Beiträge von Steve_mt

yes, truly beautiful species both as a singular myxocarp as you well explained, and also in groups, with those quite equidistant spaces between sporocarps making everything very pleasing to the eye.

Thank you for the update, something we need to get familiar with although the changes do not seem as drastic as in Fungi and to a less extent plants (although placing some snapdragons with same family of plantains is still something I am still digesting slowly)

About two weeks ago, I came across a strange coal-like fungus on the bark of a dead, unidentified tree, which had the texture and looks of a Daldinia, but it was flattened so I could not assign it as the two species known in Malta - D. concentric and D. raimundii. These have distinct semi-spherical or cushion-like fruiting bodies, with concentric rings, hence to exclude, but not sure if other Daldinia species that are flattened. I have now considered Biscogniauxia sp. but not sure which sp would be. I can revisit the population for microscopy and further examinations. The tree is not beech, maybe Quercus

Dear Raphael,

Many thanks for your feedback. Tomorrow I send the main corresponding author an email and see what I get. Despite DNA analysis via Blast and GenBank, it is not always assured your best-matched sequence has the correct name, hence studies like those you mentioned come useful. Thanks again!

Zitat von CH-Andy

Hello

Very interesting Lepiota in such small cases, I would also bring following Option in the inner choice -> Lepiota pseudolilacea

In the fourth picture the color is more black, are you Show two different types?

Best regards Andy

Edit, Chris was faster 😉

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Hello Andy, thank you for your suggestion too. I appreciate The fourth pic is the same specimen but not in natural light but under the stereomicroscope with badly assigned White Balance. I played a bit with the contrast too so ignore the colours in the 4th pic. Yet when i dried it, the colours darkened.

Zitat von chris77

Hi, this is pseudolilacea in my opinion

Chris

Edit: Here's a find from the last few weeks

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Thank you for your opinion, I was unaware about L. pseudolilacea (does it grow in this habitat too?). I admit that it resembles it a lot, although I would love to know the major distinction between the two sister species. I see if I can find some literature on my behalf !

Hi, I have sequenced some specimens of Pluteus, and would like to know if someone is working on this Genus and if my DNA sequences from Malta would be handy. I have sequenced this population with slightly yellowish stipe, and the LAB suggested Pluteus cf nanus. I am not sure if it is this species if it the name was not correct when the author of that sequence made a good or bad identification.

Anyway, I would love to hear your opinion on this Pluteus sp.

LG

Steve

This small Lepiota sp. was found on moss and grassy soil in a damp site over calcareous limestone. It was not in a very good state but I could see a brown-purplish ring which alerted me on L. lilacea. On age this darkened to blackish-purple-brown.

I have some microscopic data too if required. Spores scarce, could not find them

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311517555_Polypores_and_genus_concepts_in_Phanerochaetaceae_Polyporales_Basidiomycota/figures?lo=1

Dear friends, I need your opinion on this crust Polypore I found on the wet bark of Ceratonia siliqua.

It is a white polypore which seems to be accompanied by its amorphous stage as grayish - olive green colonies at the perimeter of the crust. I include several photos of the teleomorph and anamorph, both macro and micro.

NaOH gave a green color change on the hymenium.

Spores bean-shaped, about 5um long

Measurements:

Basidiospores

(3.9) 4.2 - 5.5 (5.8) × 2.2 - 2.7 (3) µm

Q = (1.6) 1.8 - 2.1 (2.2) ; N = 18

V = (10) 11 - 22 (23) µm3

Me = 4.9 × 2.5 µm; Qe = 2 ; Ve = 16 µm3

Cystidia/Basidioles - 12.0-17.0um x 4.0-5.5um

Ascospores:

(12.7) 13.9 - 17.2 (18.6) x (9.1) 9.3- 12 (15.1) µm

Q = (1.1) 1.3 - 1.7 (1.9) ; N = 42

V = (546) 680 - 1210 (1985) µm3

Me = 15.7 × 10.4 µm; Qe = 1.5 ; Ve = 910 µm3

Basidia

19.10 x 5.4um (Sterigma = 2um)

20.5 x 5.7 (Sterigma = 3um)

I always have problems with crust polypores but Ropia and Ceriporia crossed my mind.

Regards

Stephen

Amyloporia xantha in its early stages. Sorry for taking so long to come back on this

Hello everyone, I found this beautiful population of earthballs (Scleroderma sp.) and studied it for Identification. The peridium had a nice pattern of dark brownish patterns (referred as leopard skin) on a cream/light yellow background, later becoming beige, and on cross section it was egg-shell thin (less then 1mm). Basically, we are in the S. verrucosum / S. areolatum area, and since the spores were between 7.5 and 9.0 um (Average 8.23 um) with numerous straight to curved spines about 1um long, I think it can be identified as S. verrucosum

Hello I have met this scleroderma and I assume it is S. verrucosum from its eggshell-thin peridium, leopard pattern on a faint yellowish-cream background, small size (2-4cm across). What does not fit is the absence of a pseudostipe, and the spores are a bit on the smaller size (7.5-9.5 um, averaging 8.3 um).

