Beiträge von Steve_mt

I remember encountering this strange gall-like fungus growing from the edge of a lamella of another fungus (Pluteus nanus). Posting so apart sharing for general curiosity, maybe someone had experience with this alien-stuff !

Thanks Sara, Malone and Boccaccio (Bjorn).

Zitat von boccaccio

Hi Stephen,

welcome to the forum! Since you have a background in botany, you might also give phytoparasitic fungi like smut fungi, rust fungi, powdery and downy mildews a try. Usually, the toughest part in identifying these fungi is the correct identification of the host plant which narrrows things down to a few fungi that occur on a given plant genus/species. As phytoparasitic fungi are not the most popular fungi (so far), there is usually a good chance of finding something new and rare and, furthermore, they get all the water they need from their host plants, so no need to wait for rain (which can be rare in Malta I suppose).

Björn

Dear Bjorn, Thanks for the suggestion, I remember thatI found a smuts-type fungus parasitising on a particular native species - Lygeum spartum (maybe I still have the specimen) but I failed to grow the fungus on media after one year from the collection, and I gave up. I see if I have images on my HD and post accordingly. I thought that it got infected from infected wheat close by (20m away). Hope I find the pics!

Thanks

Dear new friends and maybe colleagues,

I am 46 years old, a qualified botanist from Malta (mostly known for my botanical website ) and have been interested in fungi for a couple of years more or less after reading my M.Sc. in botany from Edinburgh. I have now applied for a second M.Sc (research only) to study the fungi growing on the island of Gozo. My tutor is not much acquainted with the subject and unfortunately, I had a mycologist from Eygpt who could not help that much, so now I am basically alone, or well with a wide network of Mycologists on the internet.

I am happy to discover pilzforum.eu, first of all, I adore web fora in comparison with FB social media, and secondly there seem to be a great interest and a l ively connectivity and discussion between members. I have this feeling that I am going to get more than to give to this society but I try to do my best to keep the balance.

My dreams and ambitions are however dull now because I just got the bad news of early offset of hip arthritis so maybe study of f ungi (which require less rough walking and jumping around) may replace botany as my Nature study hobby. We see, at least I need to finish my current studies. I published 3 papers related to fungi and Myxomycetes, a book about Maltese orchids and several papers on the flora of Malta.

Well that's about me and if you are coming to our Islands feel free to contact me.

Best

Stephen Miifsud.

: coffee:

P.s. what is the last key you have in English? Any newer from 2015 ?

hi and tnx Schupfnudel

To remove the doubt I checked more micro features to find the following: No pleuro, spores with evident germ pore, Cheilocystidia in tufts, narrowly utriform with rounded apices, without yellow crystals, 45-75um long. For me this puts the specimen into Psathyrella candolleana or the new (if broadly accepted) genus Candolleomyces.

I used an oldish Melzer key in english update 26/9/15 which was used to be in the great website vielepilze.de and now there are only flowers. Pity that site had gone or maybe it is hosted in another URL ?!> I thought something serious had happened to Andreas so glad to read he is still active on Psathyrellaceae

Many thinks for the link/paper, I try to trace it down

Hmmm .... strange! and my objective was some 700Eur second hand and a good brand.

Maybe the oil cause that discrepancy?!

Interesting and i will try next year sincet this one is hectic. I keep the posts saved. I loove these kind of pets! Cheers and well done

I agree with your opinion and I think what looked like burnt wood are the blackened and rather large sclerotia (?). Also, I had initially excluded this genus because member species tend to grow on acorns and fruit and this was just lying on the ground and apparently terrestrial. The Closest tree to this finding what Laurus nobilis and Ceratonia siliqua (further away) and a number of annual weeds, but oddly enough, there was a naturalized population of Chlorophytum comosum , and maybe the fungus was infecting underground tubers of this Liliaceae.

Anyway, thank you then for the hint!

