Crust fungus

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February 21, 2016 at 2:10 pm #30116
marksteer
Never too sure where to post unknowns – maybe this should be in ‘Crust Fungi and’ but previous post here ‘Hericium?’ maybe relevant.

Fully resupinate on ivy encrusted fallen Silver Birch. About 4x2cm with thickness 1mm. Not sure if this is ‘toothed’ or ‘spiny’. Initial thought was Irpex lacteus but no colour change with KOH which I think is a feature of this species? Looking at Leif’s suggestion for ‘Hericium?’ Antrodia albida mine looks similar to some photos on internet but I don’t always trust web id’s! Not sure what ‘irpicoid’ means – is that ‘spiny’? ‘Crusts’ are difficult for me and I appreciate a conclusive id will probably be impossible but any pointers would be appreciated.

(Photo 1 is USBx10, photo 2 USBx60 if that doesn’t appear)
February 21, 2016 at 2:38 pm #38115
Leif
There are plenty of spiney resupinate fungi. The Mycoacia genus includes many examples, and they are not easy to separate. Others include Dentipellis fragilis, Fibrodontia gossypina, Hydnocristella himantia, Mucronella calva & flava, Radulomyces molaris and Sarcodontia crocea. Those are just some picked out when I skimmed through some photos in one of my reference books. I have not checked which are known in Britain and which occur on Betula. Yesterday I found Basidioradulum radula on Prunus avium, another spiney fungi. If someone else is not keen on looking at this, you could send me a WELL DRIED piece. I may not reach an ID, but I might post details allowing someone to do so.

Or you might be lucky and someone might know the species in question.
February 21, 2016 at 3:30 pm #38116
marksteer
~~Leif wrote:~~

There are plenty of spiney resupinate fungi. The Mycoacia genus includes many examples, and they are not easy to separate. Others include Dentipellis fragilis, Fibrodontia gossypina, Hydnocristella himantia, Mucronella calva & flava, Radulomyces molaris and Sarcodontia crocea. Those are just some picked out when I skimmed through some photos in one of my reference books. I have not checked which are known in Britain and which occur on Betula. Yesterday I found Basidioradulum radula on Prunus avium, another spiney fungi. If someone else is not keen on looking at this, you could send me a WELL DRIED piece. I may not reach an ID, but I might post details allowing someone to do so.

Or you might be lucky and someone might know the species in question.

Hi Leif, Many thanks your comments – Crust are not easy! So this is a ‘Spiny’ Crust? Is that ‘irpicoid’? I’m not too good on the detailed description of fungi and technical words. I don’t have anyone locally who would look at this one – most here in VC41 avoid Crusts! Your kind offer to have a look at it is most appreciated. Please let me know how I can send specimen to you – I’ll try and dry it as best as I can. Adam Pollard has my contact email or you can leave ‘Private Message’ here I think. The recent publication on Resupinates in Hampshire (my original home County) did not help me but it seems to be excellent! Mark
April 2, 2016 at 6:31 pm #38117
Leif
Hello Mark

Apologies for the delay, I took a look at it last weekend, but could not even see basidia never mind spores. I have been meaning to take another look, in the hope that I made a mistake and features will be visible. Interesting comments about your gran and the village, it has changed a lot, most of the old tin houses are now gone, but not the tin church. That wood near you looks nice, you get species that favour damp conditions, whereas the east of England is much drier. And I suspect your soil is more acid than alkali given the granite substrata, or at least I assume that is what you have.
April 2, 2016 at 8:15 pm #38118
marksteer
~~Leif wrote:~~

Hello Mark

Apologies for the delay, I took a look at it last weekend, but could not even see basidia never mind spores. I have been meaning to take another look, in the hope that I made a mistake and features will be visible. Interesting comments about your gran and the village, it has changed a lot, most of the old tin houses are now gone, but not the tin church. That wood near you looks nice, you get species that favour damp conditions, whereas the east of England is much drier. And I suspect your soil is more acid than alkali given the granite substrata, or at least I assume that is what you have.

Hi Leif, No problem. I don’t remember the tin houses there – my aunt lived in a ‘posh’ bungalow! Brynna Woods is on the edge of the South Wales Coal Field – drift mining here up until 1930’ish. I would call it damp scrub woodland but it was mostly damp pasture 100 years ago. Now lots of Willow, Alder and Hazel – we have Dormice here! Probably slightly acid soil quite different to Hampshire. One Crust that is frequent here is Terana caerula on willow and hazel mostly but also Privet. Recently this was found on Bracken in VC41 – no records on FRDBI as far as I can see. Do you see this species? Also Slime Moulds – not easy to id! Mark
April 3, 2016 at 5:11 pm #38119
Leif
Hello Mark

I found Terana caerula on a fallen deciduous branch on Witley Common a few years back, one of the easy crusts to ID. It is spectacular as you know.
April 15, 2016 at 12:00 pm #38120
Steve
Hi Mark,

I looked up “irpicoid meaning” on Google and it doesn’t give any immediate answer – Wikipedia has no article. Oxford Dictionary gives “No exact match found for “irpicoid” in British & World English”.

So here is the Fungi of Switzerland definition: “irpicoid: having flattened, slit teeth which can be fused at the base”.

The recognition of “irpicoid ” features on a crust-like fungus is not straightforward. They’re not just found in Irpex.

In “Poroid Fungi of Europe” by Ryvarden and Melo (2014) the change in pore-like to teeth-like surface in some poroid species is described: “With age the pore mouths (dissepiments) in some species may be incised or become dentate as they develop at different rates, In such cases it is normally easy to observe that the basal parts of the tubes are coherent and that we are confronted with a polypore and not a true hydnoid species”.

A case in point is the very common Split Porecrust – Scizopora paradoxa. In Fungi of Switzerland the surface is described as “pores angular, labyrinthine-lacerated, to irregularly denticulate or plate-like, on vertical surfaces knotlike or stepped and pores lacerated to almost irpicoid”. Which is very complex! They note that this species is “extremely variable in appearance. We have made collections with a fine-pored surface to a surface with subdivided pores like Irpex”. The spores and the capitate hyphal ends on microscopy are a very good indication that it’s Schizopora.

I always try to get a spore deposit from any fungus. With one like yours I would put it in on a microscope slide a small plastic box, with a wet wadge of tissue paper on top, leave it overnight and see if there is a deposit (let the condensed water dry off first). Then you must look at the spores under a microscope (even a very cheap one will show the shape and size). If there are no spores I would just record it as a sterile white crust with irpicoid pores – don’t just ignore it because it is a “find”. But I wouldn’t waste much time trying to identify it.

I’ve been looking at “crusts” for some years now. A few weeks ago we held a “crusts on logs” walk, and from about 30 finds, nine were new to the wood. They are a lot of work and as you can see from the responses to my posts on UK Fungi, there don’t seem to be many people studying them. Good luck!

Steve
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