Abundant Dacrymyces

Day 89: Sometimes what a fungus or lichen is growing on can be an important factor in making a field identification. Dacrymyces chrysospermus (above, and formerly known as D. palmatus) and Tremella mesenterica can appear very similar. When presented with a specimen which is not attached to substrate material, the determination must be made with a microscope. However, when found in the wild, these two are easy to tell apart in certain circumstances. Dacrymyces grows on conifer wood and Tremella on hardwood. Now I have to say that I have seen some relatively large colonies of both in my day, but none quite as enormous as those I found a few days ago on a nearby trail. I've included my cold-reddened hand in this shot for reference which, although quite small as adult hands go, should be sufficient to give a rough idea of the size of the fungus. Nor was this the only example I encountered on my brief walk. Some were growing on standing snags, others on trees which had been down for years and, conveniently, all on Douglas-fir.