NC, Smokies, 20060702
Cabincove and Cataloochee, mostly fungi and lichens. 

Asbury to Cataloochee and back; Tigger's Trot on the way up, Yellow Gate Road and Prissy Bear's on the way back.

Beautiful specimen.  Shows white stuff underneath. Beautiful specimen. 

Tubifera ferruginosa [] 

"Pink tapioca" slime mold.  On a rotten oak log halfway down Asbury.  Found photo here: www.plant.uga.edu. Color is off, but that could be color balancing or environmental, I guess.

snail 

Just a random picture, nothing special.

turks cap 

Keep forgetting to write this one down  found it on slope past pine forest a while ago.  Not blooming yet.

Diphylleia cymosa 

On final slope among dog hobble and stuff.

Young fingery specimen. Nice pale old specimen, top view. Nice pale old specimen, side view. 

Bondarzewia berkeleyi [] 

At base of chestnut oak with that enormous burl halfway down Asbury.

Stained wood. 

Chlorociboria aeruginascens [] 

Just wanted to take a picture of a stained log.  It's all over.

Fls.  Blurry. Fls.  Blurry. 

Circaea lutetiana 

These were on a mossy v old rotten hemlock log at top of final slope.

Spores, at 400x.  Marks are 2.5um. Nice old specimen, from below. Nice old specimen, side/top view. 

Oudemansiella radicata 

At top of ridge between the two creeks on Asbury. 
 GEN med-tall mushroom, on soil under hardwoods
 ST 80x3-9mm, thin ab to sorta abruptly bulbouse at base, terminating in tapered long wavy taproot 50+mm long, smooth, fibrous-striate, pretty cartilaginous tough, brownish in mid-range but whitish ab and bel, stuffed to hollow, brittle but v fibrous
 CAP 40mm wide, convex, shiny clear tacky covering (dried viscid stuff?) over pale tan w med brown broad umbo and radiating somewhat branched fine veins, marg hung w narr ragged remains of veil, soft
 FLESH 3-4mm, white, soft, bends w/o snapping
 GILL whitish, a little wavy, unbr, < 1 per mm, sl broadly notched
 SPORE print snow white, colorless, ov-ellip, obtuse pted one end, v min textured to smooth, thick black walls, 1 cell, sticking in irreg towering masses, 15-18x10-12um

white knob fungus [] 

Same thing I saw on 20060611; a little better developed now. 
 ST lateral, stubby
 CAP buffy-white, min fuzzy
 FLESH buffy-white, 2mm thick or more, tough but not corky or drying bone hard, K-
 PORE only on bottom of "cap", 6-7 per mm, thin hoary walls, whitish

Peltigera polydactylon [] [voucher] 

This was on that enormous hemlock that blocked a large part of the original Asbury going down the final slope.  Thought it was just another P. rufescens, but now I realize I've probably been seeing several related species all this time.  Need to check for pruina and tomentum more dilligently all over surface, as well as color of veins and quality of rhizines. 
 GEN foliose lichen, on moss on rotting hemlock
 THAL broad, flat to gently undulating, marg sl crisped, totally smooth w a matte sort of shine (even tips), lt grey, creamy white to blackish bel w dker grey veins and simple to brush-like often tufted scattered rhiz
 MED white
 ALG rather black
 APO on finger-like proliferating erect lobules from marg of thallus, reddish brown to blackish

Leptogium cyanescens [] [voucher] 

On mossy hardwood overhanging river at end of Asbury. 
 GEN foliose lichen, on mossy hardwood
 THAL steel-grey, 4mm or so wide, smooth to coarsely folded, cortex on both sides, flattened lobule-like isidia on older parts of surface and dense on most margs, not flat at all, no rhiz visible
 MED none
 ALG blue-green I guess
 APO none present

Nephroma helveticum [] [voucher] 

On mossy hardwood overhanging river at end of Asbury. 
 GEN foliose lichen, on moss hardwood
 THAL solid brown, lobes to 5mm wide, deeply cren or toothed, marg crisped to curling up, white tom by apo, some marg somewhat lobulate, even pale tan v min tom to naked bel, K-, C-, KC-
 MED white, K-, C-, KC-
 ALG v dk green
 APO reddish brownish, under protruding somewhat ascending tongues at edges of thallus, marg sometimes lobulate
Yes, lobules are called flat isidia again.

Nice sample of thallus. 

Hypotrachyna medulla-negative [voucher] 

On fallen bark by river at end of Asbury. 
 GEN foliose lichen, on hardwood bark
 THAL flat, regularly overlapping-lobed, sinuses rounded, lobes to 5mm, appress, even pale grey, black marg, black w v d black v-br'd rhiz bel, rhiz visible as cilia-like fringe from ab (some real ones might be present but they angle down not out), piles of soredia at lobe tips, K+ yell, C-
 MED white, K-, C-, KC-
 ALG green
 APO none

There's another one on the same piece that has red-brown "galls", cortex K+ yell, and medulla K+ yell quickly to deep blood red and CK+ yell to vivid red. All the rest is the same: black bel w forked black rhiz, even pale grey ab, piles of soredia at tips.

