Toothed Crust Fungus

A toothed crust fungus, probably Radulomyces molaris, growing on the underside of a dead branch on a still-living oak tree (Quercus sp).

This is an older patch, dried out and cracked, from nearer the base of the branch.  It reminds me of the top of a lemon meringue pie.

And this is a younger patch, further away of the base of the branch.

I collected part of this patch and it yielded the following spores (shown at x600):

Given the image width of 86um these are about 8 x 5.5um, which is at the lower end of the range 8.3-11 x 5.5-7um given at Botany.cz.  (I think some of the spores in the above image might be pointing towards the viewer in which case my estimate of their longest dimension might be an under-estimate.)

First three photos taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2012-12-23, 2012-12-18, and 2012-12-23, respectively.   The sample which produced the spores was collected from the same place on 2012-12-23.

Crust Fungus

A white crust fungus, probably Byssomerulius corium, on a fallen birch branch (Betula sp).

The following image shows the meruloid underside of a fragment growing on a thin twig:

This fragment yielded the following spores (shown at x600):

With an image width of 86um, these spores are about 5.5 x 2.5um, which is consistent with the values in the region of 5-7 x 2.5-3.5um given in the descriptions listed at Mycobank.

First photo and specimen taken in the Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2012-12-25.

Conopid Flies

A pair of Conopid flies, probably Conops quadrifasciatus (Diptera: Conopidae), mating on a thistle head.

Photos taken in the field below Chazey Wood, near Caversham, UK, on 2012-08-20.

Birch Polypore Fungus

Birch polypore fungus, Piptoporus betulinus, growing on a decaying birch log (Betula sp).  This fungus is common wherever there are decaying birch trees.

I collected the following small specimen:

The underside was covered with pores, about 3 per mm:

The specimen only gave off a few small spores.  These are shown in the following image (x600, image width about 86um).

These spores are about 4 x 1.5 um in size, which agrees well with the 3-6 x 1.5-2um given at MushroomExpert.com.

First photo taken and specimen collected in the Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2012-12-15.

Toothed Crust Fungus

A toothed crust fungus, probably Steccherinum ochraceum growing on an oak twig (Quercus sp).  The scale is given by the millimetre rule at the bottom.

The following image shows the spores at x600 magnification.  They are about 3 x 2um (the image is about 86um wide) which agrees reasonably well with the 3.5-5 x 2-2.5um given at MushroomExpert.com.

Specimen collected in the Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2012-12-23.