JANUARY 2025 - Uncommon to rare species recorded this month.

Here we go into another year and a chilly month, so I can only expect Asco/Discos and Corts! Which is exactly what I was able to record, what I didn't realise was the extent of the rarity of some species located, many of which came through a cultivation process of rabbit dung! Still nine species were all very interesting, some potentially new species perhaps. I will run through the species found on Rabbit following a 16-day culture before I gave up the search, and they were still growing. Ascobolus brassicae, new for Gloucs on dung from a Painswick collection, the rest were all from an Alney Island, Gloucester collection. Ascodesmis microscopica spores were observed only as, try as I might, I couldn't locate the body of the discomycete itself so remains a possible. However, the spores are so distinctive with strong reticulation that it would be unusual not to be this species, or genus. See photo. Would have been 2nd record in UK only!. Another possible was Ascozonus subhirtus, but again no apothecia connected so remains a possible. This would have been new to UK if confirmed. Podospora collapsa and P. curvicolla were found and both 1st for Gloucs and 5th and 18th respectively in UK. Schizothecium squamulosum and S. tetrasporum would be 1st Gloucs/6th UK and 3rd Gloucs respectively. Sporormiella leporina again 1st for Gloucs. and 6th in UK with Thelebolus nanus being 1st for Gloucs as well. That was some rabbit! Also at Alney, I found growing on a Populus nigra 'Italica' branch near the car park on the way out Peniopherella guttulifera a 1st for Gloucs and 19th UK record. Athelia acrospora at Parson's Hill - very rare although found twice before, Durella macrospora was found growing on a Holly branch, 1st Gloucs and only 7th UK record. A short trip to The River Churn at Sth Cherney on Salix was Cryptodiaporthe salicina and 1st for Gloucs. along with Gloeocystidiellum porosum, but with 6 other Gloucs records. Also here on Betula was Stomiopeltis betulae with two other Gloucs. records. At Painswick Beacon on a stack of discarded Pinus sylvestris the tiny Hymenoscyphus codicum was identified at length, which has no hairs and scalloped margins. This would be a 2nd UK record!! I tried to get this sequenced but material just too small, apparently. When fresh they are 0.4mm, so I guess so as when dried they were like dust!. At Cirencester Park Hypochnicium punctulatum showed up and 2nd for Gloucs (after me! - I keep getting in the way). Lastly, and most interestingly on Fuchsia magellanica outside my front door while pruning last year's stems, I found a tiny Neonectria species growing. Nothing fitted until N. fuckeliana was seen but this normally grows on coniferous only. So new species?  Who knows. Too small for DNA, too lazy to find out!  

Ascobolus brassicae

Ascobolus brassicae

Ascodesmis microscopica spores ??

Ascozonus subhirtus ??

Athelia acrospora

Cryptodiaporthe salicina

Cryptodiaporthe salicina

Durella macrospora

Durella macrospora

Gloeocystidiellum porosum

Hymenoscyphus codicum

Hymenoscyphus codicum tiny near rounded spores

Hypochnicium punctulatum

Hypochnicium punctulatum cystidia

Neonectria fuckeliana

Peniophorella guttulifera

Peniophorella guttulifera

Podospora collapsa

Podospora curvicolla

Schizothecium squamulosum

Schizothecium tetrasporum

Skeletocutis vulgaris ?

S. vulgaris but turns bright orange in KOH ??

Sporormiella leporina

Stomiopeltis betulae

Thelebolus nanus

DECEMBER 2024 - Uncommon to rare species recorded this month

Well December saw the basidocarp fungi disappear even more quickly than expected this year, add to that my Central System went down over Christmas as well as my 3-toothed bridge dropping out at the same time, it was a great month! I was going to be able to report the results of a new Inocybe for the UK, until I found two reports in BMS Update! Again this has happened too often and why new species reports that appear in Update are then NOT entered in FRDBI is highly frustrating and shows no respect for the database itself by the very people that created it. A few new species also for Gloucs, and a collection of interesting fungi made what could have been a dull month into something more exciting. The Inocybe was found in October in Cirencester Park under Picea, and having keyed this out to be Inocybe jucunda, I was able to get this sequenced and had this confirmed at 99.34% as one and the same. So that was very pleasing. As I mentioned before two other sequenced records were found - eventually, not of such good quality, so thanks again to David Harries and his team for their help. Also at this location interesting species such as Atractosporocybe inornata was identified, with just a few other county records, a single example poking out of Fagus leaf debris. Resupinates here were Athelia acrospora (2nd Gloucs and most of western England) with extraordinary candelabra basidia, Tomentellopsis echinospora (3rd for Gloucs), along with Botryobasidium vagum on Picea, 5th record for the county. While here I just about recognised a single long stemmed/rooting off a Picea cone as Auriscalpium vulgare, with clearly observed pale buff spines. Another resupinate this time at my old hunting ground at Ebworth NT Estate found Xylodon brevisetus on Picea. At a visit to a new location near Tarlton Downs a waxy olive/brown resupinate in Sebacina epigaea was on Oak, with Leptosphaeria ogilviensis also on Oak, and 3rd record for Gloucs. Lastly, at a trip out to West Gloucs. near Whitminster at Moreton Valence church and on Salix, Patellaria atrata, now renamed Lecanidion atratum was identified which has unusual 10 septa spores. This would be the 1st Gloucs. record. 

