acorncap's Favorites

JC1786 growing in bark at N bases of Quercus john-tuckeri

Seems like a few too many endostome teeth but the operculum with the bright orange rim, interesting distal “puckering” of the capsule, and leaf cross sections all seem to fit

I didn't notice these scale insects on my one year old toyon plant on 29 September 2024 when I watered it, but today, six days later, there were about 40 of them on the main stem, and I couldn't help noticing them. I picked them all off by hand.

Lichenicolous fungi growing on Heterodermia erinacea

After chatting with Mike Haldeman who is managing the Lichenicolous fungi website, this identification is not conclusive. Will need to do further work but i dont think it hurts to leave this id as best guess for now.

This moss is growing in moist soil on the riverbank. This is between large concrete rocks. This moss looks different than most I've seen and the nearby mosses.

Springtails on it: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/201300965

Photos 14-16 were brightened.

Large patch with at least two Hygrocybe spp. under Rhus integrifolia and Heteromeles arbutifolia. Another patch nearby was under exclusively H. arbutifolia suggesting that that might be the important leaf litter association here. Stands out from other Southerb California Hygrocybe observations in that no bay laurel was in the area.

Up to 5 inches tall. Pale yellow, pileus conical when fresh becoming planar-convex retaining a slight umbo. Blackening. Gills white into maturity until blackening. Stipe yellow fading to white at bottom, bifurcated in some fruitboedies.

Possibly on Iscoma. Coastal shrub land.

Ascostromata erumpent, 1–2 mm long, main body 0.8–1 mm tall; multiple necks, 0.5–0.9 mm tall, 130–200 µm wide, consisting of three columns with cavity between them forming ostiole 32 µm in diameter.

Asci 57 x 5 µm, 8-spored, pedicellate (pedicel 26 µm long), thin-walled, IKI+. Ascospores allantoid, yellow, two-guttulate,
6–8 x 1.6–1.9 µm.

Falcate conidia (possibly from a different fungus) are present as well; 12–16 µm from end to end, 0.5–0.7 µm thick, hyaline with two guttules.

Chaparral. On Ribes indecorum
Ascoma erumpent perithecia with a central depression. Peridium brilliant orange pseudo-parenchyma. Asci thin-walled with many hundreds of spores. Ascoconidia allantoid, 3-3.8 μm.
Anamorph red orange, erumpent, often together with teleomorph.

On Cylindropuntia californica. Erumpent clear jelly that changed to brown/orange then black when dried and no longer jelly-like. Left black scars on the cactus. No other fungi present to suggest that it was parasitic on Stereum, Peniophora or else

Under chamise; no scrub oak in the immediate vicinity.
Cap 1-1.8 cm, umbonate, deep chestnut color, velvety, scaly, rimose. Cortina attached to margins. Gills dull brown to rusty brown, adnate to 'toothed'. Stipe 2-3 x 0.2-0.3 cm, lighter than cap, scaly, snake skin pattern. Odor indistinct.
Spores rough, [9.4]9.6-10[10.4] x [4.3]4.5-5.4 µm

Chaparral, mixed scrub oak and chamise.
Cap metallic brown to vinaceous, rimose, plane, umbonate. Distinct vellipellis. Veil remnants on margin. Gills grayish brown. Stipe solid, equal, caulocystidia only on upper 1/3.
Odor farinaceous.
Spores gently nodulose, fat frog-shaped, 8.9-10.2[11.2] x [5.5]5.7-6.3 µm
Pleurocystidia apically encrusted, metuloid (1.2 µm thick), lageniform, 57 µm; some utriform, shorter.
Cheilocystidia lageniform, smooth apex, some apically encrusted.

Apothecia immersed in wood of dead Adenostoma branches along W-exposed hillside. Coastal Artemisia, Adenostoma, Cneoridium scrub with Pinus torryana.
I'm not familiar with this genus, but it seems that P. viridis and P. versicolor can be variable in color.

Observation from same location:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/150888553

From general vicinity:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/150316889

substrate/habitat = fruiting beneath well rotten small Cupressus sargentii log with Arctostaphylos root running ~8 inches away. the same roote further up close to the the trunk of the Arctostaphylos had a similar mushroom fruiting

KOH = slight darkening of the cap

scent = none detected

UVF 365 nm = lite blue-green on gills

HAY-F-000437