A rare powdercap strangler fungus has been found in woodland at the National Trust’s Clumber Park near Workshop, Notts. First identified in 1948, in Oregon’s Mount Hood National forest, the strangler is rarely seen, and has only been spotted 23 times in the UK.
Rangers at the park have been searching for the fungus for 5 years, however it was visitors to the area on a foraging trip who came across the Squamanita paradoxa.
The parasite grows by invading another grassland fungus, the earthy powdercap, creating a two-coloured toadstool as it overcomes it's existing stem.
Experts say it is so rare it should never be collected.
