The blue green anise mushroom (Clitocybe odora) belongs to the Tricholomataceae family. It is not very large. The mushroom picker distinguishes it because its turquoise blue-green cap and its anise odour. The blue green anise mushroom has a rather thin cap, 3-8 cm in diameter, often not circular but with some sinus, with a smooth … Read more
Part of the ICHN-Bages group in the natural shelter of Els Polvorers (Manresa, Bages) looking at the rock of the ceiling for fossils of Cerithium giganteum, the large snail from the marine Eocene, during the naturalist outing on 02.11.2025 to the surroundings of Santa Caterina tower. [photos Montserrat Porta]
A large part of the ICHN-Bages group on top of Santa Caterina tower (Manresa, Bages), a privileged belvedere of the city, during the naturalist outing on 26.10.2025 in which we visited the lignite mine and the shelter of Els Polvorers. [photo Jordi Badia]
The natural shelter of Els Polvorers is on the steep slope of the right bank of the Cardener river in Manresa, just beyond the Renfe train freight station and the old Campsa fuel tanks, between the Santa Caterina tower plateau and the river. The area is known as Els Polvorers (= gunpowder makers) because in … Read more
Limonite is an amorphous and earthy mineraloid made up of iron oxides and hydroxides of generic formula FeO(OH)·nH2O, Its colour ranges from yellow to orange, ochre and light brown, of ochre, yellow, orange or light brown. The scratch is always ochre or light brown. The main component of limonite is the mineral goethite, though it … Read more
The holm or evergreen oak (Quercus ilex) of Mas Pujol Nou is a monumental tree of Catalonia picking the name from the property of the Artés district where it is located between the road C-25 -this is the transversal axis of Catalonia- and the Gavarresa stream. The large oak is on the plain of the … Read more
Russula ilicis is one amongst the numerous species of the genus Russula thriving in places with oaks and holm oaks in the Mediterranean area, that is commonplace in the counties of Bages and Moianès. In these counties, the Catalan name “cuagra” applies to any of the often very difficult to distinguish species of Russula. The … Read more
The Pujol de La Mata (= hill of La Mata) is a summit made of conglomerate, conical, acute, and difficult to climb, very different from the elongated and rounded shapes of most hills in the same area of Sant Llorenç del Munt and Serra de l’Obac natural park such as Montcau or the hill of … Read more
The spring of Font Freda is in the upper part of Serra de l’Obac, near to the top of Fontfreda stream that takes the name, at 840 metres altitude. Its flow is small, since the spring is located near the ridge. The spring has a reservoir in the rock that is covered by a wall … Read more
The central stretch of Calders river valley, from the ruined castle of Calders to Colònia Jorba, is a succession of sunken and curled meanders. In the inner side of one meander, which is also the right or northern riverbank, there is the plain of Rubió that picks its name from the farmhouse. Opposite, on the … Read more
The river Cardener flood, as seen from the Pont Vell in Manresa on the afternoon of 12.07.2025. The river is raging wild with a turbulent flow of muddy water, carrying logs, reeds, and many other things. The river spans the full width of the lock, from the wall that supports the C-1411b road to the … Read more
The Forat Micó in Calders -do not mistake it with the Forat Micó in the Mountain of Salt of Cardona!- is a natural tunnel about 10 meters long and high enough to walk it without having to bend down, and that continues as a natural shelter on both sides. The water from the Fondo de … Read more
The oak leaf phylloxera (Phylloxera quercus) is an orange-coloured aphid that attacks just trees and shrubs of genus Quercus, mostly oaks, but also the perennial holm oak and kermes oak. Actually, this is not just one species, but several: Phylloxera quercus, P.quercina, P.coccinea and P.glabra, and perhaps some more amongst the ones that are described … Read more
The ICHN-Bages group in Bufadors de Beví (Ripollès), during the naturalistic outing on 29.03.2025 to the Bufadors mountain range from La Farga de Bebié. Further information in Notícies de la ICHN nr.179.
