Monthly Archives: November 2018

13th November 2018, Petts Wood and Hawkwood

This was my second visit to Petts Wood and Hawkwood this year. Mid-November is a bit late in the season but still I found quite a few mushrooms.

The highlights of this foray were Lilac Mushroom and Clitocybe truncicola, neither of which I’ve seen before. The Lilac Mushroom was very characteristically lilac/purplish and a very pretty specimen. Clitocybe truncicola is very rare so my identification has to be very tentative. The spore shape and size is absolutely correct and the habitat on a rotting stump points to C. truncicola. I cannot find an alternative classification that fits these characteristics.


1. Lilac Pinkgill (Entoloma porphyrophaeum).
Growing through grass. Two. Cap 4-6cm. Stem 9cm. No smell. Brittle flesh. My spore size is rather smaller than the book value - not sure why as the id looks fairly sure. ID is very likely. Sporeprint Pink. Spores 7-8.5µ x 5.5-7.5µ.

2. Unidentified.
Growing in earth in hedge bank, possibly from buried twig. A few scattered around. Cap up to 4cm. Stem up to 5cm. No smell. Sporeprint Tan with a pinkish tinge. Spores 5.5-7µ x 4.5-6µ.

3. Drab Bonnet (Mycena aetites).
Growing through grass in field. Many scattered in groups. Cap up 1.5cm. Stem up to 5cm. No smell. I thought this was a type of Conecap (Conocybe) initially, but with a white spore print it can only be a Bonnet (Mycena). ID is almost sure. Sporeprint White. Spores 8-12µ x 6-7.5µ.

4. Lilac Mushroom (Agaricus porphyrizon).
Growing on soil in broadleaf woods. One. Cap 10cm. Stem 9cm. Mild mushroom smell. Lovely pinkish/lilac tinge. Pedulous ring. ID is very likely. Sporeprint Darkish brown. Spores 4-5.5µ x 2.5-4µ.

5. Psathyrella pseudogracilis.
Growing through grass in field. Many scattered singly. Cap 2-2.5cm. Stem up to 10cm. No smell. ID is very likely. Sporeprint Black. Spores 10.5-13µ x 7-8µ.

6. Clitocybe truncicola.
Growing through moss on rotting stump. One. Cap 3cm. Stem 3cm. No smell. This id is very tentative because Clitocybe truncicola is very rare, but most characteristics are correct, especially the spore shape and size and the habitat. ID is possible. Sporeprint White. Spores 3.5-4.5µ x 2.5-3.5µ.

7. Jelly Ear (Auricularia auricula-judae).
Growing on rotting branch. Several grouped and singly. Up to 3cm. No smell, perhaps very slightly mushroomy. These are smaller than the Jelly Ears I normally see. Sporeprint White. Spores 14.5-21.5µ x 7-9.5µ.

8. Shaggy Parasol (Macrolepiota rhacodes).
Growing through leaf litter in mixed woods. One. Cap 9cm. Stem 10cm. Slight mushroom smell. ID is almost sure. Sporeprint White. Spores 7-9.5µ x 5.5-7µ.

9. Small Stagshorn (Calocera cornea).
Growing on rotting log. Many groups. Up to 1cm long. Sporeprint White. Spores 5-8.5µ x 4-5.5µ.

2nd November 2018, Beckenham Place Park

Back to Beckenham Place Park… The only organised Fungus Foray that I’ve been on was here, a few years ago, and very good it was too. We found the first Earthstar that I’ve seen (I’ve found one other since then) and also a very rare Mushroom called Zoned Rosette (Podoscypha multizonata). I have deliberately avoided trying to rediscover it although I can remember exactly where it was, but I want to avoid huge effort and disappointment. I just discovered that Bromley has a Biodiversity Plan 2015 – 2020 which lists several rare mushrooms, including this one, even though Beckenham Place Park is technically in Lewisham Borough! So I’m going to study their list with great interest.

Anyway, this was a good outing which included finding a few previously unrecorded (by me!) species. Coral spot is quite common, but nice to find. Psathyrella corrugis was new, although my identification is very shaky with these very similar looking Brittlestems. Orange Peel Fungus I’ve found before but these were abundant and very pretty. Dead Moll’s Fingers (together with Dead Men’s Fingers which I haven’t found yet) is something I’ve been hoping to find for some time: nice fungus and great name! Laccaria striatula is something I’ve found before but this doesn’t look so much like that previous find. If it was bigger then I’d say it was Twisted Deceiver, but that’s not possible. When I found it, I was sure it was a Waxcap, but one glance at the spiny spores will tell you straight away that it’s not, and in all likelihood is a Deceiver. Other families do have spiny/warty spores,  Russula for example, but this is not a Russula. Common Funnel is not so exciting (common!) but I have to include the common ones occasionally.

Some other species I found and didn’t record were: Shaggy Parasol, Clouded Funnel, and Lilac Bonnet.


1. Coral Spot (Nectria cinnabarina).
Growing on thinner branches and twigs. Hundreds of small blobs. Up to 2mm across, mainly 1mm. No smell. Apparently this is Coral Spot in the asexual phase, which is commoner to find than the sexual phase.

2. Psathyrella corrugis.
Growing on rotting wood debris. Lots scattered around. Cap 1.5-3cm, up to 9cm high. Slight indistinct smell. Lots of variable appearance, and it's quite likely that there were other similar species present in the area. Difficult to identify with any certainty. ID is wild guess. Sporeprint Dark blackish. Spores 9-10.5µ x 5-7µ.

3. Orange Peel Fungus (Aleuria aurantia).
Growing on compacted soil and rotting wood debris. Lots scattered in wide area. Each saucer up to 3cm across. Slight sweet earthy rubbery smell, although that could be the substrate. Unusual looking large spores with ornamentation. Spores 16-19.5µ x 8-9.5µ.

4. Dead Moll's Fingers (Xylaria longipes).
Growing on large log. Several clusters and individuals. Up to 5cm long. No smell. Tough flesh. Spores 11-14µ x 5-6.5µ.

5. Laccaria striatula.
Growing on bare earth in gaps in grass, not far from several trees of different species. Small group of four. Cap up to 4cm, stem up to 3.5cm. Slight mushroom smell. Could be Twisted Deceiver but they simply don't get this big. So probably L.striatula, even though it doesn't look much like the ones I found before. ID is almost sure. Sporeprint White. Spores 8.5-10.5µ x 8-10µ.

6. Common Funnel (Clitocybe gibba).
Small group. Three or Four. Cap up to 8cm but some much smaller. Typical sweetish slightly perfumed funnel smell. My spores seem to be too small for some reason, but I don't see any other species that this could be. ID is almost sure. Sporeprint White. Spores 3-4.5µ x 2.5-4µ.

7. Unidentified.
Growing on bare earth in grass in a small dip, could be buried wood there. Several clusters. Cap up to 3cm. Slight indistinct fungus smell. Tough stem. I can't see what this is. I saw something very similar a few years ago and couldn't identify it then either. Looks a bit like a Flammulaster or Powercap or Webcap but none of them fit well. Sporeprint Mid-brown. Spores 5-6.5µ x 3-5µ.