Tony Hardware's Fungi Finds: 2025

Thursday, 2 October 2025

SEPTEMBER 2025 - Uncommon to rare species recorded.

We were all blessed with rain and more rain early in the month, which as you would expect at last woke up fungi so much so it all came at once! Found all sorts of unusual species, focussing for a change on basidiomycetes. First up was a delightful vertical growing poroid fungus found inside an ancient beech tree in Cirencester Park. This being Fibropia vaillantii, new for the County. Also here on an old grass dump I found Panaeolus cinctulus, not that uncommon but not many records in Gloucs. Within the Spruce woodland at Chedworth I found Infundibulicybe squamulosa (funnel type mushroom) with an excessive floccose stem - again uncommon. A few tiny fungi or LBJ's (little brown jobs) turned out to be Flammulaster limulatus and 3rd record for the county. At my local Stratford Park, walking distance from Tescos! I spent a few minutes by the pond in deep undergrowth but the rains had done the trick and found Resupinatus trichotis, a bracket like fungus but isn't, has gills and is distinctive due to the black attachment to the wood. A lovely Pholiota adiposa was found at Capel's Mill pathway with Corylus. 4th record for Gloucs. Two more Pholiotina species were found at my old hunting ground at Climperwell Woods, being P. striipes, which has only 19 other UK records and P. vexans, with being the 3rd Gloucs. I have found a new woodland which must be North Wilts best kept secret, so don't tell anybody!! By chance on my OS map the area looking nice and flat, so when arriving was astonished to find an untouched easy access Oak/Birch filled woodland brimming with fungi at Flisteridge Woods. The most important was found trackside just yards from my car and looking very uninteresting and boring as Conecaps can, at home discovered Conocybe inocybeoides, which has only 13 other UK records. Perhaps because it looks dull and boring. It is also very poisonous so glad I didn't do any tasting. Also here I was happy to see five species of Russula, mostly common but all the same I rarely see these in Gloucs. Never know why except I think the soil content is different with Limestone and they just don't like it. One became R. graveolens, after the usual checks with chemicals and peel back etc. Later on another trip had my first Cortinarius for the year with C. glandicolor, 4th for Wilts. Also another Pholiotina dasypus was discovered under the scope at home. 15th UK record! Time for a well earned break after both of us have overcome illness and ended up at an Inn north of Bakewell in the Derbyshire Dales. Delightful. Even better the Inn had ancient oak woodland all around it and off I went! Pholiota limonella was a solitary find and would be 1st for Derbys. Also 1st would be Entoloma lividoalbum, lots of them by a stone wall path deep in oak forest. Lastly, (it was a good month) in Hailey's Woods nr Cirencester I found a few specimen's of the rare Lepiota forquiguonii. The best would be finding a single Inosperma mushroom, which I knew at the time would be special as never seen before. I got this down to Inosperma kuthanii, with only 8 other UK records, most of which are apparently dubious. However, the macro colouring, odour and gill edge is totally different to its nearest so called synonym I. cookei, and I am hoping to get this sequenced asap.

Fibropia vaillantii

Fibropia vaillantii pores & rhizos.

