Day 249: The people who want me to file a "flight plan" just don't understand that I go where the woods sends me, not necessarily following an established trail or an animal track, but rather where some instinct directs. I cannot define the parameters for selecting a route; no occurrence of a specific moss, no slope of the land, no play or light and shadow compels me to go this way instead of that. Yet when I listen to the speech of the forest, it invariably guides me to something worth observation. Attempts to force the process result in pointless meandering, pleasurable in its own way, but more often than not, lacking the thrill of discovery which I so crave. Having already found specimens of one unusual fungus (tomorrow's feature), I was on my knees photographing some Nidula buttons, not yet open to reveal the "eggs" (peridioles) inside the cups which supply their common name of "Bird's-nest fungi" when a tiny spot of creamy white caught the tail of my eye. "Who's that weird little guy?" I said, words my botany partners recognize as a flag being run up the pole. I took several photos before remembering I'd put my measurin' stick in my bag (a good thing to have when botanizing), but further searching left me with only the one example. Elated, I hurried home to hit the field guides, certain that I would fail to find it in their pages which, naturally, proved to be the case. In the end, I called in expert help to get as far as Tarzetta ("Tazetta" in some references), and then narrowed it down by morphologic features to T. cupularis (Elf Cup or Grey Goblet), and a new species for the Park. Update: identification confirmed by a second, regionally knowledgeable mycologist. This photo is the first image of the species to be added to the Burke Herbarium's gallery. The only specimen of the species in the Burke collection was taken from Pack Forest.
No comments:
Post a Comment