Beiträge von Steve_mt

AAhhh Ok the southbound thread (not threat! hehe!)

Well, Sandra for a start you can visit my website http://www.MaltaWildplants.com to see most wild plants growing in Malta. I also administer a facebook group called "Malta Wild Plants" were you can join and see most of the things you said u wish to see. Of course I keep loyal to this wonderful forum with regards to fungi and slime molds which contains so many kind people who do their best to reply my stupid posts and ID requests ( ) and I feel very welcomed!

Don't worry about the english - important that we communicate not to be perfect writers.

I leave you with a photo taken yesterday!

Lepista nuda is morphologically closely related (similar) but various literature states it is more intense violet, it is more robust (e.g. the stipe) and foremost it has an aromatic-fruity scent which sordida lack. I did not smell all the specimens so I dont exclude a nuda within a sordida population. The most interesting is however the last three images (in the field) showing a bulkier and beige fruiting body lacking tones of violet.

Hello I am a local Maltese botanist and every now and then I visit the peaceful island of Comino. There are patches of aforested Pine trees which hold some interesting fungi and slime moulds. Never heard about the southbound threat! I'll check it on google!!!

RegardS

Steve

For long I wished to find and collect the beautiful Leoarpus fraglis and finally, I was lucky on the island of Comino. The fruiting bodies are more spherical than the usual pear-shaped bodies but I think it is part of the species variation. Plasmodium yellow, Peridium bronze brown, shiny, inner crust golden yellow, spore mass pitch black.

The scent (without crushing the fruiting body) was mild except one which was moderately aromatic. The taste was detectable somewhat bitter-aromatic in a few specimens, less pronounced in the majority.

Dear friends, I recently bumped into a large population of Lepista sordida under an afforested copse of pine trees (Pinus halapensis). There were dozens of them, and apart from two Inocybe sp. and a Tapinella, there were no other fruiting bodies. Apart from the typical forms, there were some which were lilac and light beige-mauve and the one which seemed to be most different was completely ocre-beige. Hygrophany was observed. I wish your comments about these specimens and whether you think that they are all Lepista sordida as was my original thought or if there other species involved such as

Lepista nuda

Lepista glaucana

Lepista caespitosa....

I am particularly concerned for the individual in images 5248, 5249,5251 which is the most different from the specimens.

This is the mother key from the monograph Agaricus which splits iodosmus (lead 11a) from xanthodermus (lead 11b). I thought the ring is patent without cogwheel radiations. I might be wrong but for learning purposes it would be nice to discuss.

11a.- Annulus patent (rigid, not pliable), close to the stipe, with margin exhibiting three rims, with- out scales arranged into a cogwheel on the underside. Cheilocystidia either with cylindrical to clavate terminal element (simple or multiseptate) or very polymorphous (simple, with a basal septum or catenulate).

11b.- Annulus pendent (hanging and pliable), separate from the stipe, broken up on the underside into a cogwheel of radial scales, only exceptionally appearing appressed to the stipe and unbro- ken, but in this case the margin is thick and does not show three rims. Cheilocystidia typically simple, usually shortly pedunculate, globose, ovoid or pyriform, occasionally catenulate, non- multiseptate.

gimme some time Cheilocystidia shape and sizes, caulocystidia, and if present throughout the whole length of the stipe (this might be hard to check on dry specimen)

Quick note before I sleep... the gills seemed to be widely spaced but I think I was dealing with an old population (expand with age?) and , 20 gills per cm = 2 per mm seems too crowded. Yet my book cl3arly states in the remarks that sepiarium is distinguished from abietinum from the KOH reaction and in the description of abietinum there iscwritten not reactive to KoH.

I think I misjudged the earthy artifacts as scaly projections when keying this specimen from photos.Observing with more attention the last pic, there is less crumbs which supports the idea of being earth that fell down when handling the specimens.I will check some more things and let u all know what I decided loo

Hi, i often reuse plastic petri dishes used to gtow mould on agar. I get good success by cleaning them in 90C water plus bleach plus liquid soap x2. I was thinking to add general soluable fungucide to the death potion,... What do u suggest? (something easily bought and quite cheap)

Seeking confirmation of Agaricus iodosmus

Medium-sized Agaricus, fruiting body 8 cm long , pileus 5cm across, phenol-scented, stipe yellow staining on bruising or cutting in half, flesh in upper parts turn reddish-brown, situated in an anthropogenic location under a copse of cultivated olive trees. Basidiospores subspherical to broadly-elliptical, measuring Me = 5.2 × 4.3 µm ; Qe = 1.2 ; Ve = 50 µm3.

