Sunday, February 14, 2010

Bird's Nest Fungus, Nidula niveo-tomentosa

I found this odd, 1/4" diameter, fungus growing on a 4-foot diameter log that had been down for a long time - it was covered in Pixie Cup Lichens. In Fall, Bird's Nest Fungi have spores inside the urn shaped fruiting body that resemble eggs in a nest. Unfortunately, it was too late in the season to photograph the spores.


Another empty "nest":


January 14, 2012 update
I finally found a nest with some eggs residing on a 1" diameter dead Elderberry branch:




1 comment:

Eric_B said...

Very cool. This inspires me to slow down and take a closer look at what I've taken to be "ordinary" nature... Maybe I'll find something new and alien like this.