Judging by the number of fungal fruit bodies I have been finding popping up recently in local woods, fields and lawns, it’s almost as though autumn is already with us!

Amongst these have been a very special and beautiful find, in Gully Wood, near Bathford. This is the seldom-recorded ‘Scarlet Bonnet’, Mycena adonis var. coccinea. Here are two photographs of it, taken by Marion Rayner.

The first shows it as we found it growing amongst moss and leaf litter. The second shows it after cleaning back home. The red cap and pink stem are diagnostic.

Alan Rayner

Scarlet Bonnet (Mycena adonis var. coccinea ) ©Marion Rayner