FUNGUS: Poronia punctata at Newborough Warren, Anglesey

November 2006:
Poronia punctata (Nail fungus) is considered to be amongst the very rarest of European fungi. It is only found on the dung of ponies and horses which have fed exclusively on unimproved grassland kept free of artificial fertilizers. Although quite common in Britain in the past, it has suffered a drastic decline due to changes to modern agricultural practices and is now known only from the New Forest, Anglesey and one or two other scattered sites. In Europe it is restricted to the south-east. Its fruiting bodies, found in the autumn, are to a maximum of 2cm high with the stalks rooted in the substrate. The cap is a flattened disc only 5-10 mm in diameter, pale grey-white and dotted blackish by the tips of the perithecia. It is aptly named Nail Fungus.



Photographed at Newborough Warren, Anglesey (November 2006)