This was one of the best trips for finding fungi that I have done in recent years. I spotted a lot of very interesting fungi. On my way home I was literally quite astounded by what I had seen. It was a privilege to experience the variety and beauty of this long neglected kingdom.
It was not long since my previous trip to the Gully, eight days earlier, and that had been an excellent trip. So I did have high expectations. I also planned to only visit a small part of the greater Sassafras Gully area to maximise the time I had available search for fungi. In the rainforest – it is very dark and gloomy and it can be hard to spot the often small fungi that I am interested in. And it is close to the winter solstice, so daylight hours are rather short.
On this trip, after spotting some nice fungi that I did not expect, I kept on finding more unusual species. I will present a lot of photos in the order that I took the photos. I entered the gully from the track at Sassafras Gully Road and walked down to the Lagoon at Glenbrook Creek, and then after lunch, back tracked a little and exited via the Wiggins Track.
The fungi that I was most hopeful of finding were waxcaps. The often very colourful members of the family Hygrophoraceae. This family includes the following genera –
- Hygrocybe
- Gliophorus
- Humidicutis
- Porpolomopsis
- Hygrophorus
Waxcap fruiting bodies mostly appear later in the fungal season in Great Sydney, when the weather is cooler. May to August is best if there is good rainfall. Good conditions for waxcaps also seem to be good conditions for colourful coral fungi as well.
So these photos are presented in chronological order as taken on the day.
Hydnum repandum
Cortinarius rotundisporus
Hygrocybe batesii
I was pleased to spot these waxcaps early on – just after the first small creek crossing.
Porpolomopsis lewelliniae
Trichoglossum hirsutum
Hygrocybe miniata
Cortinarius sp.
Russula persanguinea
Clavulina sp.
Aleuria aurantia
These cups must be quite robust – as I had seen them on my previous trip in the same place.
Rimbachia bryophila
Gliophorus graminicolor
Clavulinopsis corallinorosacea
Hygrocybe anomala var. ianthinomarginata
Macrotyphula juncea
Hygrocybe miniata
Perhaps Hygrocybe rodwayi
Hygrocybe sp.
I found other examples of this probably undescribed waxcap. It could be a new species or perhaps a variant of Hygrocybe anolala. The cap has a green tinge. The colours are similar to Hygrocybe aurantipes, but the species is much smaller.
Hygrocybe sp.
Plectania campylospora
Hygrocybe astatogala
Hygrocybe sp.
Hygrocybe rodwayi
Hygrocybe astatogala
Hygrocybe sp.
Gliophorus graminicolor
Hygrocybe sp.
Hygrocybe anomala var. anomala
Hygrocybe sp.
These are the same species as one I have discussed above. I have seen it before in Sassafras Gully, and also in Wolli Ck Regional Park – but in no other locations.
Mycena sp.
Hygrocybe sp.
This could be a new species or perhaps Hygrocybe iropus which can be quite variable in colour.
Clavulinopsis amoena
In the photos above, you can see small waxcap at the back left. It looks like Hygrocybe pseudograminicolor.
Hygrocybe rodwayi and Hygrocybe miniata
Geoglossum sp.
Gliophorus graminicolor
Hygrocybe sp.
Hygrocybe lilaceolamellata
Humidicutis mavis
Hygrocybe astatogala
Gliophorus sp.
When I saw these, I thought they could be Gliophorus psittacinus. In the gloomy forest it was hard to see the correct colours. But later looking at the photos it seems to have distinct pink tinge to the cap and the green colour is quite light. They are certainly very viscid – so probably Gliophorus sp. One possibility is Hygrocybe iropus. I only found the two.
Hygrocybe sp.
Coral Fungus
Hygrocybe austropratensis
Geoglossum sp.
Hygrocybe sp.
As you can see below, I found a cluster of these. They appear to be brown with a green tinge in their stipes and a pink tinge to their caps.
Hygrocybe lilaceolamellata
These look like any old little brown mushroom until you see their gills.
Microglossum viride
Hygrocybe aurantiopallens
Clavaria pusio
Hygrocybe reesiae
Humidicutis sp. ?
I found two of these rather large and squat waxcaps in the one spot. In previous seasons I have found a pink splitting waxcap in one small location about 150 m from these. That one resembles a pink version of Porpolomopsis lewelliniae. These ones have splitting caps, so perhaps Humidicutis sp.
Gliophorus graminicolor
Hygrocybe astatogala
Hygrocybe sp.
Perhaps Ramariopsis kunzei
Ramariopsis pulchella
Ramariopsis pulchella and Ramariopsis simplex
Ramariopsis pulchella
Leotia lubrica
Descolia recedens
Geoglossum sp.
Geoglossum sp. and Ramariopsis sp.
Clavulinopsis corallinorosacea
Hygrocybe sp. or Humidicutis sp.
These are two views of the single specimen I found. I have seen similar one in Tasmania previously. It could be an aged Humidicutis viridimagentea.
Russula persanguinea
Hygrocybe batesii
Rickenella fibula
Cruentomycena viscidocruenta
Ramaria sp.
Hygrocybe aurantiopallens
Clavaria tenuipes
Phaeohelotium baileyanum
Trichoglossum hirsutum
Hygrophorus involutus
Hygrocybe anomala var. anomala
Hygrocybe austropratensis
Plectania campylospora and Gliophorus graminicolor
Plectania campylospora
Humidicutis sp.
I spotted two of the above species. It appears to be the same or very similar to the Ferndale Park waxcap. That undescribed species changes from green to pink if conditions are suitable.
Plectania campylospora
Hygrocybe astatogala
Cortinarius sp.
Ramaria sp.
Phellodon niger
Looking for fungi in these rainforest gullies is a bit like a treasure hunt. You never know what you will find. This trip I considered myself very lucky. Conditions were very good and I was in the right place with time to find a fair amount of what was available. It also probably helps to know the area pretty well – and the right places to look. Most of this fungi was a bit away from the track.