St Mawgan Woods, Nr. Newquay - 16th February 2019

I went to a new location today as the site looked good to traverse a decent public footpath and by a river, which is always useful in winter months. Starting at the back of the Inn in this delightful village, a path takes you into a wooded area by a river where a large car park is situated, one I'll remember next time! The path moves through Hazel, then past an area of Rhododendron which had just been pruned with the outcast branches still fresh by the path-side. Great for me and unusual as it opened up for easy access to some interesting resupinates. The first was quite obvious as there was a large expanse of pale ochre looking tight fitting fungus on a large recently felled branch. This took some checking later but after spore results and other characteristics turned out to be a seldom recorded Scytinostroma ochroleucum, a fungi normally found on yew. This was my first problem, but solved when I found a few earlier records had been found on Rhododendron, and of all places Kew Gardens so the records were sound. This will be a first for Cornwall. Not far away I found another Yew protagonist in Amylostereum laevigatum, but also grows on this substrate. Uncommon in Cornwall and this would count as only the second record. A more common resupinate in Cylindrobasium laeve was also found here. Nearby, I turned over a very rotten Rhod. branch to discover a wonderful looking myxomycetes. 100's of minuscule glossy black spheres looked back at me challenging me to ID them. This was the myxomycete Metatrichia floriformis, new species for me, as most today.  This being the sixth record for Cornwall. Further on the path widens and areas left and right flatten out to a wider area of Hazel/Beech and a mixture by the River Menalhyl. Here I found an area burnt in the past and odd branches and a large stump had remained. Here I found several good species the first another resupinate in Subulicystidium longisporum. Not common and recorded a few times in Cornwall. Nearby my interest sparked as I found a small group of cup fungi on a burnt branch this turned out to be Lachnum brevipilosum. It has 1mm tiny stems with a small ivory flat cap, fairly common. Inside a large broken up stump I found hidden inside Tapesia fusca, a small pale blue cup fungi not often recorded. First for Cornwall once again. Lastly, and as I was thinking about leaving as my dinner loomed heavily in my head, was a large fungus growing low down on a single sycamore tree. Closer inspection displayed a grotesque looking porous looking fungus, dripping water and sodden throughout. This would have been difficult to collect and dry at home except for my cunning invention (copied from some bright author) of collecting my samples in tin foil. So I was able to return home and to my wife's delight stink the house out for a few minutes. This must be Physisporinus sanguinolentus or Bleeding Porecrust. A good afternoon's foray for sure and very pleasant location.

Mycena tenerrima  - Frosty Bonnet spores

Amylostereum laevigatum on Rhododendron

Amylostereum laevigatum spores

Scytinostroma ochroleucum on Rhododendron

Scytinostroma ochroleucum spores

minute Metatrichia floriformis

Metatrichia floriformis spores
& spiral bands

Subulicystidium longisporum

Lachnum brevipilosum on burnt hazel

Lachnum brevipilosum close up 40x

Tapesia fusca

Physisporinus sanguinolentus hyphae

Physisporinus sanguinolentus  - Bleeding Porecrust.
Very wet condition.

Hawkes Wood Nr. Wadebridge, Cornwall

After days of high winds and rain the clouds dispersed for a while so I was able to 'whip-up' to my local patch at the Cornwall Wildlife Res. at Hawkes Wood. Unfortunately the weather had torn down one or two large beech trees and across the main lower pathway, but still traversable around the woodland. One I was actually grateful for as presented a new site for Xylaria cinerea, a rare ascomycetes species, also one I found only a month ago across the opposite side of the woodland. Here I found a profusion of this tiny speared asco. protruding through moss on a living tree, although sadly now in its death throes. Along the same lower track I came across some small white dots appearing on a rotting branch half hidden under moss. Bringing my 20x handlens is always sensible, never moreso in the winter as small myxomycetes can still be found. Sure enough this proved to be another teaser and after careful examination at home and referencing more and more on-line keys and data with this family, I was able to ID Didymium bahiense var. bahiense. Many fruiting bodies appeared on this wet rotting branch with the stalk colouration of red/brown important as was the eventual spore measurement against similar species. There are lots in this family and every little detail is important. No sooner had I logged all the details of this gem, which proved to be a 1st for Cornwall, then along comes another, also turning out to be 1st for Cornwall. Surprising as 149 records across the UK, obviously not so much in the south-west. This was found on a very dry old oak leaf which had somehow protected itself against the winter weather by being almost hidden at the base of a tree, and whilst looking at old agarics nearby saw this leaf had minute cups on the top of the leaf. This turned out to be Diderma hemisphaericum. It had slightly more definite macro features and helped with its ID.

Xylaria cinerea (7th record Cornwall)

Xylaria cinerea spores 400x

Xylaria cinerea spores 1000x
15.94µm x 6.36µm

Didymium bahiense var. bahiense (1st record Cornwall)

Didymium bahiense var. bahiense
spores 1000x  10.67µm globose

Didymium bahiense 40x top lit

Diderma hemisphaericums (1st Cornwall)

Diderma hemisphaericums (1st Cornwall) on oak leaf

Diderma hemisphaericums

Trecarne, Nr Camelford, Cornwall and further location SE

I wondered into new surroundings in the hope of finding something new, which happened and in one area a new site for a rare fungus, one I had only recently found near my home in Wadebridge.
Starting near a small Hamlet at Trecarne, a stepping stone bridge takes you across the northern reaches of the Camel river in delightful surroundings. I came across an unusual minute white fungus growing out of a rotten oak branch and later discovered this was an early stage of an ascomycetes and was showing the anamorph stage of development. Not seeing a great deal other than finding Skeletocutis vulgaris under a rotten branch, I came upon a mycena lookalike growing on an other rotten oak branch, but on returning I found a dark brown spore print and on closer inspection pointed towards an unusual psathyrella species in P. lutensis. Unfortunately I couldn't obtain the results of the spore size and GEC and so this only goes down as a possible. Shown here in case anyone insists it is!
Continuing on to what I felt could be an interesting woodland further SE, I came upon a small glade of Hazel. These were old trees , covered in moss and in a damp condition as close to a river once again. I was amazed to find several sites here for the elusive Hypocreopsis rhododendri, or Hazel Gloves as you can see why. This is a new site for this rare species so, unfortunately, I can't promote exactly were this is, but I did pass it onto the BMS on my recorded fungi data. Also found across the road was a good condition Artist's Bracket or Ganoderma applanatum. Also here I found a very unusual ascomycetes type species here which remains a mystery, although on dissection gave off a very sweet smell. 

Psathyrella lutensis (1st for Cornwall)

Psathyrella lutensis gills

Psathyrella lutensis stem
showing white fibrillose

Hypocreopsis rhododendri
or Hazel Gloves - new
site for this rare species

Mystery small organism, smelt very sweet
on breaking up. ??
On wet Hazel moss covered trees.

Ganoderma applanatum or Artist's Bracket