Rare fungus recorded for first time in county

The fungi are a vital component of the woodland ecosystem

A rare fungus has been spotted in Leicestershire for the first time.

The Candelabra Coral was recorded in Burrow Wood, near Copt Oak, by members of the Leicestershire Fungi Study Group on 28 September.

Melinda Bell, a retired biology teacher, spotted the "pretty" coral on a moss-covered log while she was on a walk.

The fungus was thought to be extinct in the UK until it was recorded in 2012 in Suffolk, almost 116 years after the previous report.

Ms Bell, 70, from Ashby said: "It was a nice sunny day, I just saw a lying tree trunk with a really pretty fungus in front of me.

"We couldn't work out what it was, I thought this was something special."

Ms Bell said she had an idea what it might be after taking some photos and researching about the fungus on the internet and in books.

The coral, which feeds on dead and rotting wood, can be recognised by its crown-like tips that "resemble the turrets of a castle", Geoffrey Hall from the study group said.

It is not known why the fungus is so rarely recorded in Britain

"The cause(s) of its sudden appearance are unknown, as it is medium-sized and distinctive, so is unlikely to have been overlooked in the past," he said.

"Little is known about its ecology, but its habitat on a rotting hardwood log indicates that it is part of the large group of fungi that decompose and recycle woody material.

"They are a vital component of the woodland ecosystem, maintaining healthy forests."

Mr Hall said this was the most northerly sighting of the fungus, after it was last recorded in Kent in 2021, Norfolk in 2022, Middlesex in 2023, and in Surrey and Sussex last year.