Sunday, July 11, 2010

Witch's Hat, Bird's Nest and Red Russula

Witch's Hat mushroom, Hygrocybe conica, sweet little thing...that little knob on top is typical.
Bird's Nest fungi (Crucibulum laeve) on old hickory shell. These are really common, yet it feels like the first time every time I see them (because I think they're so cute). The "eggs" are peridioles, or spore-sacs, and a drop of rain will cause them to shoot out of the nest, trailing a little sticky strand, and then it will stick to a leaf or something, and then the peridiole will break open, and spew spores around. At least, that's what I hear; I've never seen it (but, one day, I will). The yellow one in the foreground hasn't opened yet.

Red Russula. That white "bloom" on the ant one is dropped spores from the one above it.

2 comments:

  1. I have tons of bird's nests in my yard! It took me a year to figure out that they were mushrooms and not some sort of weird weed seed.

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  2. Well, no matter WHAT they are, they're CUTE!

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