Some years ago I had found a similar Hygrocybe (under olive trees and Pine trees) and upon researching, I had read that if it is not slimy, it would be the Hygrocybe conica s.l. whereas if slimy it would be attributed to H. singerii. Now I wanted to know from your experience how much singerii are actually recorded from Europe and if that claim (slimey=singerii) applies for Europe. Tnx in advance!

Dear friends, long time no see. I had a difficult period and now things look bright again. I have few updates, and I start with this one.

I managed to isolate pure colonies of this, sequenced them and got a good result for Sarcopodium vanillae (Petch) B. Sutton (syn. Actinostilbe vanillae). I believe we are seeing the anamorph.

Further Info

Hi Oehrling,

The aim of the post was mainly a discussion on L.sordida and closely related species (in particular, L. nuda), but then the post got a strange path when there was a lot of contradictions between characters referable for L. sordida and L. nuda. Contradictions both between different user's comments and different literature. This hence led me to further research and even revisiting the island where the population was found to shed more light. I dont think this is some new species, but L. sordida is maybe a more Mediterranean species, and I wanted to express that it can easily be confused with L. nuda.

One can of course, don't agree with my interpretation, but for scope of education and scientific observation, the pictures and findings are recorded here so maybe they serve as a reference for future readers and further discussion. I am not trying to convince anyone but simply sharing my opinion/findings/pics.

FInally, after consulting several sources these days - the most reliable feature is the robustness and fleshiness of the fruiting bodies. The best feature here is the stipe because I have seen some L. sordida with big caps, but the stipe is always the shape of a cigarette (5-10 mm wide) even in large specimens whereas L. nuda have a very thick columnar (Cigar-like ) stipe.

Look here for comparison

https://www.mykoweb.com/CAF/photos/Clitocybe_tarda+nuda_fs-01.jpg

from

California Fungi: Clitocybe tarda

Photographs and descriptions of the Mushrooms and other Fungi of California, USA

www.mykoweb.com

L. sordida with big cap but narrow stipe (my pic from Comino island)

Second comes the scent which seems to be more persistently aromatic in L. nuda (according literature) but fades away quickly in L. sordida (young specimens are flower/faintly pine-resin scented!)

Zitat von Oliver

I looked both species up in a pretty famous but German key for Basidiomycetes (Gröger) and he distinguishes them pretty much with the colour. He notes that L. sordida isn't purple at all. It can contain some purple hues, but it should never have a purple stipe, purple gills or even a purple cap.

I think this is not correct, several sources describe or illustrate L. sordida with violet-lilac colours (see my selection below), but that comment is only true in mature/old specimens which lose scent and their violaceous colours completely.

Lepista sordida, Sordid Blewit identification

Sordid Blewit (Lepista sordida) Identification  -

Sordid Blewit is related to Wood Blewits (Lepista nuda) and Field Blewits (Lepista personata) but not as common. Sweet scented and edible.

totallywilduk.co.uk

Lepista sordida: The Ultimate Mushroom Guide

Lepista sordida: what you should know about the mushroom and identification with photos. Also, check all-around information about this mushroom.

ultimate-mushroom.com

Lepista Sordida: The Sordid Blewit Identification & Look alikes

Lepista Sordida aka The Sordid Blewit or Dirty Blewit is an edible mushroom found worldwide. Come learn it's identification & look alikes.

healing-mushrooms.net

Lepista sordida (Schumach.) Singer 1951 media - Encyclopedia of Life

Dear friends. I took this topic a bit more seriously and went to visit the same population 7 days later (no rain) and I am understanding this species a bit better, and I may surprise you a bit. We are talking about a small area of 30x50m. I have photos of the same specimens I photographed above (fresh), and one week later, I can draw some conclusions.

1. I believe that the population is homogeneous, belonging to one Lepista sp.

2. Size of caps varies considerably, but the stipe is always slender, cigarette thick (<10mm)

3. All specimens are hygrophanous (less evident in the fresh/young individuals)

4. There is a gradual change in colour of the pileus and stipe when the fruiting body is ageing, initially (young individuals) are always maroon-violet, rather dull, then gradually become straw to light brown when fully mature/dieing out.

5. The gills also change colour, clean lilac-violet when young, brownish with pinish-lilac hues (esp in the sun) when old

5. The very young fruiting bodies do have a noticeable aromatic scent, somewhat like the pine-resin or fruity, but it definitely fades to nothing when the fruiting body is ageing

6. All specimens clump a lot of pine needles (a few also growing from cones)

7. All specimens produce a white spore print which, when abundant it gets a cream to beige colour.

Please see the photos where in Lepista2.jpg, I photographed side by side the same specimen 6 days later in situ (the violet tones all went when the fb got old) whereas in Lepista3.jpg and Lepista4.jpg I took a sequence of fresh to aging to old fruiting bodies collected in situ at the same time.

