14th November 2014, Knole Park, Sevenoaks

Knole Park was fungally fabulous two months ago so I decided to go back. Actually I’m exaggerating – it was only pretty good last time, but it’s easy to get to and has a variety of unimproved habitats, which is what the fungi folk generally prefer. I’m turning into a fungus species ticker – 9 new species registered on this foray!

I walked through the gate to the nearest patch of grass and immediately found a large sprouting of Golden Spindles and various Waxcaps. The Spindles were very striking, and not something I’ve ever seen before, so I wasn’t sure at first whether it was a fungus at all or some kind of plant! I also saw some Rose Spindles but didn’t even take a picture – at the time I thought it was a variant colour of the species that I did record. There were many types of Waxcap, and again I’m not so familiar with this genus, so I got a bit overwhelmed and certainly missed a few. With a bit of guesswork I think that I found Honey Waxcap, Golden Waxcap, Meadow Waxcap and Vermillion Waxcap, although some of these are easy to confuse with each other.

Another point of interest was the possible small fungus growing on an old Oyster Mushroom. It was tiny, and I should have kept a specimen to examine under a magnifying glass, as now I’m not sure whether it really was a mushroom. The Shaggy Parasol was a fine photogenic specimen indeed, and the large old decrepit Parasol was the biggest I’ve ever seen – shame I wasn’t there to witness its full glory.


1. Golden Spindles (Clavulinopsis fusiformis).
Growing amongst moss/grass. Several large clusters. Cluster 10cm across. Spike 7cm+ high. Smell mushroomy with a hint of decay.

2. Yellow Club (Clavulinopsis helvola).
Growing amongst moss/grass. A few scattered around. Whitish more than yellow. ID is almost sure.

3. Honey Waxcap (Hygrocybe reidii).
Growing amongst moss/grass. Small troop and scattered. Cap 3-5cm, but one much bigger. Smell faint mushroom pleasant. Stem has distinct (but slight) colour division about halfway along. Id could be wrong as one specimen was too big. But don't think they were Meadow Waxcaps. ID is best guess. Sporeprint white. Spores 5-7µ x 4-5.5µ.

4. Golden Waxcap (Hygrocybe chlorophana).
Growing amongst moss/grass. Only a few. Cap 2-7cm. Very faint smell. ID is fairly likely. Sporeprint white. Spores 5.5-8µ x 4-5.5µ.

5. Vermillion Waxcap (Hygrocybe miniata).
Growing amongst moss/grass. Small group. Cap 2-3cm. ID is guess.

6. Orange Bonnet (Mycena acicula).
Growing amongst moss near dung. Lots dotted around. Cap 0.6-1cm. Spores 7.5-9µ x 5.5-7µ.

7. Common Stump Brittlestem (Psathyrella piluliformis).
Growing on deciduous tree log. Lots of clusters. Cap 1.5-6cm. Faint mushroom smell. Sporeprint dark brown. Spores 4.5-5.5µ x 2.5-4.5µ.

8. Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus).
Growing at base of deciduous tree stump. Two clusters. Cap 7-15cm. Smell mushroomy, slightly perfumed and a bit rotten. Apart from the oyster mushrooms there are distinct beads on the old rotten one that could be some other fungus. ID is almost sure. Spores 5-8.5µ x 3.5-4.5µ.

9. Shaggy Parasol (Macrolepiota rhacodes).
Growing in grass. Group of three. Cap 12cm. Height 14cm. No smell. Sporeprint white. Spores 11-13µ x 7.5-9.5µ.

10. Mild Milkcap (Lactarius subdulcis).
Growing near oak and beech. A few scattered around. cap 4-6cm. Slight indistinct smell. Milk mild. ID is very likely. Sporeprint white. Spores 6-8.5µ x 5-7.5µ.

11. Russet Toughshank (Collybia dryophila).
Growing on leaf litter from deciduous trees. Several large clusters. cap 0.5-6cm. Slight mushroomy smell, perhaps a bit sweet. Very distinctive toughshank stem. Sporeprint white. Spores 5.5-8µ x 3.5-4.5µ.

12. Clustered Bonnet (Mycena inclinata).
Growing from cracks in log. Several clusters. cap 1.5-5cm. No smell. Sporeprint white. Spores 7-8.5µ x 5.5-7µ.

13. Meadow Waxcap (Hygrocybe pratensis).
Growing in grass. Several scattered around. Cap 4-7cm. No smell. One had a very distinctive twisted stem. ID is almost sure. Sporeprint white. Spores 5-7µ x 4-5.5µ.

14. Scarlet Waxcap (Hygrocybe coccinea).
Growing in grass. Several scattered around. Cap 2-3cm. No smell. Very red but some washed out to white. ID is very likely. Sporeprint white. Spores 6-8µ x 4.5-6µ.

15. Unidentified.
Growing on dead beech log. Lots dotted around. Beads about 1mm. Initially thought this was young Candlesnuff but that's unlikely. Could be something similar to Oak Pin but these always have a small stalk and I didn't see any stalks.

16. Candlesnuff Fungus (Xylaria hypoxylon).
Growing on dead beech. A few scattered. Didn't get a very good photo as they weren't many.

17. The Deceiver (Laccaria laccata).
Growing in leaf litter. Several scattered around. cap 1.5-3.5cm. No smell. ID is almost sure. Sporeprint white. Spores 5.5-7.5µ x 5-6.5µ.

18. Butter Cap (Collybia butyracea).
Growing in leaf litter. Cap 4cm of immature, 8cm of mature. No smell. Stem tapers strongly upwards. Didn't think this was buttercap initially as it doesn't have the classic buttercap look that I'm familiar with, but on refection I think it must be. ID is fairly likely. Sporeprint white. Spores 6.5-8µ x 4-4.5µ.

19. Dripping Bonnet (Mycena rorida).
Growing in leaf litter. One. Cap 2mm. ID is fairly likely.

20. Common Earthball (Scleroderma citrinum).
Growing in moss. Lots all around the wood. I took this picture for the nice framing of the large Earthball in a bed of Common Haircap Moss.

21. Parasol (Macrolepiota procera).
Growing in grass. Several scattered around. Cap 24cm. Huge old rotten specimen.

22. Red Cracking Bolete (Boletus chrysenteron).
Growing under hornbeam. Cap 8cm. No smell. Sporeprint dark brown but exact shade hard to tell with spots. Spores 9.5-12.5µ x 4.5-6µ.

23. Butter Cap (Collybia butyracea).
Growing in leaf litter. Cap 5-6cm. Faintly perfumed or off smell. Sporeprint white with hint of another colour, not sure what. Spores 5-7.5µ x 3.5-5µ.

24. Wood Blewit (Lepista nuda).
Growing under oak. Several. Cap 7-11cm. Faint perfumed smell. Sporeprint very pale lilac. Spores 5-7µ x 3.5-5µ.