FUNGUS experts are overjoyed after the discovery of an extremely rare species deep inside a forest.

Violet crown-cup (sarcosphaera coronaria) usually only grows in North America, North Africa and central and southern Europe.

But a colony has been found in Dalby Forest, near Pickering, North Yorkshire.

The species is on the "red list" of 14 countries in Europe, which is reserved for the rarest flora and fauna. Only a handful of other sites the UK have been found.

Experts say the fungus may have broken surface due to the recent wet weather. Its striking flask-shaped fruiting bodies had been submerged in the soil, but they have now bloomed to reveal star-shaped rays.

Brian Walker, biodiversity officer with the Forestry Commission, said: "Local experts are absolutely overjoyed and Kew Gardens, in London, are planning to visit Dalby later this month.

"The discovery underlines the ecological importance of our forests in North Yorkshire. They are maturing into a fantastic habitat for both plants and wildlife."

Forest chiefs will now take steps to protect the species, which comes after a poor showing for fungi last autumn due to the dry summer.

The find coincides with Dalby Forest being named as one of the top 20 places in the UK that people can see natural wonders in a new Forestry Commission initiative called Wild Woods.

Mr Walker said: "The Wild Woods campaign is a great idea.

"Our forests have never supported such a variety of life and we know from surveys that people want to know more about conservation."