Ogden Water 31-01-14

Michael and I had a pleasant walk around the water this morning to see the Pithya vulgaris again and we were very pleased to see it beaming so brightly on such a cloudy day. We estimated that there must have been well over a thousand individual fruiting bodies on the recycled Christmas trees around the reservoir.

Fir Disco (Pithya vulgaris) - Michael's photograph above and two below. 

My photo above.

Asci 8-spored. Ascospores spherical, hyaline, smooth 10-13.5 microns.

Cragg Vale 29th & 30th January 2014

I don't know if any of you were aware of the mini tornado that struck Cragg Vale last October but it did cause significant damage to the trees in the woodland. Mature oak, beech and birch have been literally uprooted as if they were no more than pencils making some of the paths inaccessible through Turvin Clough. I took these pictures of the damage on the 29th and returned with Peachysteve on the 30th. Steve and I made our way down the valley from Jumm Wood and tried to return via the river side path but it was totally blocked by fallen trees and a couple of landslides. It was so bad that even the dogs couldn't make it through so we had to scramble up to the path in Higher House Wood on our return.

Looking over towards Blackstone Edge Road.

Phlebiopsis gigantea on a sawn surface of a Pinus. sp stump (found on the 29th January).

Spores smooth, ellipsoid/allantoid, 5-7 x 3-3.5 microns - mounted in water.

Cystidia awl shaped with densely encrusted tips.

Heteromycophaga glandulosae - above and two below.

Bleeding Oak Crust (Stereum gausapatum).

Cinnamon Porecrust (Fuscoporia ferrea).

Butter Cap (Rhodocollybia butyracea) - Steve's photos above and below.

Oak Mazegill (Daedalea quercina) - Steve's photos above and below.

 Inocybe sp.

Cromwell Bottom

These were taken yesterday at Cromwell very close to the river.

I trust one of our Micologists will put a name to them

Scout Bottom Wood 29.01.14

More Heteromycophaga glandulosae on Exidia glandulosa.  I wonder if there is there anywhere within Calderdale where these galls cannot be found?

Anterior view.

Posterior view of the same branch.

You can just see the galls appearing.

Snowdrops in bloom.

I thought that is was my lucky day and that I had found a toothed species of fungi that could be new to me until I realised it was just a Piptoporus betulinus. It was a very convincing look-alike though.

Broadhead Clough 27.01.14

Once again and without surprise I found the H.glandulosae and this time I found them to be significantly larger than the previous galls that I have seen, resulting in considerably more disfigurement to the Exidia glandulosa.

Jelly Rot (Phlebia tremellosa).

Wrinkled Crust (Phlebia radiata).

Hairy Curtain Crust (Stereum hirsutum).

Crystal Brain (Exidia nucleata).

Heteromycophaga glandulosae above and three below.

This is the underside of the one above and it had many more galls on its surface.

Dorsal view above and the underside below - again with a lot more larger galls causing disfigurement to the E. glandulosa.

Toothed Crust (Basidioradulum radula).

Spores allantoid to cylindrical, smooth. 9.5-11 x 3-3.5 microns.

Waxy Crust (Vuilleminia comedens). 

Spores allantoid, smooth. 17-21 x 5.5-7 microns.

Crepidotus cesatii.

Spores sub-globose to spherical with short spines. 6.5-7.5 x 5-7 microns.

Silverleaf Fungus (Chondrostereum purpureum).

Bleeding Broadleaf Crust (Stereum rugosum).

Cinnamon Porecrust (Fuscoporia ferrea).

Cromwell Bottom 24-01-14

It has been a while since my last visit to Cromwell Bottom so I thought I'd take Basil and see what winter species of fungi I could find and rather unsurprisingly I found H. glandulosae once again.

Crystal Crain (Exidia nucleata).

Chaetosphaerella phaeostroma and spores below.

30-35 x 7-9 microns. 3 septate, dark brown central cells, smooth curved with rounded ends.

Heteromycophaga glandulosae on Exidia glandulosa - above and three below.

Crimped Gill (Plicatura crispa).

Common Earthball (Scleroderma citrinum). 

Leafy Brain (Tremella foliacea).

Melasmia salicina on Salix caprea leaves. At maturity the apothecia will split the black wrinkled stromata and become what is known as Willow Tarspot (Rhytisma salicinum).

Sycamore Tarspot (Rhytisma acerinum) on Acer pseudoplatanus leaf. 

Yellow Brain (Tremella mesenterica) - above and below.

The Salix caprea buds are beginning to burst open with the mild winter weather we are having here.

Oak Mazegill (Daedalea quercina).

The green mycelium of  Chlorociboria aeruginascens plus some neon yellow dots that I have just noticed, possibly a Myxomycete.