Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus. Found in Norfolk in mid August 2022, growing under a row of Beech trees.

Mid August 2022.

As the drought in Norfolk continued, four of us (Vanna & I and our friends Ian and James) headed out to a site some miles west of Norwich where there was still some wet ground, to look for insects and to see what plants we could find.

We were about to take a break for lunch when Vanna spotted a fungus growing beside the path under a row of Beech trees, a rather chunky bolete. We could easily have missed it altogether, as we could only see the cap from above, grey-brown in the low light beneath the trees, blending in rather well with the bare soil.

We took a closer look and realised we had found something rather special. The cap was mostly greyish-ochre but had a flush of red on its edges. The pores were red and the stem was yellow underneath a network of red veins. It was a very handsome specimen. (It was chunky too – you can see my hand holding the stipe in the photo below.)

Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus

Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus, closer up. Red pores and stem yellow underneath a network of red veins. A very handsome specimen.

Was it Rubroboletus satanas (Devil’s Bolete)? That would have been a good find, as it is quite rare in the British Isles and usually found under Beech, Oak or Hornbeam trees in the chalky parts of southern England. We needed to check. Ian took the fruitbody home and managed to identify our specimen.

Ian used “British Boletes with keys to species” by Geoffrey Kibby (note 1) to key out our beauty as Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus.

Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus

Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus

It was important to take a section through the fungus to confirm its identity: the flesh was bright yellow and stained blue only in the upper half.

Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus

Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus: sections through the stem. The flesh was bright yellow and stained blue only in the upper half. (Photo credit: Ian Senior.)

We had realised by now that we’d found something rather rare.

“British Boletes with keys to species” mentions that Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus has been found in Northern Ireland and Geoffrey Kibby’s “Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain and Europe, Volume 1” says “rare, as yet only known from Northern Ireland, commoner on the continent” (note 2).

I posted the photographs on the British Mycological Society (BMS) Facebook page and several people confirmed the identification, including Geoffrey Kibby himself (note 3).

Our specimen appears to be the first for Norfolk and the British mainland, and with two records from Northern Ireland, only the third for the British Isles. The very first British record was from the Crom Estate in County Fermanagh in 2009 by Mark Wright, who wrote it up in Field Mycology  (note 4).

Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus was first described in 1836 and recognised as a distinct species in 1925. Until 2014 it was known as Boletus rhodoxanthus, when DNA work resulted in the splitting of Boletus into several other genera. The specific name rhodoxanthus is from rhodo- (rose) and xanthus (yellow). The fungus has been given the English name of Ruddy Bolete by the Natusfera (Spanish iNaturalist) website.

Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus forms mycorrhizal relationships with mature oak (Quercus) and beech (Fagus) trees and occasionally Sweet Chestnut (Castanea). Its distribution is concentrated in the Mediterranean region but it is found further north as well. Its worldwide range is from Morocco in the south to Norway and Sweden in the north, Spain, Portugal and the British Isles in the west and Bulgaria and parts of Russia in the east.

The fungus appears in Roger Phillips’ “Mushrooms and Other Fungi of Great Britain and Europe” (Pan Books, 1981, on page 201) as Boletus rhodoxanthus. His photo was taken in Corsica.

In Scandinavia Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus is considered to be a relict species from earlier, warmer periods and is found in open, sunny localities in broad-leaved woodlands and in tree-covered pastures and meadows (note 5).

Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus is included on the red lists of thirteen European countries. The main threat to the fungus is the loss of its host trees, through drought, pathogens and defoliation, clear felling or development. In some areas intensive trampling or damage to the leaf litter, as side effects of harvesting edible mushrooms in large quantities, could also have a detrimental effect.

Not surprisingly, much of the information on the web about Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus is from other European countries, including Italy, where the Associazione Micologica E Botanica and An Ecosustainable World (Un Mondo Ecosostenibile) websites have lots of great photos.

There are several edible and sought after boletes, such as the Cep or Penny Bun (Boletus edulis). Devil’s Bolete (Rubroboletus satanus) is a well-known exception and eating it can cause diarrhoea, stomach pains and sickness. Poisoning is quite rare, however, because mature specimens smell strongly of rotten garlic.

Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus has a pleasant, slightly fruity smell but is not considered to be edible and may cause adverse gastrointestinal symptoms if consumed. It is much to rare to consider eating anyway, especially in Northern Europe and the First Nature website gives the sound advice that “it seems sensible to leave all red-pored boletes off the menu“.

