Rare Coral Fungus found in Edinburgh

Published on 15-01-2014 by Dr Paul Beckett

Clavulinopsis cinereoides is a type of coral fungus which, although found in Britain, Ireland and parts of France, is rarely encountered in Europe and has been discovered for the first time in Scotland, in the grounds of Edinburgh’s former Craiglockhart military hospital. This species is found mainly in short grassland and can be easy to miss due to its small size and growing habitat.
An ecological consultant discovered the fungus earlier this month while cataloguing biodiversity at the site which is now home to Edinburgh Napier University’s Craiglockhart campus. Experts have said that it is considered likely that spores may have been carried to the former hospital site from Flanders Fields on the boots of First World War soldiers, where among 2,000 officers were treated for shell-shock after it was requisitioned by the military in 1916. The biodiversity study was led by Edinburgh Napier’s sustainability and environmental advisor Jamie Pearson, who said the discovery was “most unexpected”. More information can be found on the BBC news website.