Tony Hardware's Fungi Finds: October 2024

This month was rewarded from just hard work as I had to find the fungi, rather than expected at this time of the year when the fungi finds you. The whole month seemed very odd and relatively fungiless, occasional spots showed but take Cranham Woods, a well known national wide Beechwood during the last week of the mth I found next to nothing, not even a Mycena! Just one Cortinarius elegantissimus, nice compensation. However, during a short excursion into Ebworth once again, this time at the NE end and by the main road I stubbled yet again into Amanita solitaria. This is the sixth record for Gloucs and most of England, and all found by me! Doesn't seem possible, yet this obviously shows an unknown trend that it likes the limestone specifically up here, as it does in the Isle of Wight. An unusual powdery mildew was found on Field Maple here also in Mycosphaerella latebrosa. Also growing on a isolated well rotten log was a few Galerina badipes. Whilst here I found a thick creamy resupinate under a large old Corylus trunk named as Hypochniciellum subillaqueatum (was Amylocorticiellum) which is very rare with very tiny spores and only one other record I could see. Quite uncommon and so 1st Gloucs/most of middle/Sth England. At Cranham earlier in the month I found the rare resupinate Peniophorella tsugae. This has resin growth at the end of some cystidia so became 1st for Gloucs and only 12th UK record. I decided at the beginning of the month to check some Oak leaves in my garden. These belonged to my neighbours magnificent Oak tree, which was cut down 'because it wasn't doing much'. Pathetic! This being my last chance, most of which were last years leaves, I stacked these into a bowel and over a cup of tea on the patio was able to pick out SIX ascomycetes, two of which were new to County. Better than watching Eastenders. The best were Calycellina myriadea and Phialina lachnobrachya, 5th and 15th in UK respectively. Also found were Hymenoscyphus albopunctus, Incrucipulum ciliare, Lachnum fusescens and Microthyrium ilicinum. My other neighbour had a lovely great Walnut tree, he did the same! My views a lot better though!! I found three Tomentella, something inevitable in a way when not much fungi around as I turn logs over a lot more! T. cinerascens (2nd Gloucs.), T. ellisii (1st Gloucs) and T. ferruginea. At Cirencester Park just off the main road in a darkened area of Corylus I found Entoloma lividoalbum. One of my favourite genera. On Alnus at my local patch Bowbridge was Phanerochaete tuberculata (2nd Gloucs.) and Melanoleuca humilis with septate cystidia. A short trip to Painswick Beacon and Golf Course saw me finding a small Inkcap growing out of horse dung. Back home and a few days later this showed as the very hairy Psathyrella hirta. Lovely mushroom! Not even listed but recognised as a species was Psilocistella conincola under Pinus. So new to UK? Doubt it just folks give up when they can't record species not shown. Lastly, in a first trip to Chedworth Woods alongside a gravel path a lovely Peziza limnaea was located. This has spores warts to die for!!