Rare find at Hawkes Wood, Cornwall plus more ....December 2019

On the 4th December I elected to visit Hawkes Wood once again, which is the nearest wildlife reserve to where I live in Wadebridge. I didn't find much, but what I did helped claim a first for the South West of England and Cornwall. This came about after checking out a common crust species and then finding a psathyrella sps growing on wood debris nearby. This would normally be P. piluliformis but something suggested this looked different, with a slender stem and tightly straited cap. This was one for the microscope at home and after checking macro and microscopic detail this turned into Psathyrella laevissima or Slender Stump Brittlestem. The stem width was important as was the cap and small umbo with unusual cystidia making the final confirmation. Probably not as rare as suggested by this find and more than likely to be unrecorded as it appears like another LBM (little brown mushroom). Growing on wood (Hazel) of course helped greatly as did the very, very crowded gills. Also found on a small branch were tiny white mycena looking FB's which on closer inspection proved to be the delightful minute Hemimycema tortuosa, or Dewdrop Bonnet. These not showing any dew as perhaps seeing these late in the day, it was all dried up. A few days later I took my car for a service and while waiting for it to be finished I walked towards the local Truro Hospital, not for the usual reason but knowing they have a cafe! Just off the main road there are six/seven Silver Firs growing near the main entrance. To my surprise I spotted a very small Inocybe growing in the needle litter and nothing else. Once again microscopy needed here to confirm this fairly uncommon species as Inocybe cincinnata var. cincinnata or Collared Fibrecap. Few important ID finds were obtaining the yellowing of the walls of the cheilocystidia using KOH, crystals at the peaks of most cystidia and amygdaliform spores at ± 8.40µm x 5.87µm. The small size of the specimen and the <3mm stem suggested this wasn't I. cincinnata var. major, an alternative. So some good finds even in the middle of a wet and blustery winter. 

Psathyrella laevissima or
Slender Stump Brittlestem

Psathyrella laevissima showing tight straited cap

Psathyrella
laevissima
showing fleecy ring
on young FB. 

Psathyrella laevissima
sphereeopedunculated gill edge

Psathyrella laevissima spores x1000

Hemimycena tortuosa or Dewdrop
Bonnet

Hemimycena tortuosa cheilocystidia

Hemimycena tortuosa gills x40

Hemimycena tortuosa spores

Inocybe cincinnata var. cincinnata

Inocybe cincinnata var. cincinnata

Inocybe cincinnata var. cincinnata
yellowing walls of cystidia in KOH

Inocybe cincinnata var. cincinnata
crystals at peak of cys.

Inocybe cincinnata var. cincinnata
spores 1000x 

Minions - Phoenix Mine area, Cornwall - 24th November 2019

This was my first visit to this SE border area of Bodmin Moor and was to be one of the more successful surveys this year. There's plenty of free parking, as there are in many places in Cornwall, even at Bodmin Hospital it's free. Perhaps the last one in the UK? While arriving early, I explored the surrounding grasslands around the side roads and as sheep were in abundance then I wasn't surprised to find Stropharia semiglobata or Dung Roundhead. The one here was showering the smaller one with spores almost making the cap appear black. Close by I was delighted to find my first all intact Pink Waxcap or Hygrocybe calyptriiformis, just cm's away from the roadside edge. This was sitting comfortably alongside H. virginea. I left this rare waxcap exactly where it was. Hygrocybe psittacina and H. chlorophana soon followed. Once we had moved towards out main site area of Phoenix Mine we noticed a large Hygrocybe once again at the side of the road growing out from a grassy bank. At first this appeared to look like H. punicea but after thinking just a little longer I found the differential for the much rarer species H. splendidissima or Splendid Waxcap. The flesh is much yellower as are the gills and these features showed themselves on inspection. As this is a very rare species for the South West we left most where it was, but I took a small gill slice to help confirm the ID. This showed later that the spores and many other characteristics that this was indeed the latter rarer species. Found on moorland helped so this was recorded and probably second only record for Cornwall. Hygrocybe coccinea was also nearby as well as many of the more common waxcaps. Earthtongues were some of the target species today, but I only found Geoglossum cookeianum, fairly common on natural grasslands. Many Mycenae species were found, one of the more unusual was Mycena flavescens, out in the open in contrast to where it can normally be found perhaps. Finally, a few small Galerina sps were found, these being Galerina pumila or Dwarf Bell on further microscopy at home.

