Herbivore dung - Have a dung day!

[mykonik]

Originally Posted by Fungus Ken

I did an experiment many years ago, growing fungi on sheep dung in petri dishes and identifying the various species that grew.

Unfortunately I needed to put the petri dishes on a window ledge and my wife objected to most of my proposed locations... can't really understand why.

Anyway, at the time my two daughters were both quite young, so my wife eventually compromised and allowed me to use the window sill in their bedroom. My daughters didn't seem to mind and they thought it was quite entertaining when all the little Pilobolus cannons started firing off their black cap of spores. It can shoot some distance and it is sticky so the window was plastered in them.

Ah the good old days.

Ken

Well Ken, I think that is quite reasonable since they were in petri dishes - far better than one of the (somewhat eccentric) mycologists I know (who shall be nameless) who keeps fresh Fox and other 'carnivore' dung in the fridge (with the food I might add - yuk !) to be studied at a leter date !!

Not somewhere to be invited to dinner one feels ?????????????

And, no, I'm not joking !

Nick

[mykonik]

Originally Posted by CapAndBracket

Now a Slime Mould (myxomycete) has appeared on the deer pellets. any chance of an ID.

Cheers J.P.

Oddly enough, they are rather common on old dung JP, but this is just the plasmodium of a myxo. so no i.d I'm afraid !

Nick

[mykonik]

Originally Posted by CapAndBracket

Masses of these growing on dung trampled down in the heather, easy to think in passing Cheilymenia sp. but with the magnifying glass i could see no hairs on the outside of fruit bodies. ?

Cheers J.P.

I think you are right JP - but I'm suprised (not about you being right I should add!) - Byssonectria fusispora is usually found on peaty or vegetable denris on moors or heathland ! But I guess old or weathered dung is exactly that so...........

Nick

[CapAndBracket]

Many thank's, i was joking about the ID, it's neat to look the next day and find they have moved to other side of box, to hopefully ensure they get plenty of nourishment i have added a few porridge oats (apparently they feed on the bacteria on the oats (not the oats themselves)) and yes some are now clumped around/over an oat flake, it would be nice to get something colourfull or ornate (or both) in the way of a fruit body.

Cheers J.P.

[CapAndBracket]

Originally Posted by mykonik

I think you are right JP - but I'm suprised (not about you being right I should add!) - Byssonectria fusispora is usually found on peaty or vegetable denris on moors or heathland ! But I guess old or weathered dung is exactly that so...........

Nick

Oh this really is my day, latter investigation led to decision this was Byssonectria fusispora, i had cybershot come over and photograph and confirm medium.

Cheers J.P.

[mykonik]

Originally Posted by CapAndBracket

Certainly could do with a steer towards id on these, on old cow dung, what a good evening to go out looking.

Cheers J.P.

If those spores (next post) are from this, then this is possibly Coprinus cordisporus - very common but under-recorded, as are many of the tiny, ephemeral species that appear in the first succession on dung due to the simple logistics of actually looking at or 'catching' such fragile basidomes before they deliquese !

I'm still saying Coprinus as the genus, since it (C. cordisporus) appears not to have been put into the checklist updates as yet for some reason !

Nick

[CapAndBracket]

This morning on the freshest cow dung, coprinus (probably had a name change), from Ellis+Ellis this seems to key as Coprinus miser (2.5mm diameter), spore photo next to above in the gallery.

Cheers J.P.

[CapAndBracket]

Just wondering if i my have Coprinus niveus, with all that white down on the cap, growing in trampled dung under hedge of ash and hawthorn, will try for spore photo.

Cheers J.P.

[CapAndBracket]

X1000

Now i have seen how the cap aged, and the spores above (average 12x6 um), i now think the species are Coprinus congregatus.

Cheers J.P.

[CapAndBracket]

X40

At last a podospora species, difficult to find as they are immersed in the substrate with just the black nipple at the top proturding.

Cheers J.P.

[CapAndBracket]

X1000

These are interesting as the spores have sticky appendages which assumably glues them to nearby plants when they are ejected. Hopefully you can see the almost clear goo attached to one end of each spore, think next i need a more mature specimen for hopefully some better pics and a better chance at positive id.

Cheers J.P.

[flaxton]

These photos are not bad JP so don't knock them. What stain did you use?

Mal

[CapAndBracket]

Thank's for your comments, i still feel very much a novice at this challenge, and keep wanting better images for ID, these were done using cotton blue which so far seems the best for spores and asci, but there is a lot of experimentation to do.



