Fungi on seeds and fallen leaves

[carnifex]

For some time now, I have been very much into plant galls and leaf miners. Then came rust fungi and mildews in addition. I am now seeing an individual (living) plant as a tiny ecosystem, providing several ecological niches for pollinators, specialized herbivores, parasites…

And of course I knew that destruents (saprotrophic fungi, amongst others) are processing decayed organic matter.

However, I got very excited learning that dead plant matter is providing habitats for specific fungi, being adapted to particular genera or even species. Like, you can find three fungal species on one Ilex leaf, all of them adapted to that genus.

Then came the letdown. No matter which plant you chose, there seem to be tightly associated saprotrophic fungi - but they can rarely be identified

While with phytoparasitic fungi, the chance of a species ID is quite high, and if not, I can give the samples to a mycologist at university - there is no one around to be able to ID dark spots on leaves or twigs.

So, thanks to @tiwane and @jlisby for those suggestion, as those microfungi are way better identifiable. Having looked at a number of Urtica stems, I still need to find one of those beauties, however.

Now, I want to present another easy (and aesthetic) target. Not on the ground, but still attached to the plant - however, good to spot in the winter: Seifertia azaleae

Few hours after I learned about its existence, I managed to find it - just because I noticed I was standing beside a Rhododendron bush

[anthonywalton]

Been waiting for a topic like this, I’ve got so many cool stories to share

Came across my first Rust Fungi back in 2019 in a coastal reserve on our east coast. Didn’t know much about parasitic fungi back then and hardly know anything more today, except that these sorts of fungi target whole plants or even just parts that have undergone transpirational stress from marine aerosols and produce certain ‘leafy green’ volatiles in excess as a byproduct of amino acid synthesis. Found another type of Rust Fungi on the south/ southwest coast a couple years later, altogether quite different from the first one as you can see. The mycelium of this one seems to subsume whole segments of succulent leaf, whereas the first one is restricted to colonies on the adaxial leaf surface with the stipe bases conforming from very localized epidermal swelling. Shapes of the fruiting bodies seems to differ too. It seems like the taxa in Pucciniales are found mainly along the coast, but I’m sure they can be found further inland where coastal whether systems penetrate

I’ve found other mushies such as this one in humid river valleys in our eastern province, also saprophytic and seemed to grow off leaf litter/ humus. My first thought was what would happen if I ate it, as I am a bit of a nut when it comes to medical and food uses of the bush

By far the most enigmatic and mysterious fungi I’ve ever come across was this one in the Southwestern Cape, essentially just a cup shaped, hollowed out sphere with an opening at the top and the same texture as algin based seaweeds. It didn’t even seem to be very firmly attached to the ground it was growing in (?), altogether just very weird! There’s only 5-6 other observations of it in the whole of Africa so its either quite rare here or just very overlooked

The most marvelous display of saprophytic fungi on a landscape scale I’ve ever seen, was a forest completely draped in Usnia (also in the Southwestern Cape), to such a degree that it looked like a Blizzard had swept through, frosting all but the most inner branches and leaving stelactytes and icy chandeliers dangling just below the canopy - hauntingly beautiful! I was such a fool not to have taken a photo

Lastly, here’s a photo of a Lichen I took not far from Cape Town. Reminds one of the Venom symbiote with its black tendrils

[anthonywalton]

Sorry I can’t help with your fascinating Ginko fungus, but if you or anyone else is interested in learning the biochemical mechanics behind leaf/ flower volatiles and their impact on or influence of parasitic/ beneficial fungi, you have got to get yourself a copy of this book

Only just started getting into it myself, and its mind-blowing

[tiwane]

Just came across these cool Xylaria clusiae today.

[egordon88]

Any suggestions for fungus on a dead/dessicated Asclepias leaf? I’ll get the photos off my camera later. Circular grayish spots like bread mold.

[tiwane]

I checked a lot of Douglas fir cones this weekend for earpick fungus (great name), but no dice. Oh well.

[fffffffff]

But they grow on submerged cones, it’s much easier to find them just sticking out of ground, they’re very common here.