fungus – Page 2 – סלומה

This strange little dude popped up in my garden last night (inland
Eastern Cape, South Africa). Looks like a stinkhorn, but no smell. Found here

Mutinus elegans; we note that the structure of the apex is not (regardless of the gleba presence) differentiated from the rest of the joint; photo by Federico Calledda.

Personal note: They resemble devil horns in pairs!

Fistula hepatica.

Ghost Plant, Monotropa uniflora. Ericaceae family. What an honor to find these rare beauties! They aren’t out in their full glory yet, but they are still breathtaking. These
plants completely lack chlorophyll and cannot do photosynthesis.
Instead, they get their nutrients from the fungi that are attached to
nearby conifers. Tiger Mountain, WA. 6/5/2015.

TIL
that the largest living thing on the face of the Earth is a mushroom
underground in Oregon, estimated to cover over 2,200 acres (890
hectares) and be at least 2,400 years old, possibly older.

via reddit.com

A mushroom with drops of “sweat”.
These drops are secretion of moisture from the mushroom in contradiction
of raindrops. The fenomenon is called “guttation” and happens when a
mushroom, during growth, soaks up a lot of moisture and has to get rid
of the surplus of water. This resulting in the drops, which can have a
special colour because of the characteristics of the mushroom.

Sarcoscypha occidentalis, commonly known as the stalked scarlet cup or the western scarlet cup.

Witch’s heart
Latticed stinkhorn, Clathrus ruber, a saprophyte fungus feeding on decaying woody plant material. Also known as “Coeur de sorcière” (witch’s heart) in France. (Versailles, France)

Sidsel Oba, Norway.

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Entomopathogenics

This hawk moth (most likely a Violet Gliding Hawk Moth (Ambulyx liturata, Sphingidae)) has been parasitized by an Akanthomyces fungus (probably Akanthomyces pistillariiformis), a Cordyceps anamorph peculiar to moths.

After killing the moth, the fungus then totally engulfs and embalms the corpse producing this macabre sight. (An entomopathogenic fungus is a fungus that can act as a parasite of insects and kills or seriously disables them.)

Pu’er, Yunnan, China.

by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr. See more Chinese insects and spiders on my Flickr site HERE

(Source: https://www.flickr.com/)