המועדפים של maricel-patino

Edge of rural road. Single plant. It took me a while to understand that those odd structures were the seeds! It wasn't easy to take a photo to reveal their shape so I tried few times. What a beauty this type of seed is.

On humus made of broken down/decomposed water hyacinth/Eichhornia crassipes. The soil looks dark and smells earthy. The hyacinth has been discarded here many times previously. Weeds grow vigorously here. Side of Old Mondego River. There were two bunches of these gilled powdery mushroom. The first one had 30 units in caespitose form. The other one had six units in another spot. The smell of cap is close to almost dry cow patty. Very sharp and disgusting smell.

Sporisorium reilianum f.sp. zeae attacks the inflorescence. Side of Old Mondego River. Several plants at the edge of the field were contaminated. The bigger spores correspond to Ustilago maiz which attacks the kernels. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/182538247

On lawn that got wet by rain! Otherwise it is always so dry. Smells horrible like sweet mushroom mixed with cumin. Slightly sticky to touch, cap and stipe. I tried to break the stem by bending it but I was unsuccessful; only when I twisted it broke. After a minute, the stem released a sweet mushroom smell BUT the cap was still having a stinky disgusting smell. The unpleasant smell and the bigger size of spores make the ID lean towards M. collinus BUT the basidia are big: 42- 46.8 um long. I made a second preparation to be sure about the size of the basidia. I saw odd and scattered forms again looking like cystidia. Spore print was white. Stipe is full.

On Dittrichia viscosa. Leaves are sticky to touch; they have some nipple-like glands on them. Rust was inclosed in structures that looked like bags (of orange thick paint)and they burst to expose the spores.

Outside an abandoned property. By chance, after collecting a leaf to study its mildew, it exuded orange latex! Fruits exploded as they were touched. Another cool fact about this plant is the seeds which have a fleshy structure attached to them which I found out is called elaiosome and apparently ants take them to their nest to feed their larvae helping to spread the plants somewhere else.

On Foeniculum vulgare, side of rural road along the Mondego River. Explanation for first photo in observation. The stems have black dots(2), several per mm. Eventually, the dots become covered with a white layer which is made by the copious amount of conidia produced(1). Conidia are hyaline but the fruitbody is brown, and it seems a bit immerse on epidermis.

Middle of rural road. Four plants were growing within a small spot; subject to being stepped on by vehicles. Some were a bit mutilated but managed to bloom. By chance, I smelled a flower and oh, what a great fragrance it had. They were spotted early in the morning and withered around an hour and a half later.

Diplocarpon mespili also called Entomosporium m. because the conidium resembles an insect. Conidia are made of cells arranged symmetrically. Conidia consist of a larger basal cell, an upper cell, and 2 or more smaller, lateral, hyaline cells that form a cross pattern. The apical cell is globose with an obtuse apex; the basal cell is short cylindrical with a truncate base; and the lateral cells are globose. Apical and lateral cells each have a single, cellular, unbranched, flexuous appendage. On Cydonia oblonga (quince). Backyard.

Wild area. There was a small swampy area where many of these trees were growing. There are plenty of 'knees' in the area. They seem to be related to the trees. Some 'knees' are growing directly at the base of the trees; some are growing from their roots and some others are growing in the water. Some seem very old, perhaps one foot and a half tall(around 40 cms). There is a small brook running through this area. The friend who took me there said that there is a legend saying that there was an American forest man who brought these trees and planted them here. Only this spot has these trees. I was reading a book Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs page 394 and it says there that 'knees' generally develop around trees that grow in or near water. Wikipedia: "The bald cypress is hardy and can be planted in hardiness zones 4 through 10 in the US.[9] The species is a popular ornamental tree that is cultivated for its light, feathery foliage and orangey brown to dull red autumnal color. In cultivation it thrives on a wide range of soils, including well-drained sites where it would not grow naturally because juvenile seedlings cannot compete with other vegetation. Cultivation is successful far north of its native range, even to southern Canada. It is also commonly planted in Europe, Asia, and other temperate and subtropical locales. It does, however, require hot summers for good growth."

Cap 1.8 cm; stipe 6.7 cm. Sticky cap and stipe to touch. Stipe has exerted cystidia and seems hollow and sturdy; it enlarges towards base which is attached to dead grass. Cap is umbonate and striate. No veils of any kind were seen. Interesting to notice that the gills, adnate, are wavy towards the margin but straight towards the stipe. Gills are spaced. Single. Although spores were seen on the gills when taken sample, I was unable to see a mature basidium. The contrast between the color of the fungus and the color of its spores is outstanding. The real color is a pale lemon-yellow tone. Lawn.

On sediments brought from a canal and exposed on land. Biggest sphere was 1.5 mm. Some are white. Primordia were observed and they have roots-like to attach to sediment. Lots of green small cells were on the surface of the mature cells. Primordia were observed and they have roots-like to attach to sediment.

On Hedera helix. Side of rural road. Wikipedia: The light, golden-brown colour of the conidia, and their tendency to taper into long beaks, distinguish A. tenuissima from similar species notably A. alternata which produces dark brown conidia with short beaks.

Found on a sample obtained from canal algae. The creature has one flagella on top of body, near eye spot; the flagella moved really fast in spiral movements. It has a short tail-like structure at distal end.

Found in substratum of a carnivorous plant Sarracenia sp. There were several organisms present in the sample. Only the orange stigma was spotted inside the body. No flagellum was seen. Body stretches to a shape with narrow apical ends, and contracts almost to a green fig-like shape but always has a protruding tip even in resting position. The creature was 61 um long when fully stretched.

Statoblast, winter form of Pectinatella magnifica. 1 mm in diameter without counting the hooks. It has lost its floating coat around the hooks. It is made up of two discs that come apart when pulled. Each disc is made of brown cells. There is a narrow strip surrounding the edge of margin. Canal.

Alga forms reticulation. Very fragile. It breaks very easily. Found by chance while scoping a statoblast from Pectinatella magnifica where it was tangled in its hooked arms. You can vaguely see it in last photo. Canal.