Just taking a single specimen of Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus to identify is unlikely to have much of an impact as the bulk of the fungus occurs underground as an extensive mycelium, connected to tree roots. Careful, frugal collection of specimens adds to our understanding of fungi and their distribution (note 6).

I am not announcing the exact site of our discovery to the wider world; details will be included on the record when it is submitted. But hopefully you now have an idea of the sort of habitat where you might find your very own Rubroboletus rhodoxanthus at some point in the near future.

Notes

Note 1 – The latest (8th) edition of “British Boletes with keys to species” (2017) is available to buy online from a several natural history bookshops, including NHBS, Pemberley Books and Summerfield Books. The first edition has a glowing review at Boletales.com. Highly recommended.

Note 2 – Three out of an eventual four volumes of Geoffrey Kibby’s “Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain and Europe” have now been published. The books (over £40 each) are exquisite hardbacks full of very clear and beautiful illustrations. The illustrations for Volume 2 onwards were created digitally, using an Apple Pencil 2 on an iPad Pro. Kibby says in his Preface to Volume 2: “I think this work may have the distinction of being the first field guide produced entirely on such a device; a joy to use and much easier to edit!”

Note 3 – Thanks to everyone who helped with the identification, including several people who were familiar with this species from other parts of Europe.

Note 4 – M. A. Wright, “Boletus rhodoxanthus: First authentic British record.” Field Mycology Vol. 12, pp100 – 102 (2011). Also available as a PDF.

Note 5 – M. Andersson, T. Knutsson and M. Krikorev, “Djävulssopp, falsk djävulssopp och deras djävulskt lika dubbelgångare [The species of the genera Rubroboletus and Imperator in Scandinavia]“. Svensk Mykologisk Tidskrift Vol. 37, pp 12-25 (2016).

Note 6 – In contrast, I sometimes see whole baskets full of a mix of fungi on one of the Facebook foraging pages, posted there with the caption “are any of these edible?”.  It is good to learn about fungi but this is not the way to do it. The only sensible response is to quote the late, great Terry Pratchett: “All Fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once.”

Great Willowherb, Epilobium hirsutum

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Great Willowherb, Epilobium hirsutum

Pretty in pink: Great Willowherb, Epilobium hirsutum. Wheafen, Norfolk, 1st August 2022.

Late summer isn’t just yellow. Wetter parts of the countryside are pretty in pink, as Great Willowherb, Epilobium hirsutum, is in full flower at the moment.

You probably have some Great Willowherb growing near where you live, because it’s common and widespread in the British Isles and only absent in parts of the Scottish Highlands. I’ve been seeing a lot of it recently, in my garden and in the marshes by the River Wensum in Norwich, at Strumpshaw Fen RSPB Reserve and at Wheatfen (Ted Ellis Reserve). It often grows along the banks of rivers and canals.

Great Willowherb is a member of the family Onagraceae, which includes Willowherbs (Epilobium and Chamaenerion) and other familiar plants such as Evening Primroses (Oenothera), Fuchsias (Fuchsia) and Clarkias (Clarkia). In the British Isles we also have Ludwigia (Water-primrose and Hampshire-purslane) and Circaea (Enchanters’-nightshades).

There are quite a few species of willowherb in the British Isles and Stace’s Flora (4th Edition) lists eleven species of Epilobium, plus the very beautiful and familiar Rosebay Willowherb (Chamaenerion angustifolium). Epilobium hirsutum is one of the easiest to identify, though it also forms hybrids with other species of Epilobium. Stace lists seven of these (note 1). It comes in different shades too – pale pink and white as well as the more normal dark pink form. The flowers have been described as “great for bees” and are visited by a range of pollinating insects, but in my experience don’t match up to the attraction of Common Fleabane or Ragwort.

Epilobium hirsutum is a tall perennial plant, capable of growing up to 1.8 metres (nearly six feet). After flowering it goes to seed and the green parts of the plant have died right back by autumn. Green shoots reappear in March and April and Altica flea beetles (A. lythri and A. palustris) emerge from leaf litter at the same time, to feed on the new growth. Elephant Hawkmoth caterpillars feed on the leaves too (as well as on garden Fuchsias).

Leaf beetles (Altica sp.)

Leaf beetles (Altica sp.) at Strumpshaw Fen, March 2020. Two closely related species feed on Great Willowherb.

Great Willowherb is a native of the British Isles and also across Europe and large parts of Africa and Asia, from Morocco, Ireland and Portugal in the west to Japan and Korea in the east, South Africa at the southern end of its range and Sweden and parts of Russia in the north. It has also been introduced into Norway, Finland and parts of the United States and Canada. Wikipedia says it has also been introduced into Australia.

