Tony Hardware's Fungi Finds: November 2022

October is normally the best month of the year for fungi and after a long dry spell it seemed that all fungi had waited long enough and it was time to appear. Lots of uncommon species were found along with a few quite rare species inc. two Cortinarius and an Inocybe or three! No particular order, so I'll start with a fairly uncommon only but always interesting to find and that was a Death Cap (Amanita phalloides) in Midger's Wood. I took this home and added it to my Cheese and Mushroom omelette, but as luck would have it I wasn't hungry so didn't eat it! I'm joking (yawn) in case anyone thinks this is edible - it is very poisonous! During a short walk to my local Alder Carr woods in Bowbridge, I came across some very tiny Crepidotus type growth on a small Hawthorn twig. Closer up this was the rarely found Chaetocalathus craterellus, a tiny sessile pleurotoid. 2nd rec Gloucs, after my previous record here! At the delightful Minchinhampton Common I came across several times an uncommon cow dung specialist in Coprinopsis pseudonivea, a pale pinky capped mushroom at first. They were in every other cow-pat, and as a lot of people were giving me strange looks I gave up after the 10th. Two of the best finds for the month were at Ebworth NT Estate. These were Cortinarius elegantissimus and C. vulpinus. Both very rare, and the former 2nd for Gloucs. but no others except in the SE of England. The latter was new to the county and most every other county west of the Home Counties! The first was helped in ID as the cap and stem skin (only) turns blood red in KOH - not the flesh. Almost easy! The latter not so, but the heavy continuous veil remnants all the way up the stipe and exact spore sizing helped here. Also at Ebworth I found Cystolepiota seminuda, Echinoderma perplexum (2nd for Gloucs.) and Hebeloma laterinum - thks to participants on a UK Fungus Day foray I led at Ebworth. Back at Midgers Wood, which is in Sth Gloucs., I was hunting off-piste almost crawling through low Corylus and young Fagus when I came across a solitary hairy capped something. Amazingly after checking the spores this became one of the few Entoloma species that has a hairy cap. A wonderful little mushroom and E. araneosum. At Ebworth (I go there a lot lately due to the survey I am working on this year) the lovely asco. Helvella lacunosa was discovered as well as under Fagus a viscid capped Hygrophorus unicolor (correctly spelt) and 4th for Gloucs. Five uncommon Inocybe's species were found also. With methodical Inocybe eyes, you can find them. Most of the time invisible unless you stare at the ground for at least a minute - then they somehow materialise before you! No order but I. fraudans (during foray at Ebworth) was found, I. mixtillis and I. subtigrina (1st if accepted) or syn. of I. flocculosa at Cirencester Park near Pinus, I. muricellata at Midgers (close to the Entoloma) and 4th for Gloucs., and I. obscurobadia at Ebworth again - 2nd Gloucs. NB: I often find a lot of 'finds' are 2nd for Gloucs. as an extraordinary amount of species are found in the Forest of Dean by a multitude of Mycologist experts which happens to fall in Gloucs. Oh, blast and diddum's (or similar expressions). Also at Ebworth but under a rare in leaf Elm tree was the cup ascomycete Peziza howsei (after checking with experts at AscoFrance). When under the microscope (you invariably have to with these species) there were no spores within the asci - unusual, so must have been very young. So I replanted it in a flower pot in my garden and will check again in a few weeks time! Still growing after a week, so fingers crossed. Keeping it with the same soil it came with helps. On a short trip to Devon at Otwell Woods (mostly Pinus) I found a Pluteus species. Always check these if near Conifers and sure enough this had occasional clamps in the pileipellis and so was Pluteus pozarianuis. On the way back from the Bowbridge Carr I spotted a must walk-by mushroom in the grass by the pathway. Something told me this wasn't normal, and after checking turned into a lovely Stropharia pseudocyanea or Peppery Roundhead. Bit like Cromwell but he was more salty. Lastly, phew, was twice finding Tricholoma orirubens with black speckling on the gills at Ebworth (4th & 5th for Gloucs), after my 3rd at Craneham! Also at Ebworth was a single Lepiota fuscovinacea. Certainly likes it around these beechwoods. A great month, and I haven't even included species found in Northumberland during a Brit. Mycology. Soc. event there in Sept/Oct.