The Calocera Cornea Club

Day 48: Per "Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest" by Steve Trudell and Joe Ammirati, the growth of Calocera cornea "in large troops on rotting logs and small size set it apart from the other club-fungi." Just how small? Well, I didn't have a penny, so used a dime instead to show that the tallest of these might have reached a towering 4 mm. I discovered it along the Hugo Peak Trail in Pack Forest, first time I have observed it there. The species is not uncommon and occurs around the globe, fruiting in late summer and autumn. A member of the order Dacrymycetales, it is characterized by the Y-shape of its basidia (spore-producing bodies). Despite the similarity in appearance to the coral fungi, DNA analysis has shown that the clubs form a second, unrelated evolutionary group. It's a private club, no corals allowed.

Club-Fungi

Day 45: Many fungi have no widely accepted common names, so I figure I can call Clavulinopsis laeticolor "Butterfingers" if I please. These yellow/orange club-fungi can be found growing on mossy ground, usually in small clusters. It can be told from a similar species (Clavulinopsis helveola) by the squat triangular shape of its spores, but you'll need a good microscope to see them. At 1000x, I was unable to get a good image. There are many species of club-fungi in the Pacific Northwest, but most escape notice because of their size. While I was photographing these, I also spotted white Clavaria vermicularis (inset, upper right) which I would not have seen if I hadn't been down at ground level.