The find is one of 24 new species and was made in Hälsingland during an inventory of forests in Sweden and Finland.
The species resembles small brown warts and grows on lichens, which it parasitizes through its spores, which look like earthworms under a microscope.
It's unusual so we understood when we saw it that it could be something new, says Raul Vicente.
The fungus has been given the Latin name Epithamnolia lumbricispora (from lumbris, the Latin word for earthworm). The Swedish name will be determined by a naming committee at a later date.
Even though the mushroom has now been identified, there is much evidence to suggest that it has been present in Swedish forests for a long time.
It may have existed for a long time in both Sweden and perhaps also in other parts of Europe and Asia. It has probably just been waiting to be discovered, he says.
Raul Vicente and his colleagues have high hopes that even more mushroom species will be found in the Swedish forests.
These species are poorly researched so I think there is enormous potential, he says.
Corrected: In a previous version there was an incorrect description of the species.
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