Rare fungus ‘morphs’ into Olympic Torch

Feb. 24, 2012 - PRLog -- Back in 2010, just before the start of the football World Cup, keen-eyed conservationists in Hampshire celebrated the first sighting in England of a rare fungus - Multiclavula vernalis.  Despite the difference in size, it’s similarity to the World Cup did not go unnoticed!
And now it’s back, and with perfect timing, appears to have ‘morphed’ into a miniature version of the Olympic Torch.

Keith Blackmore, assistant reserves and grazing project officer for Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, found the small patch of tiny, orange, club-shaped fungi on a site in north Hampshire owned and used by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for army training.  

With the original find, the head of mycology at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, confirmed their identity as Multiclavula vernalis, a fungus rare in the British Isles and never recorded in England before. It is usually found in colder climes, either nearer the Arctic Circle or in mountainous regions. In the British Isles, it has been recorded only in the Outer Hebrides and the Shetland Isles.

Keith Blackmore said: “When we originally saw it, I knew it was a very unusual discovery and was thrilled to find out it was an exciting first for England. It now appears that the management carried out by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, and its partners Plantlife and the MoD, has created the ideal conditions for spores that have drifted in on the wind, to settle and grow. It's a great addition to the flora and fauna that already exists on these wonderful wildlife reserves.”

The Grazing for Wildlife Project is a partnership between the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and the Ministry of Defence.  It is working to benefit wildlife on the Defence Training Estate in north and east Hampshire by introducing conservation grazing and undertaking practical habitat management.

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The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is a charity that works to protect wildlife and wild places. We manage over 50 wildlife reserves which are some of the most important wildlife sites in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.