Thallus surface, at 10x.  Shows conspic white spots nicely. Thallus surface, at 30x.  Shows conspic white spots nicely. 

Cetrelia monachorum [] [voucher] 

On trunk of birch overhanging river at end of Asbury. 
 GEN foliose lichen, on hardwood bark
 THAL lobes smooth med grey, conspic spotted with perfect white pseudocyph all over, lobes to 8mm wide, marg min curling down but thallus mostly concave with lobes forming broad cups, black bel to brown near marg w some large white blotches, rhiz sparse and short in ctr, thin rolls of soredia along some margs, K+ weak yell, C-, KC-
 MED thick, white, loose, K-, C-, KC-
 ALG green
 APO none

Thallus surface, at 10x. Thallus surface, at 30x. 

Coccocarpia palmicola [] [voucher] 

On that old huge dead oak at top of Tigger's Trot. 
 GEN foliose lichen, on mossy hardwood
 THAL tight appress small rosette, silky-striate grey smooth surface, flat, to 2mm wide, overlap a bit, v d short white tipped to black fringe of hairs showing from bel, v d tangled mat of black tomentum/hair bel, white cortex present under mat of hairs (which are easily scraped away), cyl unbr isidia scattered over surface of all but tips, K-, C-, KC-
 MED v thin, whitish, K-, C-, KC-
 ALG black
 APO none

Pyxine sorediata [] 

Hypotrachyna taylorensis [] 

On conifer twig from somewhere on dry part of Asbury, I think. 
 GEN foliose lichen, on hardwood twig
 THAL v tight appress, lobes flat, overlap, 1 or 3mm wide depending how fine of a lobe you measure, v short black br'd rhiz conspic along marg, true cilia, presumably black ber, even smooth lt grey ab, broad flat pustules breaking up into powdery soredia on surface of lobes, K+ weak yell, C-, KC-
 MED white, thick, K-, C+ weak momentary pink, KC-
 ALG green
 APO none
As sure as I can be, I guess, given how incomplete this key has proven to be.  (Sharing twig w much larger specimen of the lichen below.)

Hypogymnia physodes [] [voucher] 

On conifer twig from somewhere on dry part of Asbury, I think. 
 GEN foliose lichen, on hardwood twig
 THAL ascending, lobes narrow (1-1.5mm wide), marg curling down making lobes sort of finger or tube-like, pale grey but weakly mottled (not true maculae I think), coarse soredia borne in broad zone under exposed tips, cortex weak and peeling away from medulla bel, cortex pale tan to black and naked apparently bel (rhiz hidden in ctr?), K+ yell, C-, KC-
 MED white, thick, K-, C-, KC- (I might be able to convince myself there's a v fleeting v faint pink in there before the C bleaches it out)
 ALG green
Only real issue is the medulla should be KC+ pink.

Heterodermia squamulosa [] [voucher] 

On that old huge dead oak at top of Tigger's Trot. 
 GEN foliose lichen, on mossy hardwood
 THAL even smooth pale grey, lobes narr (0.5mm or less wide), margs d finely lobulate and curled up, apparently no cortex bel  white pruinose near edge and somewhat dusty blackish near ctr bel, squarrose white-tipped black rhiz along marg and scattered bel, K+ v yell, C-, KC-
 MED white, K+ v yell, C-, KC-
 ALG green
 APO none
Hard to key: one needs to call the squarrose cilia "fake cilia", and under no circumstance call them "forked".  But once you make it to H., it is very clear.

Heterodermia speciosa [] 

On that old huge dead oak at top of Tigger's Trot.  This one had me confused for a while:
 THAL lower cortex poorly developed in some places, few cilia br'd, ext lobe tip sl white pruinose, cortex thick, somewhat lobulate marg in places

Rimelia reticulata [] [voucher] 

Down by the river again; just a nice example.

Several spores, at 400x.  Marks are 2.5um.  Note smooth walls. Bunch of asci, at 100x.  Marks are 2.5um.  Several perfect specimens showing all four spores lined up in various stages of development. 

Pertusaria "four spore paratuberculifera" [] [voucher] 

 GEN crust lichen, on moss
 THAL scrambling over moss, thin, whitish, smooth to verrucose, shiny, K-, C-, KC-
 MED white, K-, C-, KC-
 ALG green
 APO in smooth sided warts, warts to 1mm large, 1 to sev apo buried in each
 SPORE colorless, 4 per ascus in one row, football, huge, 100-125x45-50um, walls 8-10um, walls even and smooth both sides, germ pore both ends protruding into inside, faintly textured inside
Matches P. paratuberculifera perfectly, but has 4 spores instead of 8.  Also matches P. tetrathalamia fairly well (key only) but has conspic smooth inner spore walls.  Finally, keys to P. leioplaca but has larger spores.

Close-up. 

snail 

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Last changed on May 7, 2010