Another myxomycete

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These were eycatching (on Saturday) and i managed to bring them home so they could continue to develope in a moist chamber, (they darkened to grey/brown as they aged).


X1000

They have finely warted spores but the real distinquishing feature is the capillitium which have a spiral pattern on their surface so they look like rope, these diverge in places and end tappering to a point. So they are Hemitrichia calyculata.


Cheers J.P.

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Have this piece of wood in a damp chamber to see if these myxomycetes will finnish development, best gess from macro features would be a species of Comatricha.

Cheers J.P.

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I'm thinking this could turn out to be a Tubifera.sp, it's on a big log so couldn't take it home, hope the snails leave alone.



These look like Stemonitis.sp forming, notice other species of mycocycete already on the wood and the stemonitis has just formed over them, (there were masses of both).



This was one of those lucky finds were the myxomycete is in the process of forming fruit bodies, poor photo but i hope you can see the vein like structure linking all parts as it crawls into position, hope this dosn't get trod on as the result tommorow will be interesting (at the moment i'm thinking it may not be a fuligo despite the colour (could be wrong)).


Cheers J.P.

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It now becomes clear this species is Comatricha typhoides.


X400

This is the columella, a central colum within the fruit body as part of it's supporting structure. note top right of photo there is a fracture at the point it was joined to the stalk, at this point also growing away from the joint at right angles would be the original spore mass covering (Peridium), the branches away from the columella are the capillitium that provide more of the internal structue of the fruit body (not unlike an internal scaffold).


X400

Further out into the fruit body are the capillitium mentioned earlier (surrounded by spores), narrowing as they near the outer reaches of the fruit body.


X1000

Some spores from the species, not quite ripe so the spores are still stuck together, note the large black specks on the spores which are (Stephenson and Stempen) groups of surface warts distinctive of this species.

Cheers J.P.

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These may turn out to be more Lycogala epidendrum but are rather small.



A few i've had in a moist chamber overnight and seem to be maturing, will let them mature fully
before microscope.

Cheers J.P.

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Hopeing these are a species of Lamproderma, they do have a (short) stem but it seems very difficult to capture them with my photographic abilities.



A few i managed to bring home, now they are small and hard to spot in the wild and
life is full of suprises, for near the front of this photo (amongst the slime molds) are
two cup fungi, i can't see them in the photo (their colour is a perfect match for the
substrate) and can admit i hadn't noticed them until i passed a magnifying glass over
the area.

Cheers J.P.

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X1000

Well, it's easy to be wrong, gess it's unusual to photograph them as shiny
black balls for the description is yellow-brown, which they are after bursting
open to reveal the interior. The size of spores and capillitium in photo with
spiral banding and pointed ends suggest this is Trichia varia.

Cheers J.P.

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I've decided these are Arcyria denudata, every thing in Stephenson and Stempen fits except the description of capillitium (cogs and half rings, of which there is sketch).



I would be quite happy to call the above "cogs" but their sketch shows fewer and with blunt ends, anyway a microphotograph on an american web site matches mine very nicely !


Cheers J.P.

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Then life gets really confusing, a couple of post pervious in this thread i mentioned tiny cup fungi amongst some myxo's. Today i crushed part of one, and total suprised at the spores i found.



They look distinctive which should make life easy, so far no idea, i'm thinking contaminant but where from, i don't think from any myxomycete, they do remind me of some from ascomycetes on dung (but short on segments) and havn't had any of those for some time. Tommorow i'm back to that tree and collect more.

Cheers J.P.

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Today, fungi on a myxomycete, arrowed near centre of photo.



I wanted to try and capture the arrangement in situ,
so added a drop of cotton blue, gave time to soak and
squashed very gently (unfortunately managed to put a smear
on the slide).


X100

Result at X100,


X1000

At X1000, the fungi is quite clear, (and so is the smeary slide).


X1000

Capillitium from the myxomycete, with the braided markings (no hooks), tappered ends and the pale yellow colour of spores, (Stephenson and Stempen) this looks to be Trichia botrytis, they mention fungi growing on myxomycetes in this fashion, the species they quote is Polycephalomyces tomentosus, but there are likely to be hundreds.

Cheers J.P.