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Fungi 2020

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chubsta View Drop Down
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    Posted: 10 Apr 2020 at 7:46pm
Not much chance of finding anything at the moment for obvious reasons, but spotted this growing on a stump in my garden today...


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Liz Heard View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Liz Heard Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Apr 2020 at 3:14am
Think this is the slime mould Enteridium lycoperdon in it’s final stages, smooth surface, a bit silvery, and cracking open to release it’s dark brown spores (shown in your pic).

Before this, it looks more like you’d expect a slime mould to look - a dripping ball of white snot. I still think it’s beautiful!😍.t
The early ‘plasmodial’ stage moves about all by itself. Spooky. 🙀
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Liz Heard View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Liz Heard Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Apr 2020 at 7:08pm
This is my best 2020 fungus find so far. The species apparently became scarce when it’s traditional, preferred host (Elm) disappeared. I’d never seen it before Jan 2020 when I came across a magnificent specimen (nearly 70 cm in diameter!) glowing luminous yellow in Cornwall (pics 1-3).
Then, three weeks ago I found another couple of brackets on my very own doorstep. This time at the base of a willow in a local high street (pics 4&5)

Rigidoporus ulmarius has a knobbly upper surface which is often green with algal growth, the bracket margin is thick, a distinctive shade of yellow and resembles a Cornish pasty. The underside is white and ridged but becomes more salmon colour with age. The defining characteristic though, is revealed in section: a thick, white flesh layer contrasting sharply with a thin layer of orange-brown tubes.
Top to bottom last pic: salmon-coloured pore surface/underside, section showing thick, white flesh and thin orange-brown tube layer, bumpy upper surface.

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Edited by Liz Heard - 16 Apr 2020 at 11:27pm
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chubsta View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chubsta Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Apr 2020 at 6:06am
lovely specimens! One thing that I always think when I see brackets is how long they live as some look very old indeed - I guess a 70cm one would be quite a few years old?
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Liz Heard View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Liz Heard Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Apr 2020 at 10:42am
Bracket longevity varies by species but yes, overall, they tend to persist longer than other fungi. I suspect the ones you’re primarily thinking of are the very hard, woody, dark brown (white below) brackets that are common everywhere on hardwoods like beech. They are Ganoderma and as you note, can remain in situ long after they’re spent.
Rigidoporus isn’t quite as ‘seasonproof’ but nevertheless, will outlast most.

Of course what we see is only the seed-loaded ‘Apple’. The main ‘tree’ part of the fungus (mycelium) enjoys a much longer, reclusive life hidden under bark, leaf litter, or beneath the soil etc. Some mushroom species enjoy a mutually beneficial (‘ectomycorrhizal’) relationship with tree species by attaching themselves to it’s roots and exchanging nutrients/water.



Edited by Liz Heard - 18 Apr 2020 at 10:44am
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