Tony Hardware's Fungi Finds: September 2023

Well, climate change is making fungi think twice as to when to fruit or not, but the Inocybe genera certainly reacted and with seven species found this month then it certainly looks like it. That's without one or two common ones I walked past, so probably ten! Probably the best of the bunch would be Pseudosperma obsoletum - new for Gloucs. and few other UK records. This was found at a new habitat for me I visited at Rudge Hill, just north of Stroud growing in profusion on what looked like throwaway peat from yesteryear. At first I thought this was the common I. rimosa, but at home proved otherwise quite quickly. This was also seen afterwards many times. The next could be Inocybe petiginosa, with its nodular spores and size very quickly keyed out (unusual for me) to this species thanks to the excellent Inocybe specialist Penny Cullington's/Orton keys. 2nd for Devon - on a quick trip to see friends but still time for an hrs walk in Farway Hill forest. The other nice Inocybes were: Inocybe phaeodisca; Inosperma adaequatum; Inocybe nitidiuscula, Inocybe splendens and Inosperma maculatum. Another genera that I came across this month and even more surprisingly were Tomentella corticioid fungi - often very difficult to ID as would be the case here, so every sinew of accuracy is needed with these species. New to Gloucs. would be T. coerulea and T. laterita, with T. crinalis just behind. Remarkable, but I do look for them, whereas perhaps most intelligent folks don't as they can be small material growth, obscure and dark miserable looking things that are to be avoided! I love 'em. On a trip down to my local patch at Bowbridge Carr which I can walk to in 5 mins, I found on a mossy bank close to the main stream a whole host of very small cream topped agarics growing scattered across a 2 sq.m area. The first check supported something special as I saw black flecking all the way down tapering stems that were rooting in small clusters. I then found another growth of the same but 100 metres away upstream, similar habitat as you would expect. These were more mature and showed cracking and darker brown caps. These turned out to be Hodophilus atropunctus - new to Gloucs. and with scattered widely with few other UK records. While going to Tescos in Stroud there is the very close Stratford Park across the road, very convenient! I tend to spend a quick 30 mins around here and this time under a most unusual tree for seeing mushrooms was a Japonica. Didn't expect much but deep underneath (again people looking!) I found what was to be a lovely solitary Hydropus subalpinus, a species that has a lustre cap. New for Gloucs. And I still got the bananas I had forgotten. Another quick walk this time from Waitrose (they all have very convenient car parks) at Capel's Mill NR across the road, I noted a small white blob on a Juncus dead stem deep in a hedge, a few metres from a canal/river that runs through here. Delightful. So damp - clearly necessary as this was a single Coprinopsis phaeosporus under the microscope. Again, new to Gloucs. From my quick trip in Devon, I picked up Horse Dung, as you do, and decided it was time to check this species out also. It was helped as I could visibly see many small Coprinopsis species growing and so it turned out with four continued days of growth at home, but with Coprinellus hepthemerus, another unusual find. Back to Ebworth once again and with my fungi friend Richard. I found Thelephora anthocephala (a Fan species) and Peziza succosa under Wych Elm (so nice to find this small cluster of trees still growing here) - both fairly uncommon. However, Richard picked up on a small growth of Ramaria type coral fungus growing near a fallen Popular tree on soil. It appeared to be looking like any common Ramaria and not worth checking. However, I took some home with me and after hrs of research as I couldn't find a home for something with such small spores (not even listed on the BMS UK fungus database) I ended up with Phaeoclavulina corrugata (new genus with spiny spores) and with no other UK records. I will leave it there for now and intend rechecking one day perhaps getting the material I have stored with a DNA test. Lastly this month, (phew my fingers are getting hot as I type), I spent a few hrs in my local patch of Cirencester Park, here finding on an unusual substrate of Veitch's Fir and its cones Nectria veuillotiana but in its anamorph state. Only 8 other UK records. Nearby, I came across a single small cluster of Lepiota. At home this transpired to be Lepiota cingulum, again only a few records for the UK. This has distinctive floccose flecking down the lower section of the stem only. (see pic). Also seen here were the uncommon Lyophyllum confusum (was Tephrocybe - hence my more confusum!) as well as the spiny spored Trechispora stevensonii corticioid. So ends another good month, thks to the fungi once again.