I am concluding that these are Lepista sordida in my ignorance of what L. nuda do when dries up, but from the literature, there seems to be a consensus that L. nuda is a non-hygrophanous species (or faintly so), has a robust stem, possess a persistent fruity-aromatic scent, does not brown a great deal with age (because it is not hygrophanous) and keeps its violet colours through its lifespan. I think one should revise the ideas a bit and maybe you have some L.sordida labelled as L. nuda (from the responses I got).

Now with regards L. nuda vs L. sordida = the classical mycologist question - my background knowledge (probably owned from Italian mycologists) is that to tell apart the following apply:

1. L. nuda has strong violet colours vs L.sordida just a hint and pale hue with brownish being dominant [rate of importance 4/5, easy to detect: 3/5];

2. L. nuda has an aromatic scent vs L. sordida just a faint or none - [rate of importance 5/5, easy to detect: 4/5];

3. L. nuda is a robust large species with thick stipes vs L. sordida which is smaller and slender stipe - [rate of importance 2/5, easy to detect: 3/5];

4. L. nuda is not hygrophanous vs L. sordida which is a lot - [rate of importance 3/5, easy to detect: 5/5];

These specimens were hygrophanous, some had a brown component (but some deeply maroon-violet), generally not strongly scented and slender-stiped. Yet here I see opposing comments, and it is not only here >>> The link below shows the huge contrasting argument between nuda and sordida - more or less like here

How to distinguish between Lepista nuda and L. sordida - UK Fungi

Slenderness seems arguable ( L. nuda f. gracilis with stipe 3-7mm makes this character a bit useless if truly so)

According the Italians, they are fixed on the above:

Zitat

Simile alla Lepista nuda, si distingue da questa per un portamento meno robusto, per cromatismi più diluiti, il cappello igrofano e per l'assenza di odore aromatico intenso, diversamente fungino rancido.

=

[L.sordida] is similar to L. nuda but is distinguished by being less robust, colours [violets] less intense, hygrophanous cap and lacking aromatic odour which is intense in L. nuda while acrid/rancid in L. sordida

L. sordida

L. nuda

When I see all the images of the above pages almost start seeing no distinction apart extremes of the said species and a lot of intermediate morphologies. I guess both species have been separated genetically?

So I am still a bit confused due to different opinions in many schools of mycology (are we dealing with a single variable species?). SOS!

Dear all, I am quite surprised with the comments (both the number and the comments per see), and there is a lot to discuss.

This post is about the option Cortinarius.

Starting with the possibility of Cortinarius, I think the only candidate of a possible Cortinarius is the large brown specimen with image number 5246, 5249 5251 with swelling at the stipe. The sad news is that I did not collect it. There was only one like it, and I thought I should keep it there (conservation instinct!), but now, knowing it could be a Cortinarius, I feel a bit of regret (taxonomist instinct!). Looking the grass beneath, there is a rusty brown deposit! On the other hand the first photo (IMG_5229) and the rest are definitely Lepista although this specimen was not collected - the brownness suggested to me to be the usual L. sordida.

Cortinarius s.l. is super rare in Malta, and a find would merit a paper!

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354834070_Cortinarius_ayanamiiBorziana2_081-086

It is lovely to see how colorful the ladies dress - really impressive. Here in boring Europe, but according to some Europe Communion tops think we are the centre of the universe, can't do much from black, navy blue, gray and brown clothes (sample from my work office today lol!).

It is really sad to remember that wealth in the world is not equally spread and that certain third-world countries are neglected but have so much to offer !

Zitat von nochn Pilz

Km 7,492 Serrekunda (Banjul). First impression: The Gambia is actually even hotter than Senegal. The exit from Senegal went quite quickly, the entry of the people to Gambia as well, the entry of the car was a bit more complicated, I'll spare the details, two hours later we were inside. First military check, a misinterpreted stop signal and 50 EUR change hands. We had the following 19 (!) police controls over 200km better under control:

How are you?

Nice to be in the Gambia again.

Where do you come from?

We come from Germany, 7 thousand 3 hundred kilometers.

With this car???

yes

Do you have a pen?

Do you have children?

Yes, two.

This is for your children, it comes from the heart, and you can taste one as well.

Thank you, good arrival.

This way, the bags of gummy bears reach Banjul and everyone is happy.

And now enjoy today's pictures, we'll fly back on the 8th, we'll definitely do something else.

Kabacoto Lodge wakes up, morning light over Grand Bao Bolon:

We're not the only ones leaving early:

...and again and again the pretty Gambian women in their beautiful dresses:

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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