Day 253: The count of "noses" has now passed the century mark at Site A, as many as 14 specimens of Myriosclerotinia caricis-ampullaceae occuring in a single tight grouping. Out of concern for the species, our trips into the area will be restricted to no more than once a week. These excursions will be limited to as few members of the team as is reasonable to allow study of the progression of growth and to monitor the survival rate. Already we have noted that many of the smaller specimens have disappeared, leaving no clues to their fate behind them. Were they eaten by something? If so, what? Or did they disperse their spores and deteriorate rapidly as part of the reproductive process? Some cups are growing, and although none yet matches the size of the larger examples from our observations in 2016, several seem well on their way. Site B is as yet unobtainable, but I am anxious to see if it also produces an abundance of this rarity.
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