Tony Hardware's Fungi Finds

After retiring in 2013 and already absorbed in birdwatching around the world, I began to seek out new records and biodiversity in many new forms. In 2015, I started to look towards the world of fungi. This is my story of my key finds, but starting in August 2017. First few years were finds in Bucks and Northants. Moving to Cornwall in May 2018 changed my focus. From October 2020 I only focused on rare or uncommon species. I moved to Stroud, Gloucs. in March 2021 and the Cotswolds awaits.

Tuesday, 1 April 2025

MARCH 2025 - Uncommon to new Genus for Europe and beyond!!

It goes to show that treating your wife to a special day out at the Zoo can lead you to all sorts of possibilities of finding fungi. Well on March 3rd while at Exmoor Zoo, Devon (we love this place) I noticed an unusual pattern of small ascomata on a Bamboo stick I found by the pathway from a stand of Phyllostachys aurea. Somehow I had correctly identified this species of Bamboo but the unusual 'specks' on this one example would prove to the finding of a new GENUS! for Europe and probably well beyond. Following my initial morphological findings and asking for help to identify this most interesting genus, I was advised by the Pyrenomycetes master himself Jacques Fournier (JK)(France) that this could well be a Spirodecospora species. You can see where the name comes from by looking at the ascospores. These have quite unique spiral curvature lines, some would say Germ-slits, but this would be proved incorrect later. A paper published in Japan in 2022, suggested that this was S. melnikii, and after JK input we agreed that this is most probably this species. Now out for DNA sequencing I await confirmation of this or another species, but there are only five world-wide. More to come on this next month. Back to earth, a patch of mould like fungus on oak became Paradendryphiopsis cambrensis. New for the SWest of England. On Betula at Painswick Beacon another hyphomycete would be Monodictys paradoxa - 1st record for Gloucs. From Cirencester Park a fragile, longitudinal-basidia species with subglobose spores was Basidiodendron eyrei and with few other county records. A quick visit for the first time to Ozleworth Park in the south where I found the almost invisible Peniophora proxima, a thin ochre tight resupinate on Box. Few other records. While here I found my first Sarcoscypha coccinea or Ruby Elfcup on Corylus at the bottom of the valley near a stream that I could definitely say was this species after careful scope work for the straighter hairs. Back at Cirencester Park under a fallen Abies alba branch found Amylostereum chailletii, 3rd for Gloucs. At a new site for me near the village of Saul, close to the Severn, I wondered inland to the start of the River Frome. Here I found a gorgeous Salix enclosure with dead water, which was protected from the heat and had debris everywhere. Lovely! Here was Neobulgaria lilacina growing in small tiny individual apothecia, close by also Lasiobelonium variegatum, 2nd for Gloucs (but after me - dam I'm in the way again). Lastly, a small growth of a bright yellow resupinate on a Salix branch ended up as Phlebia subochracea and 1st for Gloucs also. Nice round up of the month from an exciting start. The weather is turning hot and going out on 30th March found absolutely nothing!

Amylostereum chailletii

Basidiodendron eyrei basidia

Basidiodendron eyrei

Lasiobelonium variegatum

Monodictys paradoxa

Neobulgaria lilacina

Paradendryphiopsis cambrensis

Peniophora proxima

Phlebia subochracea

Sarcoscypha coccinea

Sarcoscypha coccinea hairs

Spirodecospora melnikii imm.

Spirodecospora melnikii ascospores

Spirodecospora melnikii

Phyllostachys aurea (Bamboo)

Tuesday, 4 March 2025

FEBRUARY 2025 - Uncommon to rare species recorded this month.

