Tony Hardware's Fungi Finds: Rare or Uncommon species identified in October 2020 to mid-month.

Tuesday, 20 October 2020

Rare or Uncommon species identified in October 2020 to mid-month.

While visiting my sister in far off lands of Leicestershire and wondering around a local church grounds I came across Chroogomphus rutilus, new for me and clearly seen why it's common name is Copper Spike.

During a foray with my local Cornwall Fungus Recording Group (CFRG) at Pendarves Woods I was taking a break on a footbridge admiring Aldercaps and Entolomas in front of me. As my level of gravity was so low as I sat on the footbridge, I noticed further species under the footbridge growing on what seemed throwaway old matting not used on the bridge itself. This was amazing in itself but afterwards these turned into 1st for the SouthWest of England in Naucoria celluloderma. Microscopically proven. Taking a walk around Coldrenick woodland near Liskard as part of a survey team, I found the beautiful Marasmius hudsonii on Holly. Pictured here in close up shows the incredible cap hairs appearing like a porcupine. Bear in mind this cap is only approx. 0.8mm wide. Also, further on I came across a closely structured stroma based thick black ascomycete on fallen beech, also known as Spiral Tarcrust in Eutypa spinosa. 2nd record in Cornwall. At a further foray in one of my local patches with CFRG in Treraven Woods, Wadebridge, with permission of the Gaia Trust, several uncommon and rare species were discovered. Rhodatus palmatus is becoming rarer due to the demise of Elm, but we found some wonderful examples here on a rotting branch. Two other significant finds were Leucoagaricus sericifer (ID - PPenna) and many small Turbaria looking fungi, which under the microscope and detailed checking was identified as Flammulaster limulatus - 2nd for Cornwall, but not many more around the UK either. During a further visit to Treraven a few days later, I found a delightful small Inocybe, now pronounced 'I(know)cybe', in I. curvipes. Few records in Cornwall.