A landmark publication highlighting the island’s biodiversity has been published by the Isle of Man Fungus Group.

Checklist of Fungi of the Isle of Man provides a comprehensive list of the nearly 1,500 species of fungus recorded in the island.

‘This checklist represents the current state of our knowledge of the island’s fungi,’ says group chair Liz Charter.

‘From the beautiful and newly discovered Butterscotch Waxcap and Violet Coral, which feature on the cover of the publication, to the striking orange rust fungus which occurs on Burnet Rose on the Ayres,’ she added.

The checklist marks the group’s 10th anniversary in 2022 and was sponsored by Culture Vannin whose board member, Daphne Caine MHK, was at the launch.

Mrs Caine said: ‘The checklist is an important tool for the conservation of fungi on the Isle of Man and will be an enduring record of the hard work of the group since its inception 11 years ago.’

Edinburgh fungus expert Nev Kilkenny on receiving a copy said: ‘It is an amazing achievement.’

Mr Kilkenny has mentored the group over the last 11 years and visits the island regularly to lead fungus identification courses and teach microscopy techniques.

The launch and final foray of the season was held near Baldrine earlier this month.

The Fungus Group thanked other partners and individuals with whom they work to conserve fungi and their habitats: Manx Wildlife Trust, Manx National Heritage and the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture.

All were represented at the launch.

The list catalogues both the common and scientific names of fungi, shows map squares where they occur, the number of records and the date of the last record.

It is not an illustrated guide to identification as there are plenty of those available, published and online.

It will be especially useful to those identifying a fungus, helping them to know if it has been recorded on the island before and if so how recently, how often and in which 10 x 10 km map squares.

Liz Charter, who coordinated the project, said: ‘We hope it will encourage others to add new records to help understand this little studied kingdom of life.’

The introduction outlines the early recording of fungi and how the group started.

A recording form and fungus description template can be found in the back of the booklet.

The Fungus Group says the checklist is dedicated to much-loved group member Michael Rodger who became a good mycologist and is greatly missed since he died in 2021.

To obtain a copy, priced at £10, email the group on [email protected]