Tony Hardware's Fungi Finds: September 2024

This month turned into one of investigation and checking of many species, many were tricky this time more than usual! However, I still ended the month with 10 new species for the County and with 5 others with 10 or less records in the UK! One I thought would be a new species for the UK, but was thwarted by two other records hidden away at Kew that came to light after I had reached for the champagne. Fortunately, I didn't open it, just yet. This refers to a Coral type species found at Ebworth NT Estate during my survey work there last year. I hadn't been sure of its ID and had kept the material in my library. With the aid of a new scheme under Dr David Harries at Aberystwyth Univ. I was able to get this material sequenced and to a level at 99.35% certainty this was Phaeoclavulina minutispora. Fairly common in Europe but with no records here in the UK - at the time. However, the two records were found at Kew and were also sequenced only a few years ago, so I will have to rest on a still pleasing record of the third record of this species in the UK. Another species that I had identified during the month as an ascomycete that also has no records for the UK was found on a small Rubus twig down by my local River Frome. This I worked out to be Pirottaea imbricata. The species name is taken from the tile like structure of the body of the fungus, quite unusual in itself. I am awaiting clarification on this one also from Kew before reaching for the same bottle as previously mentioned. In fact if there are a few of this as well after all at Kew I might just drink it anyway, all of it ... quickly! A lot of the species I gathered this month were found on Deer and Horse dung, hence perhaps why so many were new for the county! Starting with Acobolus immesus on Deer from Withington Woods, although this does have a few records in Gloucs. already. Another species on this same substrate would be Coprinopsis poliomalla, this being first for Gloucs and with just 10 other country records. This was after a 5-day culture process. Whilst checking a resupinate from Cranham Woods, I noticed a few tiny ascos hiding away beneath the original fungus. After careful examination these would be Capronia moravica, again just a few other UK records. An odd looking fungus which I think belongs in the Cordyceps genus was bewildering and this was also growing through an unidentified resupinate from Climperwell Woods. Shown here FYI. These normally grow out of insect larvae they kill as they grow! Wonderful fungi. On a rotting Betula tree at Withington I found some almost invisible red dots that under the microscope turned into Cosmospora viridescens, again rare for county and country. More straightforward as I could see this fungus when finding it! were a group of basiocarps growing through Pine needle debris at Painswick Cemetery. These would be Gymnopus putillus, new for Gloucs and most of middle England yet has a common name Pine Thoughshank. Back to dung city, this time Horse from Michinhampton Common where a group of 'wild' horses roan freely. Ideal, as they tend not to be fed anti bacterial foodstock, which tends to kill a lot of fungi. This time I had to check 'very closely' before finding dots that represent Hypocopra merdaria, unsurprisingly with just one other UK record!! These have a distinct curved germ slit which helps as they tend to look very much alike. A lovely single lonely looking mushroom was growing close by the stream at Climperwell Woods. This turned out to be Naucoria amarescens .. again new for Gloucs. I love this genus .. so cryptic. I found Phlebiella fibrillosa again after finding this last month also yet this is quite rare. Another resupinate that isn't common was Piloderma byssinum at Haresfield Hill. All the next species were from the culturing of the horse dung mentioned before, the best being Saccobolus beckii, with its amazing blunt heavy warted spores .. 5th record in UK, followed by and all new for Gloucs, in Podospora ellisiana, P. fimiseda and Saccobolus glaber although the last was by spores only. Schizopora radula was found at Buckholt Woods, new for Gloucs and Scutellinia trechispora I include here just because it has wonderful ascospores!! Still fairly uncommon.