Coniophora puteana or arida possibly?

So on one branch my eye was drawn to a few small ovals of white fringes, each about an inch long, which it turned out appeared to be surrounding some thin dark brownish-grey oval crusts. 

With this unusual colour combination, perhaps these represent early development of a Coniophora species crusts, perhaps Coniophora puteana, a common cause of wet rot, or perhaps another species such as Coniophora arida? These and others are found in the south of England, so both are possibles. That's all I can think of, anyway!

Hapalopilus nitidans, the Cinnamon Bracket or Tender Nesting Polypore.

The UK's only toxic polypore - and it is HIGHLY toxic with a very high content of polyporic acid.

While with the Kent Field club group, we found a very lovely looking triangular bracket fungus on a small dying or dead tree. I would describe the form as "stepped". I tentatively identified the host as a Rowan or Sorbus tree and somebody who I think must have seen this bracket fungus before, tried putting some potassium hydroxide, KOH, on it. It almost immediately turned a bright violet colour suggesting that it was the toxic cinnamon bracket. Hapalopilus nidulans, a very difficult name to spell. I was pleased to say that Lassoe and Peterson also consider it quite commonly found on Sorbus. However, other sources just give it as found on mixed deciduous trees or possibly Oak and Birch. It was a delightful colour and an interesting texture on the top surface. All the factors seem to fit, so a nice step forward in bracket identification for me.

Also referred to as Hapalopilus rutilans, it might be rather commoner in Europe, but is said to be only occasional in the UK. Records in the UK seem to fairly evenly distributed north to south. This is an annual polypore bracket, breaking down to a rather dusty debris. However, these 2 or 3 brackets were quite fresh.

Note the texture of the top surface, sometimes likened to suede. The top is said to be flat to slightly convex, the overall texture of the bracket soft.

Said to be typically "triangular" in shape.

The pores are quite coarse and strongly delimited in appearance. 2 - 3 per mm. Tubes reportedly up to 1 cm deep, spore print white. There is a fairly clear margin to the underside, extended rollover in the later stages.

The Deathcap Amanita phalloides, the False Deathcap Amanita citrina and the Jewelled Amanita, Amanita gemmata.

 

Amanita phalloides, Amanita citrina and Amanata gemmata

The Deathcap is a relatively large and highly toxic mushroom. It tends to be greenish or yellowish and to lose the veil remnants quite quickly, leaving the cap smooth and a little shiny. The stipe is fundamentally white, but substantially mottled with patches of the cap colour below the ring which quickly vanishes. The Volva rather obvious and persistent. Not really common, but more frequent in the south. Associated with Oak and Beech. Possibly a sickly-sweet smell? There is a white form.

This one doesn't show all the features because it has been quite badly nibbled.

No mucking around with this killer.

  

I have been shown the False Deathcap several times before, and I would agree that it is an excellent "learner" mushroom, but it is still a bit tricky for me.

I contrast the true Deathcap above with this False Deathcap, a very whitish Amanita with a bulb showing the rim of a volva, a persistent pendulous ring on the stipe and whitish veil-remnant patches on the cap. Closer examination should show a slight lemon-yellow tinge and perhaps the odour of raw potato - or possibly radish? 

There is a white form.

Its quite poisonous, so still no mucking about with this one either!  

This Jewelled Amanita was one Phil showed me last week at Hallswood, possibly slightly less poisonous, 

The cap is a more obvious creamy yellow, with whitish veil-remnants that can eventually disappear finally leaving a smooth cap. The stem should be fibrillose below the rapidly vanishing ring, smooth above, and remnants of the volva should be visible around the bulb. The cap margin should be slightly striate. contrasting 

Buczacki suggests that the flesh should have a slight yellowish tinge, but I cannot see it in this image.

Still not eating it!

Junghuhnia (Steccherinum) nitidum or just possibly lacera?

Slightly more lacerate than usual, but not a British species I think. Impossible to resolve without measuring the spores under a microscope, but I should have tried to measure the pore density at least.

Stereum rameale or Chondrostereum purpureum perhaps?

 Found on a small fallen branch about 15 - 20 mm thick. Each cushion with a darker central hub, highly shaggy on the reverse side, often curled up to form a one sided cap. Fertile surface cracked so could be old and decrepit maybe?

I am completely stumped within Stereum as a genus. The fertile surfaces look like photos on the internet named as "Stereum rameale" but the shagginess is completely out, a much longer pile than Stereum hirsutum, supposedly the hairiest one in the genus. Only thing I can think of that is quite this shaggy is Silverleaf, Chondrostereum purpureum, perhaps old cushions from last season, so that all the purple has been long ago washed out? 

Wet Rot, maybe

I think this must be the very young stage of Coniophora puteana or one of its close relatives. There is no colour in the centre, but the texture is very reminiscent of this species, coupled with the furry nature of the edges, the fine white extensions. Interesting to think what these might be for, evolutionarily? Would I be able to find this log again? Very doubtful.

Elfin Saddle, Helvella lacunosa

 

Someone in the Kent Field Club group pointed this out to the rest of us, a remarkable Ascomycete fungus.

The fruiting surface is smooth on the upper surface, a little furry beneath. It fuses with the strongly furrowed stalk in several places. Perhaps found in woodland or woodland clearings, perhaps on richer soil, sometimes on fire sites, but I didn't think to look closely at this site. Possibly mycorrhizal. Could well be a species complex.

Anamorph: not known.
Teleomorph: stromata absent. Ascomata large, discomycetous, stipitate. Cap 1.5-5 cm diam., regularly saddle-shaped with 2-3 lobes or irregularly lobed, strongly convex, the margin attached in some places to the stipe. Hymenium pale greyish to greyish-brown to black, very often wrinkled towards the centre, the outer surface of the cap glabrous, pale greyish to grey-brown, sometimes with indistinct, anastomosing shallow ribs. Stipe 1.5-5(-12) cm high, 5-15 mm diam., glabrous, pale greyish to greyish-brown to nearly black, mostly paler near the base with deep furrows, the ribs sharp-edged, sometimes double-edged, irregular, anastomosing, the inside of the stipe with longitudinal chambers. Outer excipulum of angular to prismatic cells, 55-110 µm thick, the outermost cells clavate, hyaline or with brownish walls, 12-30 x 6-15 µm in size. Medulla (below hymenium) of intertwined hyphae, 225-350 µm thick, the hyphae 3-4 µm diam., sometimes mixed with broader deeply staining hyphae. Interascal tissue of unbranched paraphyses 4-7 µm diam., nearly hyaline or dark brownish. Asci 290-355 x 13-16 µm. Ascospores 15-19 x 9.5-12 µm in size.