Great Willowherb seeds come with fluffy parachutes and help the plant to spread to new sites. Great Willowherb also spreads by its rhizomes and it can form quite dense stands.

Epilobium hirsutum is quite tolerant of quite dry soils, grows in sun or partial shade and is very hardy. In our garden it grows by both our ponds, reaching out into drier ground, although it flowers for a shorter time here and is now going to seed. It is a lovely garden flower, although rather vigorous and invasive. It can prove to be a bit too fond of your garden if it likes the conditions. It suits my wild style of gardening but I wouldn’t let it into a formal herbaceous border (note 2).

I didn’t plant Great Willowherb in our garden; it invited itself. I enjoy having it here but I often remove the seed heads to prevent self-seeding and I pull out any rhizomes that I don’t want.  I’m leaving some of the seed heads this year to see whether Goldfinches will eat them, though I may come to regret this decision.

Great Willowherb in seed

Great Willowherb, Epilobium hirsutum, in seed in our garden (11th August 2022).

Great Willowherb is also known as Great Hairy Willowherb, which is what I used to call it. I think I must have learnt that name from my parents because it’s just “Great Willow Herb” in Keble Martin’s Flora, my first flower book. The specific name, hirsutus, means “hairy”.  The “great” refers to the plant’s size, though I think it has an air of greatness about it too. The plant is very photogenic and a good subject for a drawing.

Epilobium hirsutum flowers

Close up of Epilobium hirsutum flowers. Strumpshaw Fen, 6th August 2022.

Another name for Epilobium hirsutum is Codlins-and-cream (note 3). The petals are rosy on top like some cooking apples (codlins), with a trace of creamy whiteness underneath.

Another explanation might be the plant’s smell when crushed or bruised. The Plants For A Future website suggests that the plant has the refreshing scent of ripe apples and says that the soft down on the stems and leaves emits the smell of the Moss Rose and Eglantine. (I’m not sure about this – I can definitely detect a faint pleasant smell but I find it hard to describe.)

According to the Plants For A Future website, Great Willowherb leaves have sometimes been used to make a tea. However when I looked for recipes I noticed that it is the plant’s relative Rosebay Willowherb (Chamaenerion angustifolium) that is more normally used (note 4).

Great Willowherb leaves are said to have a salty taste when sucked and have been used medicinally as an astringent. However, “there are some reports of violent poisoning with epileptic-like convulsions as a result of its use“. The Seed Site warns that “SOME PARTS OF THIS PLANT MAY BE POISONOUS“. I will err on the side of caution.

Notes

Note 1 – Clive Stace, “New Flora of the British Isles“, Fourth Edition, 2019. The Flora has over seven pages of Epilobium keys and diagrams. The Willowherb Hybrid Chart on the Wildflower Finder website illustrates this complexity.

Note 2 – If you want to grow Epilobium hirsutum, you collect a few seeds from your local patch and sow them in your garden –  they are very plentiful. For a quicker result, plug plants are available (for example, from Naturescape).

Note 3 – Other English names are food-related too: Apple-pie, Cherry-pie, Currant-dumpling and Custard-cups. Presumably these relate to the plant’s smell as much as appearance.

Note 4 – The tea is made from fermented Rosebay Willowherb leaves – see the Metsik Garden, Forage UK and Permies.com websites for recipes. The tea is known as Ivan chai (Ivan-chaj) or Koporye tea. The article “Re-written narrative: transformation of the image of Ivan-chaj in Eastern Europe” is an interesting read and explores how stories about the “tradition” of Ivan chai have spread in recent years.

Common Fleabane, Pulicaria dysenterica

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Two glorious sights of late summer involve masses of yellow flowers. One is Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris) and the other is Common Fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica). I love them both and so do the masses of insects that feast on their flowers.

Common Fleabane, Pulicaria dysenterica, likes damper areas to grow than Common Ragwort and can be found in marshes, fens, by streams, in damp woodland rides and in wet hollows. It will grow on road verges, if there is enough moisture.

“Adding a touch of sun to the end of the flowering season, this vivid yellow bloom brightens many a damp ditch.” – Plantlife.

Large Skipper butterflies on Common Fleabane, Pulicaria dysenterica

Large Skipper butterflies on Common Fleabane, Pulicaria dysenterica.

In the British Isles, Pulicaria dysenterica is commonest in England, Wales and Ireland and records are much scarcer in Scotland. It is a native of the British Isles and its range extends through much of Europe into Asia (the western Himalayas) and into North Africa (Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria). In Europe it grows as far north as Norway but not in Sweden or Finland. Common Fleabane has been introduced into the United States (New York state).

