Saturday, October 4, 2008

Jellies set me a problem

Jelly fungi don't appear often in Tyto, and seldom at this time of year. But downpours early last month revitalised growth and breeding, desirable and not (cane toads are pouring forth).

After twice failing to find any sight or sound of any Lovely Fairy-Wren at the nest site reported on in my last post, today I went hunting for more static sights. I found some fungi I'd not seen before. Top picture and the one below are, as best I can ID, Auracularia sp.
The problem is the depth of my ignorance about fungi is closely matched by the sparsity of library resources available to me. I can't pin down the species below.

5 comments:

Snail said...

If you're keeping an eye on these, it might be worth checking them out from time to time for signs of snail feeding. Some snails find fungi gills to be absolutely irresistible.

Mosura said...

Interesting finds - Unfortunately I can't help with any ID's

Tyto Tony said...

Snails would be truly a bonus. I can't recall even one discarded shell in Tyto. Mosura possibly thought me flippant when I once described the wetlands as depauperate, but things are literally thin on the ground.

Denis Wilson said...

Hi Tony
The form of your second jelly fungus looks just like very fresh Auricularia we get in the local rainforest. Colour differs, but that means little. Form is right.
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For the second type, check out the Pholiota genus. Here, local specimens start with traces of the membrane stuck on top of the cap, then develop into brownish orange coloured fungi, very sticky. They collapse into a gooey mess after a few days. Local specimens grow out from trees and shrubs, presumably from dead heartwood in live trees.
Cheers
Denis

Tyto Tony said...

Thanks Denis. Checked all Pholiota in Fuhrer's guide. Don't think so - but what do I know? Did look again today and found they're stronger orange-yellow than I've posted. And they are a bit soggy. But it rained again last night :-(

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