The heavy mist made conventional bird watching impossible this morning, but there were lots of compensations as I listened as carefully as I could for birdsong.
Monty me several very pleasant dogs on the walk down to the East Lock, where we also ran into Tom and his Labrador, to Monty's great delight.
I edged out towards my vantage point at the first pit and looked for dragonfly cast skins (exuviae) on the right hand posts along the first causeway - absolutely none to be found. I may have cleared some of them a few months ago, but I wonder how long they last on such posts - do they get washed off?
As the mist was showing no sign of dispersing I put Monty on the lead and headed back to the Medway through the sheep field, trying to take care not to spook the animals. I got to the river having gradually shifted the rather large and dignified sheep off my path, and away from a couple of their favourite salt licks.
On the way back along the banks Medway the sun suddenly broke through, so I reconsidered, and changed course to return to the Gravel Pits. As I tacked diagonally South across Poor's Meadow I came to the southern margin of the field and into the shaw along the banks of the stream. Here I looked at a number of fungi, including this moderately small sized one, several of which were found on a horizontal rotting trunk, most likely an Ash, Fraxinus excelsior.
Its worth looking closely at the detail of the cap while its still attached to the trunk and before I touched it. Fairly obvious and apparent was the clearer white of the edge of the cap. It was this that first led me towards a species of Crepidotus, as this last feature was clear in the photograph of Crepidotis mollis (Schaeff.) Staude in Roger Phillips, and on several photos on the web. However there is a difficulty with this most apparently likely species, which is described as an ochre brown, with a grey-brown margin, striate (do they just mean on the margin?), gelatinous, although drying near-white. Although the cap is very white, it does perhaps look striate overall, and the fibres appear as a darker network at the left hand side, as if perhaps it was in the process of darkening further.
The same sort of pattern can be seen in the picture below. Somewhat more reassuring, there is a fuzziness dorsally to the point of attachment. This is also seen in many pictures on the internet that are said to be of C. mollis..
However there is another possible issue. Most species in the genus are characterised by having either no stem, or at most a rudimentary one. The only exception to this is C. applanatus, which appears too small and delicate to be a possibility.
In this specific example I would say there is at least a rudimentary stem, as seen here with the cap turned over. The cap has not been moved far - you can see where the stem was attached to the bare wood from which it was growing out. Personally I do now think (I have persuaded myself?) that this attachment is limited enough to be described as rudimentary, but it all depends on the definition you use! And it is beginning to have quite a Crepidotus look about it! Perhaps even an almost light pinkish colour to the gills, as in the Phillips picture, if not the description, which is cinnamon?
Well, to advance, I'm going to have to follow up! I shall put it up for the I-Spot system to tear my ideas to shreds, and I shall also try to return to the site in a couple of days to check the colour, and perhaps collect material that might produce a spore print.
Monty me several very pleasant dogs on the walk down to the East Lock, where we also ran into Tom and his Labrador, to Monty's great delight.
I edged out towards my vantage point at the first pit and looked for dragonfly cast skins (exuviae) on the right hand posts along the first causeway - absolutely none to be found. I may have cleared some of them a few months ago, but I wonder how long they last on such posts - do they get washed off?
As the mist was showing no sign of dispersing I put Monty on the lead and headed back to the Medway through the sheep field, trying to take care not to spook the animals. I got to the river having gradually shifted the rather large and dignified sheep off my path, and away from a couple of their favourite salt licks.
On the way back along the banks Medway the sun suddenly broke through, so I reconsidered, and changed course to return to the Gravel Pits. As I tacked diagonally South across Poor's Meadow I came to the southern margin of the field and into the shaw along the banks of the stream. Here I looked at a number of fungi, including this moderately small sized one, several of which were found on a horizontal rotting trunk, most likely an Ash, Fraxinus excelsior.
Its worth looking closely at the detail of the cap while its still attached to the trunk and before I touched it. Fairly obvious and apparent was the clearer white of the edge of the cap. It was this that first led me towards a species of Crepidotus, as this last feature was clear in the photograph of Crepidotis mollis (Schaeff.) Staude in Roger Phillips, and on several photos on the web. However there is a difficulty with this most apparently likely species, which is described as an ochre brown, with a grey-brown margin, striate (do they just mean on the margin?), gelatinous, although drying near-white. Although the cap is very white, it does perhaps look striate overall, and the fibres appear as a darker network at the left hand side, as if perhaps it was in the process of darkening further.
In this specific example I would say there is at least a rudimentary stem, as seen here with the cap turned over. The cap has not been moved far - you can see where the stem was attached to the bare wood from which it was growing out. Personally I do now think (I have persuaded myself?) that this attachment is limited enough to be described as rudimentary, but it all depends on the definition you use! And it is beginning to have quite a Crepidotus look about it! Perhaps even an almost light pinkish colour to the gills, as in the Phillips picture, if not the description, which is cinnamon?
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