Dear Bernd and Pablo,

Thank you for your kind answers. I understand better now, so it is the outer and inner rather layers over each other below the hymenium. Yes mt for Malta, but I am researching on the fungi of the sister island of Gozo since there are almost no records and compiling an annotated list for my M.Sc. I have no tutor all alone!

Oh Great pic !!! I got it finally - it is almost like a ball and socket apparatus. I can also see that they are difficult to detect especially if the ascii are loose (false negatives!) and the basal part is usually nested and hidden in the hymenium. At least I have a good picture thanks to you.

Thank you so much Felli

I have difficulty to understand the difference between the ectal and medullary excipulum tissue. Sometimes there are both and sometimes just a homogenous or transitional. I wish to have more information in regards.

Dear experts, I have difficulty to determine if an ascomycete's asci do have croziers or not. The google image browser only shows diagrams. Could you help in regards maybe one may wish to post some images of typical croziers here too?

In the attached image, if not aided by other asci that where straight, this bent base in green circle gave me the impression of a crozier.

Okay - thanks

I found a clump of four fruiting bodies emerging from dead bark under detritus of carob tree which gave me the indication of a Psathyreall candolleana, but something did not convince me (and another expert had some thoughts too) maybe the lack of violet tinge of the spores, the long stipes, the very glabrous and polished cuticle.

I.only observed the spores for now (size-wise, they match candolleana). Your opinions are welcomed. If many think is not candolleana, I soo further microscopical features from the dried material.

1. It has just rained so the caps are not slimy

2. Spore sizes:

(6.4) 6.8 - 7.8 (8.5) × (4.5) 4.6 - 5.2 (5.4) µm

Q = (1.3) 1.4-1.6 (1.8); N = 30

Me = 7.3 x 4.9 µm; Qe = 1.5

P.S. What happened to Andreas Melzer excellent website about Psathyrella s.l.

Hi I would like to see an off topic section where one can ask technical questions (not determinations) in general about mycology, including laboratory techniques, terminology, maybe biological question (related to fungi of course), etc.

I.spent 2 hours on the forum and it fantastic and hope non-german mycologists are welcomed and can be helped!

Thanks to the admins, moderators and contributors

So you just place a random log, bark, leaf or detritus in a moist chamber and then you see what grows - kinda like a surprise ? Cool !

I have bought a x 1000 oil immersion objective (Karl-Zeiss) but when I calibrated the lens (stage micrometer / ocular eyepiece micrometer technique) I did not get a 1:1um (mathematically should be so) but 1 real um occupied 1.17um on the ocular viewed image, or in other words 1um in the viewed ocular is less than 1um. That means the viewed magnification is not x1000 (if so, then 1um in the stage would be equivalent to 1um in the optical) but less, around x 800. Have you also the same issue and thought?

Here in Gozo (Central Mediterranean region) I have found a clump of small cupulate and shortly stipitate ascocarps growing on burned wood in damp silty soil. Some characteristics:

Ascum average size 108.8 µm x 7.7 µm // Iodine reaction J + ve,
Spore average size 11.4 µm x 6.5 µm // Spore Q factor 1.8
Paraphyses 120 x 3 µm, not differentiated at the apex
Croziers absent (Bit in doubt)
Asci contents stain dark reddish-brown in Iodine solution
Sporesnot perfectly symmetrical, bit grainy, two or few dar granules

The tissue below the hymenium stains bluish in Iodine.

Ciboria came to mind ...: / but no species on burnt

I checked the description of the species in Les myxomycetes and almost all detail match, including the habitat (dung) which is not frequent for slime molds. The difference I see is the spores should be a little bit smaller (9-10um) but that's fine, and your myxocarp is yellowish-ocher, whereas the species is usually grayish, but again - maybe artificial light. The stipe is a bit dark, but the desc, say it can be pale brown (and furrowed with lime crystals, which I can see).

Note the typo - it is Didymium squamulosum