Tony Hardware's Fungi Finds: September 2025

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.