Pond life

[flaxton]

I found these two in an area that is normally under water. Can anyone make any suggestions.


This one was on a piece of well rotted wood



This on rush/sedge stem. Spores c10.5 x 1.5

Thanks
Mal

[CapAndBracket]

The only gess i could make as near to the second one is Peziza cerea.

Cheers J.P.

[mykonik]

Originally Posted by flaxton

I found these two in an area that is normally under water. Can anyone make any suggestions.


This one was on a piece of well rotted wood



This on rush/sedge stem. Spores c10.5 x 1.5

Thanks
Mal

Hi Mal

The upper photograph is of a resupinate basidiome of a species of Hymenochaete - either H. rubiginosa (I think that I can see a 'bracket' in the top right hand corner) which is very common on old wood of oak or it could possibly be H. tabacina which is lot less common, but known to occurs on willow (which the wood might be from, since growing in a wet area !).

But neither can be distinguished macroscopically !

I should say that neither of these taxa is restricted to growing on old wood in periodically wet or flooded places, but there are actually a group of fungi that do utilise this niche habitat - the best know of these being corticioid fungi such as Jaapia sp., Bulbilomyces farinosus and the bright yellow Phlebia subochracea.

The lower specimen is a discomycete, possibly a species of Mollisia but impossible to say what without microscopic examination !

Nick

[flaxton]

Originally Posted by mykonik

But neither can be distinguished macroscopically !

The lower specimen is a discomycete, possibly a species of Mollisia but impossible to say what without microscopic examination !

Nick

What should I be looking for microscopically?

I had provisionally thought the second could be Mollisia palustris with the substrate, the non-septate spore and the spore size.

Mal

[mykonik]

Originally Posted by flaxton

What should I be looking for microscopically?

I had provisionally thought the second could be Mollisia palustris with the substrate, the non-septate spore and the spore size.

Mal

I suppose the habitat might fit M. palustris Mal, but without all of the relevant literature I couldn't begin to suggest what to look for in Mollisia's viz. identification - yet another taxonomically vast, poorly understood (but slightly better than previously since they are being worked on nowadays) and very varied group.


Nick