February can be a little tough to find interesting fungi, but this month went well and also considering I couldn't get out much! (Illness - now over fortunately). I tried a new location at a spot called Bangel Woods, near Upper Kilcott very close to the Sth. Gloucs. borders. Here I found a few interesting species starting with Lachnum fasciculum on Corylus, with its clavate tipped hairs helping the ID. 3rd for Gloucs, but I got in the way with the other two records! Really annoying. A spiny corticoid with pseudocystidia with encrusted tips and globose spores ended up as Steccherium bourdotii and 1st for Gloucs. Two other species with a few records each for the county were Phaeohelotium nobile, a lovely yellow small stalked discomycete and Camaropella lutea, not so pretty and appearing as a black smudge on Fagus. Mid-month and while getting the garden ready for Spring, I found a small asco on our New Zealand Flax and is now called Stemphylium Herbarium. Can be found on various herbaceous plants. Back to Cirencester Park and on Corylus this time an ascomycete which is now called Menispora glauca with angled/bent 1-septate spores, which is quite unusual in itself. This would be 11th UK record and 1st for Gloucs. An innocuous looking resupinate was worth checking as this turned out to be Hypochnicium lyndoniae (was Nodotia) which has parallel stacked hyphae like spines and was found on Prunus. 1st for Gloucs. I took a trip down to West Sussex to see some friends (yes, I have some) and had time for a walk around Slindon Woods, just east of Chichester. Here on Betula under a dead branch I found Fibroporia vaillantii, which would be 1st for this county. An unusual substrate also as mostly on conifer. Also 1st for the county would be the tiny spiny ball like asco called Coniochaeta ligniaria with sword like setae hairs. Also on Betula was Chaetosphaeria innumera, 1st again for WSussex, this has small constricted 1-septate spores with tightly packed clavate asci. An interesting and attractive species with spiny growths out of branches was Eutypella scoparia with a few other local records. Lastly, I took a short trip locally to Rudger's Hill near Edge and where a good amount of Betula grows and also is left to rot if fallen. I found under bark here Gloeocystidiellum clavuligerum, this being 2nd for Gloucs (again I'm in the way).

Camaropella lutea

Lachnum fasciculare

Phaeohelotium nobile

Steccherium bourdotii

Stemphylium herbarum

Hypochnicium lyndoniae

Menispora glauca

Chaetosphaeria innumera

Coniochaeta ligniaria

Eutypella scoparia

Fibroporia vaillantii

Gloeocystidiellum clavuligerum

Tuesday, 4 February 2025

JANUARY 2025 - Uncommon to rare species recorded this month.

Here we go into another year and a chilly month, so I can only expect Asco/Discos and Corts! Which is exactly what I was able to record, what I didn't realise was the extent of the rarity of some species located, many of which came through a cultivation process of rabbit dung! Still nine species were all very interesting, some potentially new species perhaps. I will run through the species found on Rabbit following a 16-day culture before I gave up the search, and they were still growing. Ascobolus brassicae, new for Gloucs on dung from a Painswick collection, the rest were all from an Alney Island, Gloucester collection. Ascodesmis microscopica spores were observed only as, try as I might, I couldn't locate the body of the discomycete itself so remains a possible. However, the spores are so distinctive with strong reticulation that it would be unusual not to be this species, or genus. See photo. Would have been 2nd record in UK only!. Another possible was Ascozonus subhirtus, but again no apothecia connected so remains a possible. This would have been new to UK if confirmed. Podospora collapsa and P. curvicolla were found and both 1st for Gloucs and 5th and 18th respectively in UK. Schizothecium squamulosum and S. tetrasporum would be 1st Gloucs/6th UK and 3rd Gloucs respectively. Sporormiella leporina again 1st for Gloucs. and 6th in UK with Thelebolus nanus being 1st for Gloucs as well. That was some rabbit! Also at Alney, I found growing on a Populus nigra 'Italica' branch near the car park on the way out Peniopherella guttulifera a 1st for Gloucs and 19th UK record. Athelia acrospora at Parson's Hill - very rare although found twice before, Durella macrospora was found growing on a Holly branch, 1st Gloucs and only 7th UK record. A short trip to The River Churn at Sth Cherney on Salix was Cryptodiaporthe salicina and 1st for Gloucs. along with Gloeocystidiellum porosum, but with 6 other Gloucs records. Also here on Betula was Stomiopeltis betulae with two other Gloucs. records. At Painswick Beacon on a stack of discarded Pinus sylvestris the tiny Hymenoscyphus codicum was identified at length, which has no hairs and scalloped margins. This would be a 2nd UK record!! I tried to get this sequenced but material just too small, apparently. When fresh they are 0.4mm, so I guess so as when dried they were like dust!. At Cirencester Park Hypochnicium punctulatum showed up and 2nd for Gloucs (after me! - I keep getting in the way). Lastly, and most interestingly on Fuchsia magellanica outside my front door while pruning last year's stems, I found a tiny Neonectria species growing. Nothing fitted until N. fuckeliana was seen but this normally grows on coniferous only. So new species? Who knows. Too small for DNA, too lazy to find out!