Hygrocybe calyptriformis or Pink Waxcap

Hygrocybe coccinea or Scarlet Waxcap

Hygrocybe coccinea
spores

H. splendidissima
basidia

H. splendidissima
pleurocystidia

Hygrocybe splendidissima (2nd record for Cornwall)

H. splendidissima spores

Mycena flavescens

Stropharia semiglobata
or Dung Roundhead

Stropharia semiglobata spores

Galerina pumila or Dwarf Bell

St Gothian's NR/Gwithian NR, Cornwall - 21st November 2019

Joining members of the CFRG once again for a first time visit for me to this easily accessible dune area with also a handy boggy nature reserve available across the road. Rather a blustery day, wind and rain hampering the will to look a little harder. Not a great deal found by all, however, I was able to identify (firstly by smell) a less common waxcap in Hygrocybe russocoriacea or Cedarwood Waxcap, often confused with the far commoner H. virginae waxcap. Earthtongues were one of the target species today but not were seen. I did manage to locate one in the common Geoglossum cookeianum. A small group of stalkballs provided close looks at Tulostoma brumale - not that common and good to see here just after we started into the dune area. I came across a large orange/yellow conical capped waxcap which turned into acutoconica var acutoconica at home under microscopy. One more earthtongue I found became Trichoglossum hirsutum at home also. This being more hairy across the main flesh of the fungi. 

Hygrocybe russocoriacea orCedarwood Waxcap 

Hygrocybe russocoriacea spores

Geoglossum cookeianum asci spores

Geoglossum cookeianum

Acutoconica var acutoconica
or Persistent Waxcap

Acutoconica var acutoconica spores

Trichoglossum hirsutum asci spores

Trichoglossum hirsutum

Tulostoma brumale or Winter Stalkball

Waterbridge Woods visits (Treraven and Bishop's Woods 14/15 November and Pencarrow House 16th Nov 2019

After looking forward to leading my first CFRG meeting around Treraven Woods near Wadebridge, Cornwall with permission of the local Ghaia Trust the weather became the worst this year for wind and rain. However, undaunted and some would question my mental state, I thought I'll just get wet and see what I found. There wasn't much in the woods to speak of but on entering the SE fields at the top of the woods I came across quite a few waxcaps, with a Parasola conopilea or Conical Brittlestem found on the on the famous wood-chip pile where I have seen so many different species over the few years I have been here. Next day I decided to go to Bishop's Wood for the first time and now not the last. Didn't realise what a beautiful site this is and on a damp November day. There is mixed woodland but I headed for the conifers and good to see these are more or less on the level rather than the usual 1:3 steep inclines to streams. The best find here was the last fungi seen and was growing in a gully below Silver Fir trees. Probably around 40-50 specimens of various ages of Craterellus tubaeformis or Trumpet Chanterelle. First time for me but not that uncommon. Next day I headed for Pencarrow House open weekend for Xmas gifts but I use the occasion to check out this wonderful location for waxcaps at this time of the year on what was untreated lawns. Once again this year not only was there a lack of waxcaps but the level areas had all been mown very recently. Great shame and nothing like this site used to be so well known for. However, I still managed to locate a few more interesting species in the six found. One grey low lying waxcap turned out to be extremely fowl smelling and so had to be Neoohygrocybe nitrata or Nitrous Waxcap. A few nice H. punicea or Crimson Waxcaps were around still on the banks (had't been cut). Lastly, a small group of Cystoderma amianthinum showed, looking a little darker than normal but microscopy showed these to be this species.

Gliophorus irrigata or Slimy Waxcap

Gliophorus irrigata
spores

Parasola conopilea

Parasola conopilea

Parasola conopilea enlarged spores

Craterellus tubaeformis

Craterellus tubaeformis
spores

Lyophyllum sps... poss.

Lyophyllum sps.
gills

Lyophyllum sps .. spores

Gymnopilus sapineus

Gymnopilus sapineus spores

Hygrocybe punicea or Crimison Waxcap

Hygrocybe punicea stem/gills

Neohygrocybe nitrata or Nitrous Waxcap

Cystoderma amianthinum

Cystoderma amianthinum or Earthly Powdercap