Members’ Finds, January to June 2025
Following the success of our Members' Finds project launched in 2020, here is our new page for January to June 2025 to which members are again invited to contribute. Please email Penny your photos - even of species already on previous lists. Common or rare: all are welcome! Thanks to all our many contributors, we now have well over 1200 species illustrated here, all from Buckinghamshire!
BASIC INSTRUCTIONS FOR PARTICIPATING
• Only BFG members may contribute; collections must be from Buckinghamshire.
• Please send images as an attachment and not embedded into the email text.
• NB! All photos should be accurately captioned before attaching. Please replace your camera code number with fungus name (a suggestion is fine), site, date, your initials. EG Amanita muscaria Penn Wood 01.10.2025 PC1.
• Aim to show all aspects of the fruitbody, include several photos if available.
• Please include in your email as much detail as possible (eg size, smell, substrate, habitat, microscopic details if available). All clues are vital when identifying solely from photos.
• If possible collect and retain at least one specimen until you've heard back from Penny in case further investigation is required - records of rarities are invalid without voucher material which may well need to be dried for molecular sequencing to confirm.
VIEWING TIPS
• Click on thumbnail to view photos at full size.
• New for 2025, the date on the left outside the text boxes is the date of entry into Members Finds; the date within each text box before the species name is the date of collection.
• At the bottom of each entry, clicking on Previous finds, New find or Updated find takes you to the appropriate entry in the Masterlist Index.
• The quickest way to search for any species is by clicking on the LATIN MASTERLIST INDEX, which now automatically groups all entries for any one species together for convenient comparison.
• In addition to the Masterlist, each page has a regularly updated list of entries. Click either Latin binomial or English common.
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Only entries marked with this symbol have been microscopically examined. There is no guarantee on identifications made of entries lacking this symbol though all photos are checked and selected by Penny to the best of her ability. Basic accompanying notes are also Penny's.
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Entries marked with this symbol have been confirmed or identified using DNA sequencing.
• To search for a particular date, start by clicking on the month required (just above the first entry) before scrolling down or up.
Contributors / Photographers: Claire Williams; Jackie Ewan; Jesper Lauder.
Rare sightings |
New to Buckinghamshire |
New to UK |
New to Science |
January February March April May June
| Image | Details |
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January 8th 2025
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January 7th Tremella mesenterica (Yellow Brain) In Downley Wood Claire Williams was pleased to spot this bright jewel on a lower branch of a large Oak. Her description: 'gorgeous golden' fits the bill nicely, especially at this time of the year when woodland tends to be somewhat drab and devoid of colour. This is one of the jelly fungi as touching it will soon confirm. It favours Oak but is also quite common on Gorse and tends to become more orange as it dries out. It parasitises species of the corticioid genus Peniophora though this host is often not visible underneath but no doubt its mycelium is hidden within the wood. Previous finds |
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December 30th 2024 Lentinus brumalis (Winter Polypore) On woody debris in a plum orchard at Stampwell Farm Jackie Ewan spotted this singleton showing the typical characteristics of the species and at the correct time of year as well. The cap colour, regular shape with slightly fluted edge with distinct but white pores 2-3 per mm which are slightly decurrent all point to this species - previously in genus Polyporus. Previous finds |
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July 10th 2023 Hydropus inopinatus (a species NEW TO SCIENCE from Burnham Beeches - no English name) This tiny Mycenoid mushroom was first found in 2021 on a piece of Pine collected from Burnham Beeches by Barry Webb and, following sequencing, described for the first time in the magazine Field Mycology vol 24 (1) earlier this year. Its reappearance has been eagerly awaited in order that sufficient material could be collected for further study and drying, and on July 2nd Barry rediscovered it on the same rotting Pine stump from which his original piece of wood was taken (photo 1). Bingo!! It had also been found in Hampshire back in 2021 and in Kent in 2022, the sequence of both collections matching ours from Burnham Beeches. So a second article has since appeared (in 2024, Field Mycology vol 25 (3)) - the official publication of this species now with a name and full description. The name inopinatus meaning a surprise was thought to be particularly appropriate. All the photos here are Barry's, photo 2 taken on July 5th, photos 1 and 2 are of his original find on a piece of Burnham Beeches Pine on July 31st 2021. See the publication online for further information. Updated find |
January 2nd 2025
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January 2nd Hydnangium carneum (Flesh Pink Truffle) In a roadside verge in Gerrards Cross Jesper Launder's attention was drawn to a Eucalyptus tree where he'd previous found interesting fungi, and on then discovering Laccaria fraterna (see entry below) he searched about for signs of truffle activity - ie dig holes, because he knew of a rare species which associates with this tree, one he'd been hoping to find for years. To his amazement and delight he spotted a single pinkish truffle protruding through the soil and on further investigation was rewarded with several more. At home a scope confirmed it was likely to be this species but he feels it is well worth getting a sample sequenced because he knows there are several other Hydnangium species found under this tree in Australia which are not yet known to be British. This is a new to the county with just 27 previous UK records. What an exciting find to start the new year off! New find |
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January 2nd Laccaria fraterna (Gumtree Deceiver) In a roadside verge in Gerrards Cross Jesper Launder's attention was drawn to a Eucalyptus tree where he'd previous found interesting fungi and today's species in particular. He was not disappointed! Here he found a group of Deceivers displaying the usual features of the genus, ie rusty brown smallish caps and widely spaced pinkish gills. As our common L. laccata can also occur under this tree it was necessary to check this wasn't just that species, and sure enough he found the telltale 2-spored basidia which are only found in this particular unusual Deceiver which is host specific to Eucalyptus. Our only other county record is Jesper's from this spot last year, but if you know of a Eucalyptus near you this is well worth looking out for. Previous finds |
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January 2nd Entoloma hebes (Pimple Pinkgill) In her garden in Chalfont St. Peter Jackie Ewan noticed a couple of smallish LBJs in a patch of soil. The general 'jizz' and distinctive pinkish brown gill colour pointed to the genus Entoloma and this was soon confirmed by the spore shape under a scope. Characteristic of this particular species is the neat little central papilla which is not unique but does help to eliminate many other contenders in a difficult genus. This combined with the smooth brown cap and microscopic features was enough to confirm Jackie's ID.The species is one of the commoner Pinkgills and we have a fair number of county records. Previous finds |