Friday, 1 January 2016

Something in the wood pile

To Tottington Wood this morning. Couldn't find any big mushrooms anywhere.

Determined not to go home empty handed, I thought I'd investigate this woodpile:
 I wasn't disappointed! This cluster of little orange things soon caught my eye:
After looking in the books, I think they're almost certainly Scutellinia scutellata, or Common Eyelash.

Why are they called Common Eyelash? Well, check this out:

THEY HAVE EYELASHES! They're also common, apparently.

I don't think there's much else it could be: Collins' Complete Guide says Scutellinia olivascens is similar but larger with shorter eyelashes. These are definitely small with long eyelashes; like a little fungal Betty Boop.

UPDATE 26/01/2016 - this Eyelash fungus was subsequently determined by Nick Aplin as S. crinita. See http://misidentifyingfungi.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/eyelashes-more-complex-than-id-realised.html.

I found some other cool little purply-brown blob things but I'm having a harder time figuring out what they are:

My best guess for these would be Neobulgaria pura, or Beech Jellydisc, but the shape doesn't really match up with the photos I'm looking at in the books. I plan to go back in a few days and see if they, like, grow or something.

UPDATE 26/01/2016
See Purply-brown blob: A postscript - this species was subsequently determined by Nick Aplin as Ascoryne sarcoides.

For the record

Date: 01/01/2016
Location: Tottington Wood
Grid reference: TQ216127
Entered into FRDBI: 13/02/2017
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3 comments:

  1. Clare Blencowe1 January 2016 at 12:18

    Brian Eversham (@BrianE_Cambs) has suggested the purply-brown blob things could be Purple Jellydisc (Ascocoryne sarcoides). Looking again at the photos in Roger Phillips' Mushrooms, this seems more likely than my original guess. The book says Purple Jellydisc is similar to Beech Jellydisc, but with a much stronger, darker colour. And it can grow into "convoluted, sometimes brain-like clusters." I'll have to keep an eye out for that. Thanks Brian.

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  2. Clare Blencowe7 January 2016 at 23:55

    Note from Nick Aplin, Sussex Fungus Group. He says, "Yes, I think your purple jelly is (the anamorph of) Ascocoryne sarcoides."

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  3. Clare Blencowe8 January 2016 at 00:03

    Important note from Nick Aplin, Sussex Fungus Group, on Scutellinia:

    "There are around 20 species of Scutellinia recorded in the UK (and probably more to be found!). Annoyingly, they all look roughly the same without a microscope (and a few stains). I have a feeling the name 'Scutellinia scutellata' will be relegated to a 'nomen dubium' in coming years - it has been found to be a (badly described) species complex. I guess most collections from South UK will be renamed as S.crinita, which seems to be the most common species in Sussex IME..."

    Nick has offered to determine this one for me, so I shall be returning to the woodpile for a bit more 'Common Eyelash' to pop in the post.

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