Fungi of the Outer Hebrides
Although commonly considered to be members of the plant kingdom, fungi and lichens are now classified in a separate kingdom. Fungal systematics is complex and changing rapidly as information from DNA frequently leads to classification changes. There are three major groups commonly encountered by the amateur mycologist: Ascomycetes which include the cup-fungi, most of the lichens, yeasts and moulds; Basidomycetes which include the mushrooms, toadstools, brackets, puffballs, rusts and smuts, elly fungi; and Zygomycetes which include the pin moulds and some of the dung fungi.
The slime moulds belong to the phylum Myxomycota which is part of the fourth kingdom: Protista, but have been included in this section for convenience.
Relatively little is known about the fungi of the Outer Hebrides and most records have been generated by specialists on short visits to the islands, particularly to St Kilda. The most comprehensive work is a summary of the collections over a thirty year period by RWG Dennis (Flora of the Hebrides, 1986).
We began to have a serious look at fungi in the autumn of 2010 and so far have photographed and identified over 140 species. The accounts of individual species can be accessed through the A-Z Species Index, Family Index which is seoparated into the three main phyla and includes thumbnail images or by using the search facility.
