Exidia plana ?

[Lancashire Lad]

Found these today on felled Beech trunk & branches..

Am I right in thinking that they are Exidia plana?

I've found Exidia glandulosa a few times, but these look decidedly different.

Nothing else in my books appears to be a close match.

Overall size of these clumps was about 50mm x 75mm each, but there were several others close by, ranging from just a few millimetres to patches that were spreading as much as 300mm along smaller branches.



Any confirmations/other much appreciated as usual.

Regards,
Mike.

[Leif]

I agree with you, it is most probably Exidia plana. E. glandulosa forms top shaped fruiting bodies with a distinct point of attachment, dark brown, E. plana is more resupinate and blackish as per your photo.

[Lancashire Lad]

Many thanks Leif,

At least that puts two of us in the Exidia plana camp.

Regards,
Mike.

[ashgale]

being fairly new to fungi, so not much in the way of knowledge on them,
i am somewhat confused by the names of these species, as my copy of phillips mushrooms only lists glandulosa, while of my borrowed books of jordans and fungi of Switzerland, the former lists both glandulosa and plana while fungi of switzerland has them as being the same species,

or have i missed something simple here ?

[diggleken]

Mike, just for balance! it could be a good sized specimen of glandulosa drying out and wrinkling together, you know how fungi alter appearance to fool us at different stages - it doesnt seem quite brainy enough in shape for plana.
Maybe.
Cheers
Ken

[Michael Jordan]

Originally Posted by ashgale

being fairly new to fungi, so not much in the way of knowledge on them,
i am somewhat confused by the names of these species, as my copy of phillips mushrooms only lists glandulosa, while of my borrowed books of jordans and fungi of Switzerland, the former lists both glandulosa and plana while fungi of switzerland has them as being the same species,

or have i missed something simple here ?

No, you're not missing anything, ashgale. It's all part of what appears at times to be the pantomime politics of mycological taxonomy where the Europeans and the Brits have fun being at loggerheads!

Fungi of Switzerland follows European thinking, but in the UK we are governed by the edicts of RBG Kew and the British Checklist. We regard E. glandulosa (Bull.) Fr. and E. plana (F.H.Wigg) Donk. as two distinct species, but the Swiss follow other arguments and lump them together as E. glandulosa Fr.

Now you may begin to sense why the wider world sometimes views us as nutters in anoraks.

[ashgale]

Originally Posted by Michael Jordan

No, you're not missing anything, ashgale. It's all part of what appears at times to be the pantomime politics of mycological taxonomy where the Europeans and the Brits have fun being at loggerheads!

Fungi of Switzerland follows European thinking, but in the UK we are governed by the edicts of RBG Kew and the British Checklist. We regard E. glandulosa (Bull.) Fr. and E. plana (F.H.Wigg) Donk. as two distinct species, but the Swiss follow other arguments and lump them together as E. glandulosa Fr.

Now you may begin to sense why the wider world sometimes views us as nutters in anoraks.

thanks for that,

that's good news and bad news ! the good news is they are not the same thing after all (i think)

the bad news being, i still can't tell which is which
and that's my anorak in the bin

[Michael Jordan]

One of the distinctions is in spore size. The spores of E. glandulosa are 14-19 microns in length; those of E. plana are smaller at 12-14 microns. Another subtle distinction lies in the overall profile of the two species. E. glandulosa has fruit bodies that are shaped a bit like a top, with a distinct and comparatively narrow point of attachment, while those of E. plana are flatter and more resupinate (hence 'plana' or 'plane') and broadly attached to the substrate (looking back over the thread, I note that Leif has indicated similarly)

[SheffieldLass]

What about Tremella foliacea? Black and crispy when dryish, browner and more rubbery and swollen when wet. Any signs of old Stereum on which it grows?

Melanie

[Lancashire Lad]

Originally Posted by Michael Jordan

....while those of E. plana are flatter and more resupinate (hence 'plana' or 'plane') and broadly attached to the substrate....

Thanks Michael. I can't help with the spore sizes, but the fruitbodies were definitely attached to the substrate over most of their entirety.

Originally Posted by SheffieldLass

What about Tremella foliacea? Black and crispy when dryish, browner and more rubbery and swollen when wet. Any signs of old Stereum on which it grows? Melanie

Hi Melanie. The felled trunk/branches are in my local wood, and I've been observing them during the last 20 months or so. During that timescale, I can certainly confirm that there hasn't been any visible Stereum activity. In fact not much activity at all on these, other than Neobulgaria pura, & Hypoxylon fragiforme. (Although Stereum hirsutum can be found at various other locations in the wood).

Earlier this evening I stumbled across a photo of Neobulgaria pura (var. foliacea), which does look quite like my examples, but I wouldn't have a clue if that could be a likely candidate.

Regards,
Mike.