Conocybe inocybeoides

Conocybe inocybeoides capitate cheilocystidia

Conocybe inocybeoides pileipellis

Cortinarius glandicolor

Entoloma lividoalbum

Entoloma lividoalbum pileipellis

Flammulaster limulatus

Infundibulicybe squamulosa

Inosperma kuthanii gill edge

Inosperma kuthanii

Lepiota forquignonii

Panaelus cinctulus

Pholiota adiposa

Pholiotina dasypus

Pholiota limonella

Pholiotina striipes

Pholiotina striipes cheilocystidia

Pholiotina vexans

Resupinatus trichotis

Russula graveolens

Russula graveolens pileipellis

Thursday, 4 September 2025

AUGUST 2025 - Uncommon to rare species recorded

Considering this summer has been the warmest on record in the UK, finding fungi at all was going to be difficult and yet, look closely I recorded three species with only less than ten records or less, plus a possible new species to the UK entirely! And, not just any small asco but a giant bracket type fungus! More on that to follow! Looking at the area around the River Severn paid off with two species on Common Reed being Camarosporium feurichii and Stictis elongatispora, 5th and 6th in UK records only respectively, the latter you had to reach down at the base of the stem without falling in the water. Also 11th record in UK for Coniochaeta malacotricha, OK just a Coelomycete, but all the same rare. Growing on the stroma of Eutypella scoparia was the asexual state of Harpographium fasciculatum (4th UK). Identifying new places to visit paid off when near the village of Battlescombe, I drifted down a footpath into what probably looked unproductive until I came upon a glade of 6/7 Wych Elm trees all together. Wonderful in itself and thought there must be all types of fungi I have never seen before. Eutpella stellulata, Quaternaria dissepta and Lopadostoma gastrinium were all new to the county. I had also found a delightful cluster of Pleurotus pulmonarius or Pale Oyster at the base of one of these trees. Not that uncommon, but to see a lovely group of mushrooms in what has been a very barren time was great. A quick trip to another unknown woodland at Flisteridge Woods, just inside North Wilts was found to be a terrific Oak and Birch packed site, one that has to visited later this year. Here on Holly, an old mature tree with lots of dead branches produced a resupinate in Xylodon Asper. 1st for Wilts. The find of the month, perhaps summer was a large spongey looking bracket fungus growing on a fallen rotting trunk of what appeared to be Ash or Fagus. This was found in a private site, so need to keep this to myself for now, but was in the Sth of the county. I though this was Inonotus dryophilus due to lack of setae and pigmented spores. I have sent this away for DNA testing and should hear next month on the results. This would be NEW to the UK if correct! This has recently been renamed Inocutis dryophila. So fingers crossed. It was very watery when working on the context at home, probably why it survived growing in direct sunlight for the pass few weeks! Like a cactus.

Camarosporium feurichii

Coniochaeta malacotricha

Eutpella stellulate

Harpographium fasciculatum

Lopadostoma gastrinum

Pleurotus pulmonarius

Quaternaria dissepta

Stictis elongatispora

Xylodon asper

Tuesday, 29 July 2025

JULY 2025 - Uncommon to rare species recorded this month!

July is always going to be one of the hardest month's of the year to find unusual fungi. Change of tactics are required, and each time I go out I aim to be close to water, in all its habitats from ponds to rivers. Along the way and no fungi in evidence I have got into the habit of photographing insects, not just Butterflies and Moths but the tiny little bugs as well. Blown up (photographically) they are wonderous. So first up this month was a Coelomycete Arthrinium sporophleum found on a stem of Carex pendula close to the River in Climperwell Woods. 2nd record for Gloucs, after me! Perhaps no one else bothers. During a visit to Pinbury Park woods a resupinate under what probably was a corylus branch close to a spring stream became Botryobasidium pruinatum that has unusual hyphae filled with some sort of resin. 3rd for Gloucs. On a trip around Rudge Hill NR where more insects were the highlight, I did rummage around into the lower reaches of plant life and found under old Rosebay Willowherb Calycellina chlorinella, 1st for Gloucs. Almost in the same place and the former on the same stem, I found the 2nd record in the UK of Pirottaea imbricata, after my 1st! I must be the only person seeking this species as it is so difficult to identify yet alone find. This has unique setae so when found you will know. Also here was Pyrenopeziza dilutella, was Hyalinia. At a newly discovered accessible pond south of Minchinhampton on Greater Pond Sedge I found the rare discomycete Lachnum caricis, new for County and only 9 other UK records. The mud here had been made harder by the hot summer weather and I was able to walk out closer to the plant life at the edge which was still wet. Also here on Water Forget-me-not I found Neovaginatispora fuckelii (was Lophiostoma), few other County records. So all going well considering the blazing heat this month. At Capel's Mill, a small local NR near Waitrose, I took a walk towards the 3 metre small pond created by the hard working Stroud Project Group. Under last years old dead Yellow Iris, was Mollisia iridis (was Belonopsis). Nice. Again my feet were still dry even after this lot! Lastly a trip to Frampton Court Park near the River Severn produced a blackish smear of Coelomycete Virgaria nigra on Sweet Chestnut, 2nd for Gloucs (again after my 1st). How annoying I can be to myself.