unidentified fungus in exmoor

[johnny ladders]

Hi can anyone id this star shaped fungus.it is viscid,bright yellow minimum 150mm.dia.growing on very decayed beech trunk in pine forest.the lighter pic is daylight the others night with flash.the egglike fungus is nearby.

[fairplay]

Nice try Johnny, you can't fool the fungi wabbers .

Neil.

[Ditiola]

It is an Eathball (Scleroderma citrinum) that has split open and then had all the spore mass washed away with heavy rain.

Peter

[fairplay]

With a bit of help I'd say.

Neil.

[johnny ladders]

Many thanks Ditiola,much appreciated,i have sent the photo to exmoor park so it will be interesting to know what they think.
the nearby earthball is now turning more yellow so hopefully i might catch it when it first opens.
john

[fairplay]

My sincere apologies Johnny,

I honestly thought you were trying to catch us out by doing a spot of DIY to make it look like a strange Geastrum species (Earthstar).

It is not uncommon to see these split like this and this gave me the idea of trying a trick on a friend who is crazy about Earthstars by doing a little bit of manipulation, unfortunately the end result was not very convincing so I gave up.

However, I have never seen a split Scleroderma as perfect as your specimen before and it just goes to show you can't beat mother nature.

All the best,

Neil.

[johnny ladders]

apologies accepted.it is a strange one,it looks almost like a sunflower in the flesh,.
regards john