Thursday 19 November 2009

A bird's nest of a different kind

Several weeks ago we did a plant survey on roadside vegetation near Barwon Downs but as usual we got distracted by insects, birds and fungi. Rosalind found these tiny fungi cups on a very small stick. I photographed them and went back to photographing plants. When we saw the photos on the computer we realised that they were Bird's-nest Fungi (species unknown but possibly Nidula emodensis). If you look carefully at the second photo you can see the peridioles scattered on the wood, presumably by raindrops. I've never seen one before, and would love to see a fresh one. I didn't realise they were so small.


3 comments:

Denis Wilson said...

Hi Boobook
You are right to say that they are surprisingly small - in the flesh. They always look so neat, one assumes they are at least "thimble" size.
I have never seen one growing on wood - usually on soil.
Always fascinating.
Cheers
Denis

Snail said...

Fascinating! There's so much to learn about fungi. (I'm sure I've said that before, but it's always true.)

Gouldiae said...

G'day Boobook,
What delightful looking little things. I'm often fascinated by things in miniature, mosses, lichens, etc.
Gouldiae