Tony Hardware's Fungi Finds: July 2022

Who would have thought June would produce 18 species this month under the title heading, 13 of which would be new for Gloucestershire. All being ascomycetes/hyphomycetes or coelomycetes and a rare resupinate. I found a delightful small neglected but thoughtful pond project that the local council had built by the canal in Bowbridge. This enabled quite a few species to be found on water borne plants as well inc. Belonopsis asteroma on Carex acutiformis, plus an undescribed asco. on Iris pseudocornus (not I. foetidissima) which appeared to show everything to be Paraphaesphaeria vectis, but wasn't, as spores were much longer and with less septa plus growing under on wet leaves. I feel this might be undescribed but couldn't find any information to help here. Also found Phompsis iridis on I. foetidissima this time but in my local church cemetery in Stroud (short cut!). At Stratford Park (Stroud) on a dead St John's Square Stalked stem was the asexual state of Botrytis cinerea called Botryotinia fuckeliana. Also here but on an introduced park tree on a lovely unusual Stone Pine, I observed some tiny yellow centred discomycetes growing in the cuts and bruises of this live tree and was to be Lachnellula cacycina. Rare across Central England (or perhaps just missed - I had to stare at the tiny cups to even see they were fungi). Also here on Common Teasel was found Pyrenopeziza atrata, my second and new for Gloucs. with only few other UK records. On a short trip to Cardiff Bay I walked with my long suffering but wonderful fungi widow under Sorbus aria trees and found the conidia state of Dermea ariae. Down at Kings Stanley on the River Frome on Meadowsweet was Leptostroma spiraeinum. On visiting Cirencester Park main entrance for the first time I found they have planted a terrific wild flower road boundary and here I found on Oxeye Daisy an unusual Pleospora sps, now know as Lewia scrophulariae, with unusual traverse and longitudinal septa but most of all containing 6-spored ASCI - a rare observation. I appealed to the greater good of mycology to add anything here but silence, so assume this can happen sometimes and move on! On an old large Rubus fraticasis stem I found Lophiotrema curreyi again, now my 7th/8th in UK. Back to Cirencester Park, I also found Phyllachora sylvatica on Tall Fescue grass and the diminutive Pyrenopeziza pulveracea disco on Meadowsweet. On Carex pendula was a delightful and attractive small but large setae haired asco appearing orange called Volutella melaloma. Also here (so much to discuss this mth- sorry!) was a Phaeosphaeria sps, which after checking 40 other species!! and AscoF forum (no comment again) I found an identical spore fix with P. inclusa. I accept this as the spores were distinct, with the 4th being swollen and the following three cells squeezed together. This would be new for UK if accepted one day! Found on a Bromopsis substrate of sorts. A quick trip to Honiton in Devon and visiting the East Hills Woods (delightful place) I found Ophiobolus erythrosporus and Orbilia delicatula - both new for Devon. Lastly, (phew) on a single thread of leaf on Carex pseudocyperus by the lake in Frampton-on-Severn I found a small growth of a resupinate on a dying leaf section. This turned out to be the difficult Tomentella genus and in T. coerulea. I must spend more time at home!!!