Rheubarbariboletus persicolor (= Xerocomus persicolor) is one amongst many species of mushrooms in the Boletaceae family with reddish hues that are indistinctly known in Catalan as mataparents (= relatives’ killer) and that can be found in the district of Bages. Rheubarbariboletus persicolor is a small and slender mushroom when compared to close species. The cap … Read more
The scarlet cup (Sarcoscypha coccinea) is a mushroom that grows mainly in winter and early spring on fallen twigs of broadleaf trees. The scarlet cup is small cup of 0.5 – 3.5 cm in diameter made of thin walls of a scarlet red colour -hence the specific adjective coccinea – more intense on the inner … Read more
Puig Cardener (or written as Puigcardener) is the hill made of stratified sandstone that the Cardener river outlines on the south and the stream of Sant Ignasi on the east, and that is topped by the gothic cathedral of Santa Maria de la Seu de Manresa. Puig Cardener is the outstanding, bright place with large … Read more
The stream of Mura grows and becomes scenic from the farmhouse of Sant Esteve de Vilarasa onwards because the joining of the stream of Talamanca and the proximity of the Llobregat river at a low level that pushes to deepen the valley. Downstream from Sant Esteve de Vilarasa, the stream of Mura proofs its potential … Read more
The pass of Migdia (= Midday) splits the range of Montserrat massif in two halves, eastern and western, being also the main pass of the entangled geography of Montserrat. The pass of Migdia seats between the summits of Sant Jeroni on the east and Ecos on the west and it is reached by the channels … Read more
The fold of La font del Molí (the spring of the Mill) is a geological structure on an accessible and comprehensible scale that the Malrubí stream has been kind enough to cut and display. El fold of La font del Molí is located at the southern end of the cliff that the Malrubí stream cut … Read more
The Forat Micó cave is known for many years in the mountain of Salt of Cardona. The cave opens on the side of the mountain, is 640 m long and their walls are decorated with delicate white recrystallizations of halite. The Cardona salt caves stand out both for their exceptional beauty and for being unique … Read more
The mountains of Sant Llorenç del Munt, Montcau and L’Obac, in the foreground of the photos, and Montserrat, which appears in the background, are two large rocky areas in the south of the Bages region. Both mountain ranges are made of conglomerate rock, that is a large pile of pebbles into a matrix of sand, … Read more
Usnea is a genus of lichens that are usually called beard lichens or old man’s beards because of their light grey hairy twigs hanging from tree branches as a grey beard. Usnea includes many species that are difficult to distinguish. The thalli of Usnea have an elastic cord inside that is discovered when stretching one … Read more
Mucilago crustacea is an amoeboid fungus or myxomycete, one of the easiest to realize because the noticeable size and white colour of its fruiting body that stands out among the leaf litter. It is common anywhere throughout the year in wet weather. It forms elliptical fruiting bodies in etalium -a mass of compressed sporangia, impossible … Read more
The range known as Serrat del Serrat rises abruptly on the left bank of the Llobregat river, south of Sallent town. Its summit that is topped by a telephone antenna is an excellent viewing point over Sallent, the Plain of Bages and the Llobregat valley. The Serrat del Xipell is not a raised by any … Read more
The neighbourhood of L’Estació -for the train station of the line Manresa-Berga-Guardiola de Berguedà that stopped in 1973- was built in Sallent in the 1980s on the plain of the right bank of the Llobregat river between the southern end of the existing city and the conveyor belt of salt mineral coming from the ramp … Read more
The white saddle or common helvel (Helvella crispa) is a species of Ascomycete mushroom as morels (Morchella sp.) and Peziza sp. to which its brittle flesh resembles. It has a crumpled sheet of ivory or cream colour as a cap, and a fistulous with vertical grooves foot of paler colour than the cap. Its similarity … Read more
The dark cep o bronze bolete (Boletus aereus) is one of the species of mushrooms from the genus Boletus that are collectively known as boletes. The bronze bolete grows in cork oak forests on siliceous soil -that’s why its popular names in Catalan “sureny” or “siureny” coming from “suro” or “surera” to name the cork … Read more
Xerocomus rubellus (= Hortiboletus rubellus) is a beautifully coloured in red, yellow and blue species of mushroom in the Boletaceae family. Xerocomus rubellus is a large, fluffy mushroom with a hemispherical cap that gradually flattens out, often retaining some convexity. The cuticle is more or less deep red, shiny or matte, and more or less … Read more
The blackening russula (Russula albonigra) is a thick mushroom displaying the shape of a milk-white brittlegill (R.delica) but the cap cuticle cap is coloured in a blur of almost black dark grey and white. The cap is robust, up to 12 cm in diameter, depressed in the centre and with involute margins. The white colour … Read more
The yellow drop milk cap (Lactarius chrysorrheus) is a similar to the appreciated delicious milk cap (L.deliciosus) mushroom as seen from above that deceives the mushrooms collectors. The yellow drop milk cap has up to 8 cm diameter cap, with involute margin, duller and paler brick orangish colour than that of the delicious milk cap … Read more
