It was discovered by scientists on Silwood Campus, Imperial College, London and was named after this accordingly.

Its discovery on a campus of a leading academic institution has been used to show how little is known about many species.

[1] It has since been found at two other sites in the United Kingdom and also in France and Italy.

[2] Molecular analysis has shown it is closely related to X. subtomentosus, and it was probably previously overlooked due to its similar appearance.

Microscopically, the spores of X. silwoodensis resemble those of X. chrysonemus, but are different from both X. subtomentosus and X. ferrugineus.