Hallo everyone,
I've stumbled across something I've never seen before in my local woods. It's a hand-size fleshy seastar shape, with five tapering fingers in a very forbidding dark red, with black spots. It's growing up from under an old rotting log in a very shady spot, with makes me think it's a fungus. It does however have a central funnel thingey (sorry, I've got no botany vocabulary), something like you would see on a carnivorous plant, which makes it look like a very weird, underworldly flower. It's giving me a medieval, sorcerous feeling when I look at it, like it should be named Devil's Claw or something like that.
Any takers? I've spent the past 30 minutes looking at all fungus websites with picture ID lists I could find, but no match.
Very curious,
Susanne Press
(lurking in Germany)
sapress123@aol.com
Welcome Susan, but I can't help you there.
susan
Susanne wrote:
Sounds like some variation of the Rosy Earthstar (Geastrum rufescens ),
though they are usually much lighter in color.
Like the ones here:
http://www.pilzepilze.de/piga/zeige.htm?name=geastrum_rufescens
http://www.swefungi.se/PAGES_DH/Geastrum_rufescens.html
In a message dated 7/5/04 1:59:38 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
christie@PSKNET.COM writes:
<< I've spent the past 30 minutes looking at all fungus
> websites with picture ID lists I could find, but no match. >>
Have you searched the carnivorous plants databases? That's what it sounds
like to me.
Mary Ann
Pix of aseroa rubra here http://www.allaboutmushrooms.com/Phallales.htm
Family: Clathraceae
Can be found on ground or on wood. Some have a stems which branch out
to form arms at the top, (star fish like structure) or with just a swollen
tip, these are often brightly coloured. Others are without stems but form a
lattice like structure. They are foul smelling and carry their spores within
a layer of slime coating the inner sides of the arms or lattice structure.
Aseroa rubra (Flower fungus)
Found at the Manawatu Gorge Track on April 8th, 2001. Quite an
exciting foray for me, a few minutes after I found this mushroom I also
found the amazing Hericium clathroides.
This mushroom was growing among the dead fibers in the broken edge of
a tree branch. All that was visible was the orange arms.
You will normally smell this fungus before you see it. It stinks!!
Notice how the arms are split in two. The volva or cup is quite clear
at the base of the stem which is white and hollow. Eight bright orange arms
extend above it.
In the centre, the spores line up in a circle in the form of a
horrible looking brown slime below which there is just a hollow cavity!!
Edibility: NO!!!! Even if it was, the smell would turn away a skunk!!
more pix http://www.thenewzealandsite.com/photo/718/
plant,
> which makes it look like a very weird, underworldly flower. It's
giving
then there's this one, been found in South Carolina
http://www.bluewillowpages.com/mushroomexpert/aseroe_rubra.html
Aser??e rubra
[ Basidiomycetes > Phallales > Phallaceae > Aser??e . . . ]
by Tim Geho
Aser??e rubra is a member of the stinkhorn family. Like the other stinkhorns
it grows from an egglike structure that is covered with a universal veil. It
has several common names, such as "Starfish Stinkhorn" and "Sea Anemone
Fungus." Though Aser??e rubra is not often described in North American
mycological texts, I have found it in several areas of South Carolina,
including Charleston and Columbia. It is not clear if this fungus has always
been present or has been introduced through trade with other parts of the
world where it is commonly found. It is the most common stinkhorn in the
Hawaiian Islands, and is widespread throughout the south Pacific.
Edibility is not known for Aser??e rubra; I do not recommend experimenting.
Description:
Habitat: Found in areas that have been mulched with woodchips or where there
is a natural or introduced supply of organic material or leaf debris; in
flower beds, lawns, or other cultivated areas; sometimes on rotting stumps;
found in the Hawaiian Islands, Africa, Oceana, and many other tropical
locations. I have found it in several South Carolina locations.
Fruiting Body: When young an egglike structure; when mature, with a stem up
to 8cm long that becomes somewhat flattened and develops 6-10 arms, each one
branching into 2 thin tentacles; with an olive to brown spore mass at the
base of each arm, surrounding the central disk; white to orange, reddish
orange, or reddish.
Smell: When mature very strong, reminiscent of rotting meat.
Spore Print: White.
Microscopic Features: Spores 5.5-6.5 x 2-3 ??; cylindrical; smooth;
inamyloid.
LaBillardiere: Fries, 1822. (Lincoff, 1981; Arora, 1986; Desjardin, 1996;
Arnold, 2002.)
Spore dispersal is by insects, snails, and slugs that are attracted to the
smell of the spore mass; subsequently some of the spore mass sticks to them
and is spread to new areas.
Aser??e rubra is similar in appearance to Clathrus archeri, which has arms
that do not split into thin tentacles; it is widely distributed in North
America, but rare. Arora (1986) reports it from California.
Further Online Information:
Aser??e rubra at Agaricales of the Hawaiian Islands
Aser??e rubra at Fungimap
plant,
> which makes it look like a very weird, underworldly flower. It's
giving
It seems to me the issue is whether any carnivores of that description live
in Germany. Isn't that where you are? AOL managers are geographically
challenged, to put the best face on it.
Margaret L
Gardening in Intermountain West and Handicapped gardening
http://www.margaretlauterbach.com
Thank you Susan. To be perfectly honest, I'm not all that new here. I've been lurking for simply years and pop out now and again to ask a question. The sheer volume of this list is what keeps me from being a regular contributor (questioner, more like). I'm always so behind that I worry about de-lurking to ask a question that you've all just discussed for the past week. It also is the reason for my tardy responses!
Cheers,
Susanne Press
sapress123@aol.com
Gardening Newbie in Germany
> Have you searched the carnivorous plants databases? That's >what it sounds
> like to me.