Athelia acrospora

Athelia acrospora

Atractosporocybe inornata

Atractosporocybe inornata

Auriscalpium vulgare

Auriscalpium vulgare gloeo.

Botryobasidium vagum

Botryobasidium vagum spores

Inocybe jucunda caulocystidia

Inocybe jucunda

Inocybe jucunda spores

Inocybe jucunda

Lecanidion atratum ascospores

Lecanidion atratum

Leptosphaeria ogilviensis

Leptosphaeria ogilviensis

Sebacina epigaea

Tomentellopsis echinospora

Tomentellopsis echinospora

Xylodon brevistus

Xylodon brevistus

NOVEMBER 2024 - Uncommon to rare species recorded

November continued to be a barren month, as has been most of this Autumn, more so than many, many years of late. We all know why, but no-one I know disagrees that fungi failed to turn up this year as you would expect. Is it too much rain, too early, too hot at a certain time, carbon related, etc? Either way I noticed around just two weeks in October were anything like previous years. Let's hope next year changes. However, I still managed to identify a new discomycete for the UK, more of which comes later. I found a few interesting species still in November from my BMS trip into The Forest of Dean. The first was an uninspiring Hebeloma which appeared at first to be like all common species of this genus. This one under microscopy provided cheilocystidia, spores and macro features to a safe deduction of Hebeloma ebuneum. What is surprising is that this has only one other UK record - mine!  Worrying! However, nothing else fits and I stick with what I see, not what might be, and so that's it! I also provide the evidence in the record depository at FRDBI for all to exam, which has the capability of response. 95% of all records on FRDBI do not provide evidence at all, which I find worrying, especially when records were recorded, or the substrate that was found at the time. Moving on - the other species was found back at Highnam Woods (out of FoDean) which to me was a rare Cortinarius ominosus at Newent Woods. This would be 3rd in UK! and takes me back to my previous statement. The spores were too large and with a more prominent umbo, blackening stem in KOH, singular and so the common look-a-like C. semisanguineus went out the window. I wouldn't be surprised that within the many visual only records for the latter, there are lots of the former, so not making the former so rare. At my favourite, 'help where do I go its so bad' location, Cirencester Park came up as usual with a few interesting species. On a stack of grass mulch but protected from the weather within woodland I found Narcissea patouillardii, although not that uncommon. A couple of resupinates turned out to be Vesiculomyces citrinus (on Larix) but the third time I have found this in Gloucs., so now 3rd record for the county! Also Ceraceomyces crispatus which has verticillate clamps, this being 2nd for Gloucs.  My first visit to the village of Edgeworth provided Cristinia helvetica but on Laural, so a nice surprise. A short run around my local patch just down from Waitrose, the local nature group Stroud Valley Projects had been working hard again and had cleared away a lot of bramble etc., leaving access to old herb stems and twigs. On Ash, I found at home after careful study (they all look the same) Cistella geelmuydenii, new for me and 2nd in the county. A stroll around Minchinhampton Common for any leftover waxcaps didn't show anything unusual, however a small basidiocarp growing close to an Oak tree made me thing again that it was different from all the other LBJ's you would see in grasslands. With unusual cheilocystidia and capitate tips and caulocystidia it became Pholiotina brunnea - new for Gloucs. Lastly, after dropping my wife off for her hair cut/dye which takes almost 2hrs (mine takes 2 mins! - see the photo!) I use this time to whip around local small habitats I haven't visited before. At Box woods, very close to the Art Workshop I attend each week, I came across a few species growing on an rotting Corylus branch. One of which was a resupinate which I studied later at home. It wasn't until I looked closer than I found at around 0.3mm apothecia growing through Hyphodontia alutaria, a common resp. with hydnoid surface (upright spines of cystidia). Under microscopy this turned into Dactylospora stygia var. striata. This is now been renamed as Sclerococcum stygium only! No variant for the UK. Well here it is folks!  The spores have finely striated spores with a thick septa, easily seen at 1000x, and also retain this feature inside the ascus. Acknowledged by Hans-Otto Baral ... one of the top mycologists in this class of fungi in Europe. So new for UK? One day maybe. :-)

Cortinarius ominosus

Cortinarius ominosus

Hebeloma ebuneum

Hebeloma ebuneum

Ceraceomyces crispatus

Ceraceomyces crispatus

Narcissea patouillardii

Cristinia helvetica

Vesiculomyces citrinus

Vesiculomyces citrinus

Pholiotina brunnea

Pholiotina brunnea

Pholiotina brunnea

Cistella geelmuydenii

Cistella geelmuydenii

Sclerococcum stygium var. striata

Sclerococcum stygium var. striata

Sclerococcum stygium var. striata

Sclerococcum stygium var. striata