Tony Hardware's Fungi Finds: 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.