Tony Hardware's Fungi Finds: MARCH 2026 - Uncommon to rare species recorded this month

Well I still managed 3 new species for the county this month, as well as some interesting asco/discomycetes and one splendid basidiomycete after spending 10 days in Arizona, our 18th visit there since 1998! So I think we like it there. Not much fungi in the desert but bird life terrific, ice-cream even better. Starting at Cirencester Woods, one of my local patches, I found Athelia acrospora which would be 3rd record for West England. On Lawson's Cypress and with lots of short basidia. Also here was the tiny asco. with a few long setae on the same substrate was Berlesiella nigerrima and 2nd for Gloucs. On a waste grass rotting mound also here was the delightfully hairy Coprinopsis macrocephala and 1st for Gloucs. A trip into Wiltshire at Flisteridge Woods (where else!) and after diving deep into the Juncus growing in damp patches on the pathways was the diminutive Cistella fugiens. This on J. effusus and 1st for Wiltshire. Perhaps tiny is too large as it was only 0.1mm wide at the base of the stems. Fortunately 0.1mm is quite large in the scope! The bright and numerous disco. Hydropisphaeria peziza was growing inside a opened trunk of what appeared to be a living Rhododendron tree. Seen before but isn't common. At a new location for me I visited both sides of the Thames Path at Kemble, a place I have driven pass countless times. The above species was here along with Lachnum impudicum on Salix caprea close to the river as you would expect. Uncommon and recorded before. Along to Cambridge village and the marshes beyond close to the River Severn I came upon a row of trees I couldn't recognise at all. Photographing the leaves helped and came down to Populus x-generosa beaupre, a very tall straight white trunked tree but with heavy gouges at all sorts of angles planted by the river. Here I found once again a Peniophora species mostly no one else finds. However, I have checked many times and can't be anything except P. boidinii. 3rd UK, but after my previous two finds! Opps. Short and many lamprocystidia, pointy short gloeocystidia and clamps strongly suggest this species. While here I came upon a bundle of fallen mistletoe, which isn't that common on the ground and checking every inch found hyphomycete Sphaeropsis visci at some end sections. On a trip to Climperwell Woods and with Laura Dutton, I found Psathyrella longicauda, almost by accident as it appeared to look like any other woodland Psathyrella. Checking closely then the rooting base, white edged gills and large spores sealed this ID. 1st for Gloucs and only 23 other UK records. Also here on a myxo. Trichia scabra we found the parasitic growth of Stilbella byssiseda on one small section - 1st for Gloucs. I have found this here before but lost the record somehow. Back at Kemble a frosted looking resupinate proved to be Stypella glaira, one with longitudinal basidia and 3rd for Gloucs. Lastly, also here but on Hogweed was the tiny Urceolella crispula, a delightful white star like fungus and under the scope looks terrific. See pic. Fairly uncommon but probably due to being overlooked as so small.