Hortmonth

Fungus finder

Xerocomus bubalinus, the fungus species new to Scotland found growing with the lime trees on Albyn Place, Aberdeen

A leading fungi expert has accidentally stumbled upon a new species in Scotland – as he walked home from work.

Dr Andy Taylor, from Aberdeen’s Macaulay Institute, noticed the Xerocomus bubalinus growing near a lime tree in the city’s Albyn Place. This very rare fungus was only described for the first time in 1991 in the Netherlands, and has not previously been recorded before in Scotland.

Dr Taylor says: “I couldn’t quite believe it that I had found this species, which isn’t supposed to occur here in Scotland, and that it was living right here under our noses.”

As well as his city centre find, Dr Taylor, a professional mycologist, also recently discovered a species (Russula vinososordida ) not found in the UK before, and another very rare species (Buchwaldoboletus lignicola) in the very grounds of the Macaulay Institute where he works.

www.macaulay.ac.uk.