Tony Hardware's Fungi Finds: Hawkes Wood Nr. Wadebridge, Cornwall

Friday, 15 February 2019

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.