Beiträge von Steve_mt

The collection is from the Maltese Islands and it it was collected on December 2020, but working on the determination this week. I can only supply dried basidiocarps - is that still ok to send ?

Thanks Ditte, I was pretty sure that I was in the right group but I am no authority or have much experience with Inocybe. So I thank you for helping me out.

From the Italian website about I. nitidiuscula :

Stipe: " Da 4-6 (7) cm, cilindrico, spesso ricurvo alla base dove appare un poco ingrossato, senza mai formare un bulbo vero e proprio, delicatamente decorato da fibrille longitudinali per quasi tutta la sua lunghezza, pruinoso solo nella parte apicale , di colore ocra pallido con sfumature pink-rossastre specie in età adulta . " I interpreted that the what I am seeing is delicate longitudinal fibrils almost towards the entire stipe , while pruinosity is lmited below the cap at the upper part of the pileus.

The collection is from the Maltese Islands.

Unless some accident occurred, I have dry specimens to 1) check some feature and 2) to send you for your own examination. (PM yr address). I will tomorrow check the spores again, but I am quite sure they are correct.

I took images of the spores in KOH as well I just took in Iodine to test amyloid reaction. The measurements must be good but I can recheck.

I am thinking Inocybe nitidiuscula (Britz.) Saccardo for:

Redenning / browning of stipe in adult specimens, Spores match, habitat under pines ok, ornamented with tufts till the base, pruinose at the upper part

Inocybe nitidiuscula (Britz.) Saccardo - Funghi Velenosi - Funghi in Italia - Fiori in Italia - Forum Micologia e Botanica

I am working on the ID of an Inocybe with cracking and small (2-3 cm across) pileus with chestnut color and variable striated with beige bands or patches (maybe because of hard soil over) growing at edges or under of a pine afforested area.

My options are short listed on fuscidula / nitidiuscula / leiocephala. The spores are broadly ellipsoid navicular (front view), almond-shaped (dorsal view), 10.6-13.2 um x 5.2-7.6 um (mean12.1 x 6.6) with a Q of 1.8 +/- 0.3. The cheilocystidia have a thick wall (not extremely thick) with apical crystals, in clusters 60-70 x 13.5-18um, while the pleurocystidia are more or less similar but not frequent and usually solitary.

Pileipellis:

Intricate cylindrical hyphae of various widths, but apparently two types, one that are cylindrical and slender, hyaline, 5 um wide, irregular and intricate, and the other type formed by larger and broader (11-14 um wide), sausage-shaped hyphae with pigmented incrustations on the walls.

The stipe seems to redden a bit in old specimens otherwise ocher-cream when fresh and undisturbed. The pruinosity seems to run half the stipe length (differs between various specimens) in some it seems going down in a patchy distribution below the lower half of the stipe.

I have a whole set of characters that I can show and discuss, but I think the above is the crucial. Photos attached.

I have a question related to the cultivation of molds on media and selective media like PDA, MEA, OAT Agar, Czapek, etc. I have left some 25g of antibiotics (approx. 10g Augmentin, and 14g Moxiclav *). This was for human consumption but they are general antibiotics. I want to add them to my media to control bacterial colonies. [* both brands state that each 1g tablet is composed of 875g Amoxicillin + 125g Clavulanic Acid]

Q1: Can you suggest how much I should put, say in 250 ml of media during preparation.

Q2: Is it Ok to add when hot, or hot water destroys the antibiotic?

Q3: They expire end 2021 but do they really expire for in-vitro use?

Hello, I wanted to check if someone has experience with P. badiophylla and if the species I proposed could be confirmed ! Thanks

I also came accross Scleroderma meridionale Demoul. and it has resemblances, Does anyone has experience with this species. I can't find a good description although here is something to start with:

Scleroderma septentrionale (MushroomExpert.Com)

Same as septentrionale but:

Spines 1-2um = TRUE (in my examining specimen)

Yellowish Rhizomorphic Stem = TRUE

Southern Distribution = TRUE

and also

Fruiting Body: 2.5-6 cm across = TRUE

Stem measuring 5-10 cm = Not that long

Spores 8-16 um = TRUE

Spores reticulate = Assumable not so my specimen

Spore Mass: Fleshy and white at first, becoming purplish brown, then black and dust-like. = Medium brown but not blackish

Habitat sand dune = No so, but soil, rather clayey.

So at present it is S. albidum versus S. meridionale.

Finally, after several considerations, I think I am up to a conclusion. I found a good description of S. albidum and many features are matching, namely the spore size, ornamentation, lack of capillitum, size, colour and texture of basidioma.... I think this is the species for the Scleroderma I found unless there is another one closely related.

The second preference is S. cepa, but the spores are smaller, the basidiomata are yellower in colour and the texture is not a particularly good match to my collection.

Zitat von Beorn

Hi.

Difficult, because: I dont know the word for "kurzgratig" at the moment.

But this is not reticulate. More like "confluent warts" maybe?

I must admit, that i don't know anything about scleroderma, so i cannt help with the identification, i'm afraid.

LG; Pablo.

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Thank you, I also think the lines seen in a few spores are some kind of spines that are horizontal or joined with other spines.

