Small greyish disco for id

[SheffieldLass]

I spotted the small greyish discos when I looked at the photos I'd taken of the Crepidotus. The wood is probably either birch or coniferous (pine or spruce). I think the Crepidotus is C luteolus based on spore size, although it isn't exactly yellow in the photos, but did dry more yellowish. Which if I've got that right would suggest it is birch or other broadleaf wood that it is on.



The following were mounted in water.


Spore size (8.8) 9.2 -11.5 (12.8) x (2.9) 3.1 - 3.5 (3.7)um.
Asci size 60 x 6-8um

No obvious colour change in KOH 10%

In Melzers the tips of something (not the asci) went dark.



As I'm not very good at these type of fungi I need help!

Cheers
Melanie

[Lancashire Lad]

I'll let Chris shoot me down in flames, but I'm going to go for a Mollisia sp.

As it's more common, and the spore sizes are similar, I'd have opted for M.cinerea. - But as the ascospores in your photo seem to be mostly somewhat curved, I'll go for M.ligni.

Regards,
Mike.

[Chris Yeates]

work your way through Andreas' key - Mollisia

make your first observations in water - stains can come in later; it is very much a study area in progress - you will see that Andreas has many undescribed species, and other workers like Mariko Parslow will tell you the same thing - the days when you could just throw the blanket name "Mollisia cinerea" at these are long gone . . . .

important features are the structure of the excipulum (exterior - try cutting thin sections), also the proportion of lipid bodies in the spores

oil immersion recommended - but be prepared to be frustrated, though you will learn a lot as well! and we do have AG himself around to help!

good luck, Melanie

Chris

Edit - just spotted Mike's post . . . . this is absolutely not Mollisia ligni - see http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/fo...0-post222.html for reasons why not . . .

[SheffieldLass]

Well I failed miserably ...

Melanie

[mollisia]

Hello Mel,

unfortunately this is still quite often the case with the greyish, KOH-negative Mollisias on wood. I don't have the key for this group either. May be we can say something more when we have more sequencing data. So that we can at least say, what is the same and what is different ....

In your picture are also some light colour, roundish "young" apothezia. Are you sure that those are the same then the Mollisia? They look a bit like Olla scrupulosa, which not rarely grows together with Mollisia. May be the structures you show on the Melzer-foto are their hairs.

bestr egards,
Andreas

[SheffieldLass]

Thanks Andreas.

I thought the ones I looked at were all the same but I could have easily been mistaken. I'll have to look a bit more closely at all the microphotos I took to check for differences. And I've still got the piece of wood with them on though it is now dry. Do any of these revive if the wood is rewetted?

Cheers
Melanie