Tony Hardware's Fungi Finds: February 2024

This month I will be describing a few of the Aquatic species I was able to locate in woodland streams, a whole new venture and what proved to be an interesting experience. I'll start with a discomycete found on Fox dung at Barrow Wake nr. Birdlip. I knew this would be interesting after seeing the pale purple discs or apothecia. These showed wonderful globose verrocose ascospores tightly arranged in the ascus. This was Ascobolus brassicae, new for the County. Another very small discomycete was found under a Fagus branch at Mackhouse Woods in Toadsmoor. This turned out to be Claussenomyces atrovirens and with only a few other records in Gloucs. Back at Barrow Wake I found another Gloeocystidiellum species, this time G. clavuligerum, which was only a 100 metres from the very rare species of this genus I found last year in G. permixta. Interesting, perhaps this genera likes high altitudes or something as the views from this location are outstanding? The former would be my 2nd after my first for the county last year. This species has easily seen moniliform apex to the cystidia. Two types species of Hemimycena delectabilis were found within days of each other. The first being the variant species H. d. var. bispora found at Hazel Woods on Ash, following by the nominate species at Climperwell Woods under Fagus. Just a single example. Another uncommon/rare discomycete was identified under Ash at Siccarage Woods namely Parorbiliopsis minuta, having found this species already twice there is still only 20 records in the UK! It must like the Cotswolds. I do like culturing various dung material (says a lot about me perhaps - worryingly) and this occasion a brittle fragile Coprinellus species arose and died all in two days. I managed to catch it as it tried to disappear and this showed this to be the now changed genus of Tulosesus pellucidus. One other record in Gloucs. This was on Fallow Deer. I am studying another Ascobolus species also on this animal but need further samples from Wild Boar, as it seems to match this species only found on this animal in Europe and so plan a trip to The Forest of Dean! Or, it's a new species to science. Lastly, my water borne fungi. Armed with my self-made DIY long broom handled ladel duck-taped fixed foam collecting tool and wellies, I drifted around Climperwell and my local patch in Bowbridge woodland streams aiming for foam generated areas. This is where they hide and can be found. Once collected they need to be stunned with Formal Alcohol fixative to stop them sporulating as soon as they touch something other than water. I tested around 20 slides and only found four species, but a few were very rare if I was correct in my estimation as they look VERY similar to each other! My finds inc. the more common Alatospora acuminata and spectacular Flabelospora acuminata, but then also Camplyospora parvula (likely) and 3rd record for the UK!, plus Tricladiopsis flagelliformis and Lunulospora curvula, both one or two records in Gloucs only. Key here is to look for the difference in septa, clamps and arm/branching lengths. Having said that there may only be one or two other persons looking at this class of fungi, so perhaps rare only by neglect.