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I just started to hear the periodical cicada calls in the woods yesterday, but they either seemed to distant or fragmented for me to pinpoint them. I was feeling really depressed that I might not get to even seen an individual (at least on our land). This area was previously blasted/strip-mined (in the 1970s/80s I think), so I wasn't sure how much ecological damage had been done.

I decided to go for a short walk this morning to see if I could pinpoint the calls again. Once again, they seemed too distant for me to find anything. I walked back towards the camper, defeated, eyes to the ground. And then I noticed this little derpy guy looking right up at me!

I'm thrilled to have met this cutie!

I have no idea which species it is. The suggestions were for Riley's, Decula, or Cassin's. Riley's seems most likely, then Cassin's, followed by Decula. Maybe it isn't possible to tell definitively from just a picture.

Found by Shellie Moubray while we were looking for morels: 10 to 15 growing in damp soil and leaf litter; not seen elsewhere. Cap smooth, radially fibrillose, hygrophanous, with slight depression in center; heavily pigmented concolorus flesh in cap and gills turning black on drying, margin dark brown /black. Gills dull orange matching cap and forked with heavy bloom of white spores, blunt, attached to stem. Structures between and at base of gills highly figured.

Stem translucent dull red-orange brown quickly becoming dull, hollow, basal mycelium white. KOH on cap 4 hours later – greenish. No record of a specimen of this species in MycoPortal.

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Image #1: Radially fibrillose cap dusted with tree pollen
Image #2: cap has insect or slug damage
Image #3: Gills forked, gills forked, gills forked, hooray!
Image #4: with KOH 4 hours later
Image #5: Caps already much blacker
Image #6: Caps already much blacker
Image #7: Spores rough, In water from spore print
Image #8: In water from spore print
Image #9: In water from spore print
Image #10: In cotton blue
Image #11: In cotton blue
Image #12: Congo Red
Image #13: Congo Red
Image #14: Basidium in Congo Red
Image #15: Cystidia in Congo Red
Image #16: Typical layer of piliepelis melzers /congo red
Image #17: Typical layer of piliepelis in melzers with color correction to gray
Image #18: Horizon may be section through piliepelis, not sure
Image #19: Typical basidia with tall sterigma in melzers
Image #20: Face of gill in melzers
Image #21: spores in melzers
Image #22: spores in melzers
Image #23: piliepelis is heavily pigmented; in melzers

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Originally posted to Mushroom Observer on Apr. 15, 2017.

Additional notes for sequences (bases on the right):

ITS1: Sequenced by the Matheny Lab

Additional sequences:

ITS2: Sequenced by the Matheny Lab
TTTTTTTTGKTTTTTTTGGTGCTTGGATTTTGGAGTGCTGCTGACGTTTCTGTTCAGCTTCTCTTAAAAGCCTTAGCTTCTCTTTCAAGGGGGGGTCACCTTTGGTTTGATATGACTTATCGAAACTTTGGGGTYAACCTCTGATTCTAGCTGCCAAAGACAAAACTCGTTGCATTTTTGACCTCAAAA

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Originally posted to Mushroom Observer on Jun. 29, 2020.

Growing from soil on a vertical bank amongst moss and appearing to grow from pine needles that have fallen and gotten caught on the vertical surface but also seems to be attached to the moss as well? Surfaces are matte to the touch, not sticky. Specimens are damp in the photos from rain today. Measurements of collected specimens (5) 7-15 x 5-11mm
On cross section, interior is composed of a clear gelatinous material.

Under magnification it is apparent that these fungi are attached to the moss and debris with what appears to be sticky hairs and appear to be hyphae under higher magnification. (Photos 11-13 and 19-20)

Asci and spores are hyaline and inamyloid. Asci 8 spored, cylindric, and measure 160-180μm x 10μm
Spores are globose with no ornamentation, cell wall ~1μm thick, interior of the spores appear granulated.
8-9 (10) x 8.2 (10) μm Q=1 N= 30 Me=8.2 x 8.2μm Qe= 1
Paraphyses are filiform.

Growing at the very base of an extremely decayed standing dead tree in mixed wood forest. Hymenium only slightly discolors yellow upon handling/scoring. Odor is earthy.

Hatched fungus gnats are in vials 1 and 2.