Well, not we, exactly, but this ironwood stump left from last year's firewood cut grew an impressive coating of brilliant, slimy fungus.
The eye-popping neon orange sort of stands out against the fresh greens in the forest, doesn't it?
I think it took advantage of every possible square inch of available surface. Well done, slime!
So I tried to determine whether it was Orange Jelly or Witches' Butter. Orange Jelly is supposed to grow on conifers and ironwood is deciduous, which is where Witches' Butter supposedly grows, so that's what I've been thinking. Or is it something else altogether?
BetsyLee, I know you're another fungus enthusiast... :)
6 comments:
No, not one of the jellies, because they form translucent individual brain-like structures that you can pick off and hold your hand. And squeeze 'em a bit, just to see how jelly-like they really are. So cool.
I haven't got anything like it in my reference books, so I passed on one of your pics to a mycologist. Maybe she can give us a general idea.
It looks very interesting indeed ! How great it is to make a surprise find like that on a walk through the woods. Makes the day seem brighter. And who doesn't love a neon orange fungus??
Hugs, I'll let you know if and when I hear something back from the mycologist,
BetsyLee
Thanks, BetsyLee! I struggled with identification on this one, since I couldn't find anything quite like it in my reference books, either. I'll be interested to hear what your mycologist can tell us. :)
Hugs right back!
Well, BetsyLee's mycologist friend gave us all kinds of interesting information about this orange slimy stuff. It's actually a yeast and not a fungus at all, which is probably why my attempts to identify it from my mushroom reference books were so unproductive. I'm going to try and post a link here to a blog post BetsyLee sent me and we'll see if it works. The worst case scenario, I suppose, is that you might have to hit the back button and copy and paste the link:
Slimy yeast info...
https://blog.mycology.cornell.edu/2010/04/30/tree-slime-stump-flux-and-microbial-consortia/
Thank you for the information. My brother will be interested, too. :)
Yeast IS a fungus, a micro-fungus. My preference in fungi is for ones that I can see with my bare-naked eyes. All of my books are on MACRO fungi. No microscopes for me! :^)
bEtsyLee
Thank you, BetsyLee - I stand corrected. I was definitely thinking on the macro scale. Of course, I also prefer the fungus I can eat! :)
I never eat 'em. Have you ever seen how many gnats and flies come out from under what appears to be a good looking mushroom? Or the slugs crawling everywhere, on the cap and gills, and including in the the center of a perfectly good looking stem? You are BRAVE.
I'm just after the pictures. :^)
BetsyLee
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