The false blewit (Cortinarius eucaeruleus) is one of the violet-coloured species of the Cortinarius genus that may be mistaken because the colour with the various edible species of genus Lepista that are known as blewits (L.nuda, L.sordida, L.glaucocana). The false blewit shows the common characteristics of the very extensive Cortinarius genus: an initially convex cap … Read more
Lepista glaucocana is a species of violet mushrooms of the genus Lepista that, together with L.nuda, L.sordida and others, are known by blewit in English and by pimpinelles or moixernons blaus in Catalan. The cap of Lepista glaucocana is thick, convex with involute margins at the beginning and finally flat, up to 12 cm in … Read more
The miller mushroom (Clitopilus prunulus) is a rare mushroom from the Entolomataceae family growing in mixed forests in autumn. The miller mushroom smells like wet flour, that’s why its popular name miller mushroom, parallel to meunier in French and molinera in Spanish. The popular name in Catalan moixernó blanc comes from its rough similarity with … Read more
Hydnellum concrescens is a mushroom with needles from the Bankeraceae family that grows among fallen leaves and branches on the forest floor. Its consistency is leathery but not as hard as other wood-decay fungi. It is funnel-shaped, about 3-6 cm in diameter, brown in concentric tones, intense in the centre and lighter at the margin … Read more
On Monday 21.10.2024, in the main hall of the University of Barcelona, the Plant Biodiversity Resource Centre (CeDocBiv) formally received the Herbarium of Bages (1909-1912) from the botanist Pius Font i Quer that the Centre Excursionista de la Comarca de Bages has kept for more than a century. The Herbarium of Bages contains 628 sheets … Read more
The ICHN-Bages group in the forest on the shady side of the Servitge or Vallformosa valley (Rajadell) beyond El Suanya, next to a stone hut that recalls the agricultural use of this territory, during the botanical excursion of 19.10.2024 to the surroundings of El Suanya (Anella Verda de Manresa) on the the week of activities … Read more
The kermes oak (Quercus coccifera subsp. coccifera) is the shrub that closely relates to the holm oak. It distinguishes by its smaller, sharp, brightly coloured leaves on both sides. The male flower catkins (photo 1) reach 5 cm in length. The maturation of the kermes oak acorns lasts 1 or 2 years. These acorns have … Read more
The quarry of Talamanca or Sant Esteve is in the interfluve between the Talamanca and Mura streams, facing to the stream of Talamanca just before it joins that of Mura in Sant Esteve de Vila-Rasa, in the municipality of Talamanca. The quarry can be reached through a paved path that starts at km. 31.8 of … Read more
The oak hawkmoth (Marumba quercus) is a remarkably large nocturnal moth, with a robust body and a wingspan of 10 cm. Its entire body and wings are covered with brown hair adding pale or whitish areas of variable extent. The wings are long and narrow, the forewings being longer than the hindwings, and their outer … Read more
The spring of Pitoi or Sant Antoni in the north slope by the stream of Soldevila, in Sallent, turned very saline in the 1980s because the dumping of saline mining residues in the landfill of Cogulló. The construction in 2016 and 2017 of wells and drainage trenches on the north side of the landfill of … Read more
The Cardona geological formation that is well-known in the mountain of Salt of Cardona outcrop, can also be seen on surface at the foot of the Castle of Cardona mountain, in the meander of the Cardener river in La Coromina. This smaller salt outcrop at the bottom of Castle mountain hosts halophytes, the plants thriving … Read more
The great capricorn beetle (Cerambyx cerdo) belongs to the family Cerambycidae. It is an astonishing beetle of slender body about 5 cm length with extremely long antennae made up of thick and knotty flagellomeres. The antennae of the males – photo 1- are twice the length of the body, while that of females -photos 2nd, … Read more
The ICHN-Bages group (photos 1st and 2nd) on the hill of Puigberenguer, the oldest fluvial terrace remaining on the left bank of the Cardener river, 87 meters above the current level of the river, during the session devoted to the Quaternary terrains on 29.06.2024. The group listens to the explanations of Josep Biosca Munts (photo … Read more
Historical diagrams of the arrangement of the terraces in the Cardener river valley: above, from 1929, in Callús; in the center, from 1940, in Manresa and Sant Joan de Vilatorrada; and below, from 1960, in the current Plaça Catalunya neighbourhood of Manresa. The figures, in the 1940 and 1960 diagrams, indicate the level difference in … Read more
Stictoleptura cordigera is a small size, long-horned beetle, thus a beetle of the family Cerambycidae. It measures 16-20 mm in length without the long antennae. Stictoleptura cordigera has head, pronotum, legs and antennae in dull black colour, while the elytra are reddish brick colour with a characteristic black spot shaped as a wide strip at … Read more
Reteporella sp. Bryozoa of order Cheliostomatida from the marine Eocene in the valley of Golarda near La Coma (Monistrol de Calders, Moianès). Bryozoa are a large group of colonial animals living on the seabed that can easily be mixed up with corals or sponges. Bryozoa expanded along Paleozoic era, but at the end of the … Read more
Quercus x auzandrii (= Q. x auzendi, Q. x ausendi) is the hybrid species from the cross between the holm oak (Q.ilex) and the kermes oak (Q.coccifera). As expected, its morphological features are something between a holm oak and an kermes oak; you can’t decide whether it is an oak or a kermes oak, it … Read more
