Partner trees

Beech

Cantharellus pallens (Cantharellus pallens)

Beech forests have a microclimate all their own. The dense canopy lets almost no sunlight through, so the soil here always stays moist, and fallen leaves build up a deep, humus-rich litter layer. That is exactly why beech is one of the most fascinating partner trees for a mycologist.

24 species in the database.

Mycorrhizal partners and saprotrophs of beech forests

Beech (Fagus) forms a powerful ectomycorrhiza with a great many macrofungi. In her "Key to the Fungi of Ukraine", M.Ya. Zerova ranks beech forests among the richest in fungal diversity, although foraging there is tricky because of the thick layer of leaf litter.

In his guide «Mushrooms», Roger Phillips singles out these main mycorrhizal species associated with beech:

1. Summer bolete (Boletus reticulatus): This early and wonderfully fragrant kind of porcini forms mycorrhiza with beech on a large scale. Its telltale feature is a pale net that covers the whole stem.

2. Brittlegills and milk caps: Beech has its own particular species. For example, Russula integra and Lactarius vietus often dominate in beech forests.

3. Chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius): They very often form huge "fairy rings" in shady beech woods, hiding under the fallen leaves.

In «Mushrooms Demystified», David Arora warns about the danger of beech forests: beech is one of the favorite partner trees of the death cap (Amanita phalloides). A dark, damp beech wood is the ideal habitat for this deadly poisonous species.

Saprotrophic fungi that break down beech wood deserve a separate mention. Dead beech trunks and stumps are the classic substrate for one of the most beautiful mushrooms of all — the coral tooth (Hericium coralloides), which looks like a cluster of snow-white corals — as well as for a variety of bracket fungi and oyster mushrooms.

Questions and answers

Why do mushrooms in a beech forest often grow in "families"?

Thanks to the deep shade and the lack of undergrowth in a beech forest, the soil dries out more slowly, and the mycelium can spread over huge areas in the thick layer of leaf litter, forming so-called "fairy rings" or long "trails" of fruiting bodies (this is especially true of chanterelles and honey fungus).

Which poisonous mushrooms are a marker of beech forest?

The death cap (Amanita phalloides) and the panther cap (Amanita pantherina) thrive in mycorrhiza with beech. So when you pick green brittlegills in a beech forest, be as careful as you possibly can and always check for a volva at the base of the stem.

Do slippery jacks grow under beech?

No. All the classic slippery jacks (genus Suillus) are strictly mycorrhizal with conifers (pine, larch). You will not find them under beech.

What is the best-known mushroom growing on dead beech wood?

Besides ordinary honey fungus and oyster mushrooms, fallen beech trunks host an edible Red Data Book species — the coral tooth (Hericium coralloides), with its unique spiny hymenophore shaped like a branching coral.

Sources

1.Зерова М.Я. та ін. Визначник грибів України. 1979
2.Roger Phillips. Mushrooms (Roger Phillips)
3.David Arora. Mushrooms Demystified
4.Index Fungorum