Today maybe a better one (right of the pointer) showing the appendage attachment (flat area) and the wavy appendage, they dont' look to unlike a tadpole !. From Richardson and Watling, the best match based on spore size (suprisingly large, (approx 40x25 um)) and other features of fruit body (perithecial neck with protective hairs) would be Podospora decipiens.

Cheers J.P.

[CapAndBracket]

Coprobia granulata on cow dung, photo next to above in the gallery shows the swollen tipped paraphyses at X1000.

Cheers J.P.

[CapAndBracket]

Not sure about these lbj,s on dung, the cap has faint striations, with a magnifying glass the stem has definite striations/fibres running it's length, the gill attachement seems adnexed, think i'm finding the same on woodchip but none seem to be more open than these.

Cheers J.P.

[CapAndBracket]

X1000

Spores from pervious post, (a gill squash in water), pip shapped and tan colour, approx 15x9 um.

Cheers J.P.

[mykonik]

Originally Posted by CapAndBracket

Not sure about these lbj,s on dung, the cap has faint striations, with a magnifying glass the stem has definite striations/fibres running it's length, the gill attachement seems adnexed, think i'm finding the same on woodchip but none seem to be more open than these.

Cheers J.P.

Hi JP - some kind of Conocybe sp. but really all that could be said without the specimen in front of me, and a microscope (as usual !)

Nick

[CapAndBracket]

That's very helpfull, From Richardson and Watling, i gess the spores may not be fully developed (gill squash) so the most likely is Conocybe pubescens, but here are species that need more than spore photo's, excuse my ignorance and cheeck but does your book go into detail of spore colour and shape for these small species. The scope is a recent purchase and sure is going to get some use this winter.

Cheers J.P.

[mykonik]

Originally Posted by CapAndBracket

That's very helpfull, From Richardson and Watling, i gess the spores may not be fully developed (gill squash) so the most likely is Conocybe pubescens, but here are species that need more than spore photo's, excuse my ignorance and cheeck but does your book go into detail of spore colour and shape for these small species. The scope is a recent purchase and sure is going to get some use this winter.

Cheers J.P.

Fraid not JP - mine was just a checklist, not a monograph - if you can get hold of a copy of the British Fungus Flora, Conocybe (probably out of print now !)

That will tell you lots about this genus. It's not complete (with regard to the British species, since more have been found since it was published several years ago) but it is useful for this genus.

Nick

[CapAndBracket]

More thank's , for your honest knowledge of books, this is a difficult subject and books are something of a frustrating subject, as far as novices deciding which to add to the pile next.

The A to Z may become the most up to date resource, hopefully we can all add something useful the extension of this thread in the form of next winters dung fungi experiments (i have a pile of petri dishes ready) could be one source.

Cheers J.P.

[CapAndBracket]

X1000

Today hopefully a better photo of Copobria granulata paraphyses, the swollen tips with yellow/brown granular contents show up quite well in a drop of water which should equate to as natural a colour as i can get.

I suppose that as the asci and spores are hyaline, that it is the colour of these paraphyses that give the overall colour to the cup fungi.

Cheers J.P.

[CapAndBracket]

Now these look interestingly different, don't think i've seen them before or are they just juveniles of something bigger. Couldn't resist bringing a sample home to put in sandwich box on moist hand towel. Will try to microscope largest specimen.

For anyone interested, the extending DIY knives, available in town for less than a pound are ideal for this, just like cutting a section from a flan and using side of blade to pick up section and place in box (any one for peziza).

Cheers J.P.

[CapAndBracket]

X1000

The above sure has been problematical, the small cups certainly looked like something different, but so far i can only get the spore size to match with Peziza bovina, maybe they are just juveniles, if so that will be good for the A to Z, but for now i will see how they develop, (i have some at home and some remain on pat).

Cheers J.P.

[fairplay]

J P, have a closer look at the discomycete again and see if you can find any fine hairs on it with a hand lens.

I think what you may have is a species of Cheilymenia and some of the pigment could be washed out so don't rule out orange species.

Neil.

[mykonik]

Originally Posted by CapAndBracket

Now these look interestingly different, don't think i've seen them before or are they just juveniles of something bigger. Couldn't resist bringing a sample home to put in sandwich box on moist hand towel. Will try to microscope largest specimen.

For anyone interested, the extending DIY knives, available in town for less than a pound are ideal for this, just like cutting a section from a flan and using side of blade to pick up section and place in box (any one for peziza).

Cheers J.P.

Hi JP !

This is a species of Ascobolus, common on 'old' cow dung [that's old dung, not necessarily dung from an old cow, although I suppose it might be !] - it is probably Ascobolus furfuraceus which is very common