These are the spores which measure Me = 11.4 × 6.9 ; Qe = 1.7 ; Ve = 283

(9.9) 10.2 - 12.3 (13.3) × (5.6) 6.3 - 7.4 (8.5)

Seems to be dextrinoid in Lugol's Iodine and I can't see a distinct Germ pore ....

I am working on this small fungus in grassy land under mixed pine forest. Flesh in stipe reddish brown. Sopre print medium brown, similar to rust or tobacco,

One specimen dried at home.

Some initial guidance would be appreciated (Bolbitiaceae ? / Conocybe ? )

Thanks in advance

Steve/

I was reading Polypores of the Mediterranean Region and there was a nice clue on differentiating Gloeophyllum sepiarium from abietinum. G.Sep. forms a black reaction with KOH while G. ab. does not. My specimen (dried) did react strongly to 3% KOH; hence it must be some old population of G. sepiarium. Other hints leading to this determination include zonation at the outer parts of the fruiting body and warty sterile surface (no signs of hairs ?! but maybe because old?). Spores are said to be quite similar, so I did not check them.

drop of 3% KOH on sterile surface (edge and centre)

Pics in this webpage are also close to my specimens.

Gloeophyllum sepiarium

Gloeophyllum sepiarium This is an interesting, and interesting looking, fungi, a seeming polypore with gills rather than pores, though genetic testing has…

10000thingsofthepnw.com

Thanks for the typo correction and notes. Yes it is between abietinum and sepiarium. I check the spores and literature on the genus shortly and report back my findings.

I am seeking you assistance on this interesting bracket fungus on fallen / logged stump of Pinus halapensis (31/1/23) which seems to produce rust-brown spore mass. Sample collected if I need to do some micro-work. The basidiomycetes are rather leathery-soft, and their width is about 3 cm.

Gloeophyllum ?

OK , seeing the joker card did not work, I went on to check the spores of both collections, and I am quite sure that the spores are alike, hence both the large and the small mushrooms are of the same Melaleuca species

Spores stained in Cotton Blue are shown.

Measurements (14 from each collection) resulted in the following averages

(6) 6.8 - 8.1 (8.4) × (4.9) 4.92 - 5.8 (6.1) µm

Q = (1.2) 1.24 - 1.5 (1.6) ; N = 28

V = (76) 90 - 137 (151) µm3

Me = 7.4 × 5.4 µm ; Qe = 1.4 ; Ve = 114 µm3

I think it is Melanoleuca polioleuca (Fr.) Kühner & Maire - Common Cavalier

I am investigating two kinds of Melanoleuca sp. found in the same park, basically composed of Aleppo pine on rocky ground with many moss or wild grass lawns. One population consisted of two large specimens (one collected), and the other consisted of 10 or so scattered small fruiting bodies (2 collected). The colors are almost the same, but the former are larger (pileus 5cm across), fleshier, with upturned pileus margin, the other are smaller (pileus 2 cm across), more neat and petite, perfectly round and plane pileus and with more crowded gils.

I would love to have an indication if they are the same species (the former is an older specimen from the latter). One should be Melanoleuca melaleuca, but maybe there are other species here in the south!

So I did a little extra research and closely related species which should occur in the Mediterranean:

D. minor - but it has smaller fruiting bodies 0.5--2.5mm (my specimens were 3 mm average)

D. tortus - specifically grows on pine, but in many examples on the net, the fruiting body is dull-ochre [link]

D. capitatus - should have a little stipe, and from this photo showing some lateral views, the FB are well sessile.

I can't think of other alternatives right now.

Maybe I try and fetch a sample if time allows.

I wanted to share photos of a parasitic fungus that often attacked pine boletes (eg Xerocomus / Xerocomellus) which at full maturity it covers completely the semi-digested host fungus in a golden yellow powder - sometimes looking like a slime-mould.

Very contrasting bright colour

Hypomyces chrysospermus

dl

hmmm.... another idea is Dacrymyces capitatus - I should have taken a sample!

Thanks a lot UWE !

Yes, no particular taste and no particular scent, no yellowing in the flesh, just pale grey.

I think I found a Tricholoma terreum, with greying gills and slightly grey flesh. I have collected a specimen and can perform some micro... but if these images confirm it, I can focus on two Melanoleuca that I have encountered. Size about 4cm across and cap was rough-textured (like tomentose)

Habitat = Grassy ground under pine trees

I wish to have a confirmation of what I think is Dacrymyces stillatus. I did not collect the specimen. It was on the stem of a fallen Pine branch (presumably!)/

The fruiting bodies were tiny, not more than 5mm