Exidia Recisa, Amber Jelly Roll

Day 102: I do love it when something new and interesting pops up right in my own back yard! My pussywillow tree had grown way too tall and in any event, wasn't doing very well, so we hacked it back in late autumn, hoping that a last-ditch effort might save it. It does seem to be showing signs of life, but even more exciting was my discovery this morning of Exidia recisa (Amber Jelly Roll fungus) growing on one of the dead branches. This particular species is distinguished by its preference for willow. The only similar species typically grows on birch or other broadleaved trees, but never on Salix. That information made the task of identifying it much simpler than it might have been. Two photos were duly submitted to the WTU herbarium image gallery, bringing my total contribution up to 220 photos encompassing 123 taxa. And here I thought this was going to be just another boring, drizzly day!