Is this Sarcosphaera coronaria??

[solus]

*Sticks head above parapet and waits to be shot down in flames!*

OK folks - having seen no fungi for ages we went out for a short walk late this afternoon in a Cotswold Beechwood not far from home. Lovely Bluebells, a singing Mistle Thrush and some Trametes gibbosa on some Beech stumps - oh, and a bit of Candlesnuff. Nothing of much interest - in fact, not a lot at all. Until Himself spotted some pale off-white/very light beige domes peeping through the ground cover of last year's fallen Beech leaves. Me - I'd have missed them completely they were that well hidden.

At first sight I thought they were the tops of some gill-type caps but on clearing away the debris around them they turned out to be rubbery hollow "balls" into which some slugs had bored. When I tried to pick one, it broke in half. It was attached to the ground (as far as I could tell) by a small area at the base, no more than 1cm across: the body itself was roughly 8cm across. I thought "Peziza" but was surprised by the size, imagining (largely in my ignorance)that they were mostly very small.

Anyway, when I got home and looked through my trusty "Jordan", I came up with a possible identification of Sarcosphaera coronaria.

Is this what it might be? All thoughts welcome. Thanks in anticipation.

[CapAndBracket]

You may well be right, it will certainly be interesting to here what the experts think, anyway a nice find and one i havn't seen.

Cheers J.P.

[mykonik]

Originally Posted by solus

*Sticks head above parapet and waits to be shot down in flames!*

OK folks - having seen no fungi for ages we went out for a short walk late this afternoon in a Cotswold Beechwood not far from home. Lovely Bluebells, a singing Mistle Thrush and some Trametes gibbosa on some Beech stumps - oh, and a bit of Candlesnuff. Nothing of much interest - in fact, not a lot at all. Until Himself spotted some pale off-white/very light beige domes peeping through the ground cover of last year's fallen Beech leaves. Me - I'd have missed them completely they were that well hidden.

At first sight I thought they were the tops of some gill-type caps but on clearing away the debris around them they turned out to be rubbery hollow "balls" into which some slugs had bored. When I tried to pick one, it broke in half. It was attached to the ground (as far as I could tell) by a small area at the base, no more than 1cm across: the body itself was roughly 8cm across. I thought "Peziza" but was surprised by the size, imagining (largely in my ignorance)that they were mostly very small.

Anyway, when I got home and looked through my trusty "Jordan", I came up with a possible identification of Sarcosphaera coronaria.

Is this what it might be? All thoughts welcome. Thanks in anticipation.

Yes !! Very well found - a definite rarity !

Nick

[solus]

Thank you Nick! I am really pleased. It was in Buckholt Woods near Cranham btw.

Makes up for missing out on all those morels everyone else has been finding.

[CloudedYellow]

Originally Posted by solus

Thank you Nick! I am really pleased. It was in Buckholt Woods near Cranham btw.

Great, I will add it to the A-Z if that is ok with you.

Richard

[mykonik]

Originally Posted by solus

Thank you Nick! I am really pleased. It was in Buckholt Woods near Cranham btw.

Makes up for missing out on all those morels everyone else has been finding.

Interesting, Solus - the vice county 33 (East Gloucestershire) and this area particularly (Buckholt Woods, and also Cranham Woods and the area around Painswick) is one of the strongholds for S. coronaria in Britain !

It's been recorded from there numerous times since the days of Carleton Rea (an emminent Victorian mycologist) who (as far as I can see) found it there first.

The other area in which it is 'not uncommon' is the Marlborough Downs area of Wiltshire and certain areas in West Kent but otherwise very scattered in distribution in southern England.

Nick

[cybershot]

What a great find - well done!
David

[solus]

Originally Posted by CloudedYellow

Great, I will add it to the A-Z if that is ok with you.

Richard

Of course! Should I re-submit my photos to the main Gallery (possibly at a less reduced size?) or will someone move them from the "unidentified" archive where I did change the title last night to show the confirmed ID?

Will have to try and re-visit the woods in the next few weeks and see if I can find some more when they're better developed.

[cybershot]

Originally Posted by solus

Of course! Should I re-submit my photos to the main Gallery (possibly at a less reduced size?) or will someone move them from the "unidentified" archive where I did change the title last night to show the confirmed ID?

Will have to try and re-visit the woods in the next few weeks and see if I can find some more when they're better developed.

I suggest the best option is to re-upload to the main Fungi Pictures Gallery with a high res image. Moves from the unidentified Archive don't happen automatically even when renamed.

David

[FungiJohn]

Originally Posted by solus

Of course! Should I re-submit my photos to the main Gallery (possibly at a less reduced size?) or will someone move them from the "unidentified" archive where I did change the title last night to show the confirmed ID?

Will have to try and re-visit the woods in the next few weeks and see if I can find some more when they're better developed.

No need to do anything solus. Richard has added it to the A to Z and I'll put them into the main gallery

It's certainly worth checking them again too

John

[cybershot]

Originally Posted by cybershot

I suggest the best option is to re-upload to the main Fungi Pictures Gallery with a high res image. Moves from the unidentified Archive don't happen automatically even when renamed.

David

Except that is when our star moderator FJ is lurking in the background to perform such minor miracles

[FungiJohn]

Originally Posted by cybershot

Except that is when our star moderator FJ is lurking in the background to perform such minor miracles

Who, me

I have resized them to 880 x 660 but if you do prefer to re-upload higher quality images ... that's fine too

LurkerJohn ... I like that David

[NickCantle]

LurkerJohn? That's a bit shady like

[FungiJohn]

Originally Posted by NickCantle

LurkerJohn? That's a bit shady like

I've been called far worse names Nick