Wow Pablo !!!, really nice images - so envy at them!

I am excluding Mycenastrum corium too, and checking a number of Scleroderma species, like cepa, polyrhizum, albidum, etc. Do you think my spore are reticulaete?

I have re-examined this collection two more times, but I fail to find a conspicuous capillitum. I must add that I am examining this 6 months from collection. When I transfer material on water (with surfactant) the spores are arranged on film-thin plates rather than on a distinct capillitium (in case this note is relevant).

I include some lo-res images of a mass of spores arranged as flakes or plates. My spore measurement included the ornamentation.

I had examined the capillitium now. What I believe is the capillitium (not so sure!), consists of hyphae that are very narrow in diameter, 1-2um, jagged and irregular, not-spinulose, with blobs staining dark in congo red appearing like dalmatian spots. The issue here is that I may be seeing hyphae of a parasitic fungus (there are at least three different spores in the mash network, one looking like spores of Penicillium). The spores show some basal reticulation (affining with M. conium).

Would like to get opinions if these are capillitium or a branched micro fungus.

Close up

I should also show you this pic, with the underground mycelium is rather extensive. Scleroderma can also be considered maybe.

Here are the spores, spherical, variable in size, ranging between 10 to 16 um (average 12.2um) covered with distinct spines, up to 2um long, curved, conical and with a broad base like canines. I could not see well the capillitium, possibly decomposed, I would check again carefully if required. I have to mention that the fruiting bodies were about 4cm across (closed) and I don't know if this is too small for M. corium

Mycenastrum corium : love: Thank you. I got a short circuit thinking Sarcophaeria, when I saw the second set of images with flower-shaped dehiscence, I jumped to conclusions and forgot about the Gasteromycete! THANKS ! I try to show you the spores.

Dear mycologists,

I kindly ask for help on this fungus, a Gasteromycte that I found in Malta in March 2021 on calcareous soil in a field with many organic debris of wild plants. It was a dry year with unexpected low rain in mid-January and February. I was suspecting about a Sarcosphaera sp. (coronaria / eximia?) that did not dehisce welI due to arid conditions. There were two other fruiting bodies that did split wide open. I collected the dry fungus and I can perform some further microscopical examination or chemical tests. Thank you.

Thank you Julia for your time and for sharing your expertise

All the best

Stephen

Dear friends.

We have a 100% confirmation from DNA sequencing and genetic matching thanks to the assistance of Uwe Winkler and Dimar Balint. It corresponds to Cortinarius ayanamii A. Ortega, Vila, Bidaud & Llimona

Thank you Julia, investigation solved then. 😎. I have two further questions

1. Am I right to assume that it won't kill the host plant? Infection seems to be effecting only sone florets (5-20%)

2. Is the fungus 'dormant' in the host perennially and then emerges with the inflorescence.

Thank you,

In the meantime I had a look at the spores, and they dont seem particularly interesting although i have a curiosity. The spores are globular with a preipheral rim (thick wall?) and amorphous semi-translucent bodies which I think they are guttulae. The spherical spores had a diameter of 5.0-5.8 um (see details below). Surface smooth sometimes with some eroded portions in the wall. The images are froum spores mounted in an anti-surfactant and KOH (3%).

The curious part is that within the spores mass there were spinulose spores which I judged as doubtfully artifacts/foreign extrinsic matter, but they were definitely in the spore mass extracted from the glume pockets. They were rare (1-2 in 200 spores in one slide, 1-2 in 80 spores in another). They measure about 12um. I thought it is worth mentioning.

Spore measurements

5.28 5.28

4.98 4.72

5.64 4.44

5.24 5.11

5.53 4.68

5.05 4.72

5.02 4.87

4.57 4.42

5.99 5.31

4.76 4.55

5.11 4.79

5.02 5.02

5.19 5.19

5.47 5.10

5.68 5.15

5.99 5.39

5.62 5.09

5.00 4.77

5.19 4.47

4.17 4.05

5.78 4.95

5.57 5.04

5.16 4.90

5.41 5.29

4.97 4.73

5.52 4.94

5.25 5.13

5.13 5.02

6.26 5.55

(4.2) 5 - 5.8 (6.3) × (4.1) 4.5 - 5.3 (5.6) µm

Q = 1 - 1.2 (1.3) ; N = 29

Me = 5.3 × 4.9 µm ; Qe = 1.1

Thank you Stefan for your message and moving the post. I follow this fungal pathogen as much as possible.

Is Julia on this forum or I have to email her?

Thanks

Hi, years ago I found dark rust fungal spore mass inside the inflorescences of Lygeum spartium (Esperanto grass). Some five years later I still see the same infection in the same population. I am curious to investigate. For the moment, I can share only macro features and will hopefully work on the micro tomorrow and try to cultivate on culture media next week.

The dark brown spores only exhibits themselves inside the single floret of the species. Apart from its presence, it also deforms the flowers making it look to have 2-4 florets but it may be that each corresponds to the two glumes, lemma and palea (infection is causing dysplasia). One member (Bjorne) suggested and sp. which is probably correct, but a further resolution to species level is desired

It should be some species of Penicillium.