Beech Barkspot Fungus

Fruiting bodies (ascocarps) of beech barkspot fungus, Diatrype disciformis.  These fruiting bodies were about 2 - 3mm across.

This is what they look like through the camera on my new stereo microscope (magnification about 8x):

I used a razor blade to slice the top of one to reveal the perithecia:

And this is a vertical cross-section:

First photo and specimen taken in Chazey Wood, near Caversham, UK, on 2014-03-16.

Bracken Stem Fungus

A black fungus, probably Rhopographus filicinus, growing on the dried stem of a bracken plant (Pteridium aquilinum).

The above sample was taken in Chazey Wood, near Caversham, UK, on 2014-03-09.

The following sample was taken from the same place on 2014-03-16:

I was unable to get any spores from these samples.

White Fungus

An unidentified white fungus growing inside a broken branch of an oak tree (Quercus sp).

The branch had recently fallen from the following tree:

The weakening caused by the fungus may have contributed to the branch breaking off.

I took the following specimen of the fungus home with me:

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

These are about 7 x 6.5um.

First two photos and specimen taken in the Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2014-03-02.

Hypoxylon Fungi

A branch from an oak tree (Quercus sp) with two species of Hypoxylon fungus growing on it: along the top the dark brown fruiting bodies of Hypoxylon fragiforme; along the bottom the yellowing asexual fruiting bodies of Hypoxylon howeanum (= Hypoxylon howeianum).  The latter were a subject of a post last month. In this post I take a quick look at the H. fragiforme fruiting bodies:

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

These are about 11.5 x 5um which agrees well with the 10-15 x 4.4-6.8um given for H. fragiforme but is too large for the 6.8-8.8 x 3.4-4.8um given for H. howeanum.

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

Crust Fungus

A pale buff-colour crust fungus, probably Stereum rugosum, growing on a birch tree (Betula sp).

I took this specimen home with me:

It yielded these spores (magnification x600, field width 86um):

These are about 10.5 x 4um which agrees with the 9–13 x 3.5–5um given for Stereum rugosum at RogersMushrooms.com.  The spores of most other Stereum sp seem to be noticeably smaller. The above specimen was rather old dessicated which probably explains why it didn't bleed when cut.

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