Mystery Fungus

Day 19: You have undoubtedly begun reading this expecting that at some point in the narrative, I'll tell you what this is, maybe even give you a natural history lesson to accompany it. If so, you can just keep walking because it not only has me puzzled, it has our Park plant ecologist Beth Fallon baffled as well. I suggested that it may be in the genus Phycomyces, a group of mold fungi which grow on a variety of substrates, most commonly on animal scat but also on other fungi. Looking at it under the microscope reveals that the filaments are growing out of/on a gilled structure, possibly Pleurocybella porrigens (Angel Wings). Some of the filaments are hair-like; others show many tinier filaments branching off from the main ones in a manner which calls to mind Usnea lichens (no, this is not a lichen). Beth and I are both out of our depth here, so we'll be sending off photos and possibly specimens for expert identification.

Update - We have an ID: Tilachlidium brachiatum, formerly known as Clavaria brachiata or Pseudonectria tilachlidii, it was given the distinction of its own genus based on genetic analyses. It is thought to be non-discriminatory with respect to the host fungi on which it grows.