Tony Hardware's Fungi Finds: 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.