Fungi on nettles
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For anyone wanting to dip a toe into the somewhat daunting world of microfungi this substrate is a good place to start. You don’t need to be a botanist to recognise the plant, and the microfungi which occur on it cover a good range of the fungal world – at least of ascomycetes. I have just done a check on my records on dead nettle stems (almost exactly 500, and I could easily have made many more if I hadn’t been concentrating elsewhere) and they cover 10 ascomycete orders, two basidiomycete ones, with a single record of Rhopalomyces magnusin the zygomycetes. One does need a microscope, and ideally also a dissecting ‘scope as well. But a simple means of getting sufficient magnification and keeping ones hands free could be something like this (though I have never tried one)
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/magnifiers/1368096/?cm_mmc=UK-PLA-DS3A-_-google-_-CSS_UK_EN_Test_%26_Measurement_Whoop-_-Magnifiers_Whoop-_-1368096&matchtype=&pla-305304661131&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIveH2oPnN7wIVAr_tCh3kLAZSEAQYBSABEgKxCPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds ” class=”bbcode_url”> https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/magnifiers/1368096/?cm_mmc=UK-PLA-DS3A-_-google-_-CSS_UK_EN_Test_%26_Measurement_Whoop-_-Magnifiers_Whoop-_-1368096&matchtype=&pla-305304661131&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIveH2oPnN7wIVAr_tCh3kLAZSEAQYBSABEgKxCPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds I can offer a PDF of the relevant pages of
Ellis & Ellis I– I knew Martin & Pam and don’t think they’d object, and anyway hopefully this might encourage you to buy that splendid book – if you don’t have it already! OK for starters, something I will guarantee you will almost immediately find, particularly on dead stem-bases in reasonably damp conditions – looking like mini Staffordshire pottery kilns, and in good condition at this time of year:
Leptosphaeria acuta: 
[attachment=0]Leptosphaeria acuta 0b.jpg[/attachment] Chris
Fay Newbery wrote:
Thanks for starting off this topic, Chris. I spent a while looking at nettle stems last year and will enjoy looking again. Isn’t there a second species of Leptosphaeria that can be found on nettle stems? How easy is it to tell the difference between them?
Hi FayYes,
Leptosphaeria doliolumdoes occur on dead nettle stems.I have just checked the Yorkshire records and the majority are indeed on Urtica dioica, the others are almost exclusively on the dead stems of various umbellifers. Possibly the bias is down to being confident about recognising the host, or because nettle is a rich source of various fungi and therefore looked at more often. L. doliolumdiffers in the shape of the perithecia – flatter and with concentric ridges, and totally different spores (image 1252 – from Microfungi on Land Plants): 
[attachment=0]L_doliolum.jpg[/attachment]
An additional point of interest is the fungus in image 1253, which growsinsidethe perithecia of L. doliolum. It’s a fungus I have never come across, but I’ll make a special effort in future . . . Chris
Fay Newbery wrote:
Did you mean 1253, Chris? Didymosphaeria conoidea? That would be an interesting find.Have found both Leptosphaeria acuta and L. doliolum on nettle stems today. The later was only at the extreme base of the stem – that short section which is often more prostrate. Do you know if this a general trend?
As Captain Mainwaring would say in “Dad’s Army” – “I was wondering how long it would take you to spot that”
With regard to position on stem I honestly don’t know – I’ll keep an eye out . . .
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