Crust Fungus

A white crust fungus with pores, probably a Schizopora sp, possibly Schizopora flavipora or Schizopora paradoxa.

I took this specimen:

And it yielded the following spores (magnification x600, field width about 86um):

These are about 4 x 3um which is at the lower end of the ranges most frequently given for S. flavipora and S. paradoxa.

First photo and specimen taken in the Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2014-02-11.

Fungus

The asexual form (anamorph) of Hypoxylon howeanum (= Hypoxylon howeianum) growing on a fallen branch from a beech tree (Fagus sp) an oak tree (Quercus sp).

I took this specimen home with me but it didn't yield any spores:

First photo and specimen taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2014-02-09.

Brown Crust Fungus

A brown crust fungus, probably Hypoxylon petriniae, growing on a branch fallen from an ash tree (Fraxinus excelsior).

I took this specimen home with me:

This yielded the following spores (magnification x600, field width about 86um):

These are about 10 x 4.5um which is just a little thinner than the 8.8-11.5(-13) x 4.8-6um given for Hypoxylon petriniae given here.

First photo and specimen taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2014-02-09.

Mushrooms

Mycena sp mushrooms growing on an old log.

Photo taken in the Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2012-10-18.

Tree Cross Section

From a year ago: a cross section of a beech tree (Fagus sp) that has been attacked by the fungus Auricularia mesenterica (see here for some close-up photos of the actual fungus).  

Originally the cross section would be all brown but the fungus has digested the hard brown lignin from all but the left and lower left margins leaving most of the cross section whitish.  The dark linear markings appear to be lines of defence where the tree attempted to seal off the advance of the fungal hyphae.

Photo taken in the Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2013-02-25.