After a hard morning of digging and sorting out my allotment I was walking along a gravel/soil path and literally stumbled on Melastiza cornubiensis. This bright orange disc like fungus was in a cluster of approximately 20 or so. The texture felt like brittle wax and they seemed very firmly secured to the path.
This fungus reminded me of something I'd seen a few years previously on a visit to Chester. That had been a find called Scutellinia Scutellata. The similarities between Melestiza and Scutellinia are the orange colouring, disc shape and both have fine dark hairs on the margin edge. The hairs on the Melestiza are very difficult to see with the naked eye. A magnifying glass would have been helpful!
The characteristics are here:
Dimensions: 0.5-1.5cm. Surface bright orange-red. Smooth with outer and lower surface concolorous. At first disc shaped then becoming irregularly flattened and wavy and more saucer shaped. The margin edge being covered with minute downy hairs. Flesh becoming brittle and thin with maturity. No distinctive odour. Spring to Autumn. Infrequent. Habitat is soil and gravel paths.
This can now be seen at Browse 5, www.fungiworld.co.uk
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