Common Fleabane is a perennial and a type of daisy, a member of family Asteraceae. The flower head is about 30mm across and consists of 40–100 ray and 20–30 tube florets aggregated together. ) Each one provides the perfect platform for insects to land on to gather ample supplies of nectar and pollen.

Flowers are produced for a short time between mid July and September and usually peak in August. They are followed by parachute-like seeds (like those of Dandelion) which can travel considerable distances but need bare ground to establish. Plants also spread by rhizomes and can form extensive clumps if the conditions are right for them. Common Fleabane often grows with Water Mint (Mentha aquatica), which I wrote about in August 2019, another great plant for insects.

A patch of Common Fleabane, Pulicaria dysenterica

Plants can form extensive clumps if the conditions are right for them. Common Fleabane, Pulicaria dysenterica, by a footpath across Sweetbriar Marshes, Norwich (26th July 2022).

Common Fleabane grows to to 50 – 90cm tall and alternate, lanceolate leaves clasp its flowering stems. These leaves are wrinkly and fleshy and glaucous in colour. (See The Wildflower Finder website for more photographs.)

So why Fleabane? The smell of the leaves gives a clue: hints of carbolic soap and chrysanthemum. The dried leaves act as an insect repellant and dried bunches of leaves were sometimes hung up indoors to deter fleas or burnt to act as a fumigant. The root and leaves were sometimes used to treat dysentery and wounds were treated with a paste of the plant, applied externally. Other past uses “include treatments for unspecified eye ailments“. (It’s best not to try this at home.)

The genus name Pulicaria derives from Pulex (Pulex irritans is the Human Flea) and the specific name references the plant’s use in treating dysentery. In North America, Common Fleabane is known as Meadow False Fleabane. The Plantlife website lists some other English names for Pulicaria dysenterica:  Harvest Flower (from its flowering time),  Job’s Tears, Camels, Mare’s Fat and Pig-daisy (note 1).

The Diverse Gardens website says that Common Fleabane leaves can be eaten either raw or preferably cooked and added to other greens, but the Plants For A Future website says “edibility unknown” (note 2). I haven’t experimented (note 3).

If your garden soil is damp enough you might like to grow Common Fleabane. The RHS specifically recommends the plant for wildflower meadows and wildlife gardens with poorly drained soil. The plant prefers full sun. It is generally free of pests and diseases and is frost hardy. (Its hardiness is H6: hardy throughout the UK and Northern Europe, down to -15 to -20 Celsius.) Common Fleabane is on the RHS “Perfect For Pollinators” list. There seems to be only one potential snag: if it really likes your garden Common Fleabane can be invasive, spreading by its roots. But I would take the chance if you’re able to grow it. (Our garden is far too dry, so I have never tried.)

Common Fleabane can be grown from seed (for example, from Emorsgate Seeds but out of stock at the time of writing) or from plug plants (such as from Naturescape). The Plants For A Future website has some useful propagation tips.

Finally, here are a few more photographs of insects enjoying Common Fleabane flowers, taken in the last few days in the Norwich area.

What will you find on Common Fleabane flowers near you?

Small Copper on Common Fleabane

Small Copper butterfly on Common Fleabane.

Dasypoda hirtipes on Common Fleabane

A female Pantaloon Bee, Dasypoda hirtipes, on Common Fleabane.

Deraeocoris ruber on Common Fleabane

Mirid bug Deraeocoris ruber on Common Fleabane. A predatory species, often seen on nettles.

Notes

Note 1 – I wonder whether it should be “Mare’s Fart” instead of “Mare’s Fat”? The former name is sometimes used for Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris) because of its not very pleasant smell, so might also be applied to Common Fleabane. It’s just one of many wonderful old names for plants and fungi, many of which have slipped out of common usage.

Note 2 – I did a quick online search and found research papers looking at the chemical composition of the essential oils of Pulicaria dysenterica. A 2011 paper by Basta et. al. looking at P. dysenterica in Greece lists nerolidol, caryophyllene oxide and Beta-caryophyllene. However, a 2014 paper by Sharifi-Rad et. al. looking at P. dysenterica in Iran gives different results, listing thymol as a major constituent (40.22%), along with many other compounds not mentioned by Basta et. al. I decided to stop looking before I went further down that rabbit hole.

Note 3 – A day after I wrote this post I had a chew on a leaf. The flavour was very complex and hard for me to describe, but interesting and not unpleasant.