> Mary Ann
It does, doesn't it? I have a modest collection of carnivores on my windowsill and two books on the subject, and I have looked through those without any luck. But I guess that that's not too surprising. While it would be neat to imagine something like that growing here, how probable is it that a hand-size carnivore could make it in USDA Zone 7/8???
Cheers,
Susanne Press
sapress123@aol.com
Ada Davis wrote:
> Susanne wrote:
> I've stumbled across something I've never seen before in my local
> woods. It's a hand-size fleshy seastar shape, with five tapering
fingers
> in a very forbidding dark red, with black spots. It's growing up from
> under an old rotting log in a very shady spot, with makes me think
it's a
> fungus. It does however have a central funnel thingey (sorry, I've
> got no
> botany vocabulary), something like you would see on a carnivorous plant,
> which makes it look like a very weird, underworldly flower. It's giving
> me a medieval, sorcerous feeling when I look at it, like it should be
> named Devil's Claw or something like that.
> Sounds like some variation of the Rosy Earthstar (Geastrum rufescens ),
> though they are usually much lighter in color.
Having looked at the earthstar pictures I feel my tentative
identification of Aseroa rubra is much more like Susanne's description,
This belongs to a quite different family (the Stinkhorns) and from its
picture in my local reference book looks very like a sea anemone
including a funnel shaped opening between the arms. It is dark red in
colour and when it first emerges is covered with dark spots which are
actually a sort of slime with a dung-like smell designed to attract
flies which eat it (horrid things) and in doing so also carry away and
distribute the spores which are produced around the mouth of the funnel.
(revolting if not actually sinister)
The only snag about this otherwise perfect{!!) identification seems to
be it belongs to a mainly tropical and warm climate group and the only
species I can turn up seems to be confined to Australasia (That is
Australia and NZ) and Haiwaii!
Back to square 1 I fear.
If anybody is interested though I can post them a copy of this picture.
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ. Pictures of our garden at:-
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cherie1/Garden/TonyandMoira/index.htm
NEW PICTURES ADDED 4/Feb/2004
I was always more interested in "edible and choice" fungi than the colorful
and weird, but I read an article years ago that air sampling at 15,000 feet
had discovered numerous spores of Morchella (morels). I'd be surprised if
other fungi weren't represented at that altitude as well. Once up, it's a
comparatively simple matter to wait until Europe appears to drop and grow,
isn't it?
Margaret L
Gardening in Intermountain West and Handicapped gardening
http://www.margaretlauterbach.com
Something learned, something gained, Suzanne
> Thanks for being curious with me,
> Susanne in Germany
> sapress123@aol.com
> still slightly disappointed that the mystery creature is a fungus and not
a carnivore.
While none of the pictures look exactly like what I have in "my" little woods, I think Moira and Amy have found the right family. My mytery creature must be a type of stinkhorn. It grows from an egg-like structure (as Mr. Tim Geho says in the link Amy sent) and the description is nearly spot-on, except for the branching of the arms. My mystery creature definitely has tendrils, but no branching. Weirdly, I don't smell a thing, but I'm allergic-ly challenged at the moment, so that might explain it.
Since I last wrote, I have found two more mystery creature candidates "blooming". One is on the same log as the original that started this whole conversation. I had noticed the egg-like structure previously, but assumed it was another kind of mushroom. But no, there it was, fully formed overnight (I walk my dogs by the spot morning and evening) and I rushed inside for my camera. Good thing too because this morning, a scant 24 hours later, it's already showing a good bit of wear and tear.
If anyone is really interested, I can send you the pdf. I definitely will show it to the Frankfurt Botanical Garden people next weekend.
Thanks for being curious with me,
Susanne in Germany
sapress123@aol.com
still slightly disappointed that the mystery creature is a fungus and not a carnivore.
From all the discusson whih has gone on Aseroe rubra still seems the
best match for Susanne's description. It is a great pity something
(?body) had destroyed it when she went back, as I waa going to ask
whether it seemed to be growing out of an egg-shped body at the base. I
think this would have clinched the identification.
However, the big question still remains as to however it could have got
into Germany, when its nearest recorded occurrence so far seems to have
been in Carolina, the whole width of the Atlantic away, and moreover all
the countries reporting it so far have been ones with a definitely
warmer clinate.
Very intriguing, I am sure Susanne we would all be interested to hear if
you should ever find another one and especially if you could take a
picture of it..
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ. Pictures of our garden at:-
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cherie1/Garden/TonyandMoira/index.htm
NEW PICTURES ADDED 4/Feb/2004
Susanne Press wrote:
> While none of the pictures look exactly like what I have in "my"
> little woods, I think Moira and Amy have found the right family. My
> mytery creature must be a type of stinkhorn. It grows from an
> egg-like structure (as Mr. Tim Geho says in the link Amy sent) and
> the description is nearly spot-on, except for the branching of the
> arms. My mystery creature definitely has tendrils, but no branching.
> Weirdly, I don't smell a thing, but I'm allergic-ly challenged at the
> moment, so that might explain it.
> Since I last wrote, I have found two more mystery creature candidates
> "blooming". One is on the same log as the original that started this
> whole conversation. I had noticed the egg-like structure previously,
> but assumed it was another kind of mushroom. But no, there it was,
> fully formed overnight (I walk my dogs by the spot morning and
> evening) and I rushed inside for my camera. Good thing too because
> this morning, a scant 24 hours later, it's already showing a good bit
> of wear and tear.
> If anyone is really interested, I can send you the pdf. I definitely
> will show it to the Frankfurt Botanical Garden people next weekend.
> Thanks for being curious with me, Susanne in Germany
> sapress123@aol.com still slightly disappointed that the mystery
> creature is a fungus and not a carnivore.
Hi Susanne
I think it must be quite a variable species, as even the two pics in my
book differ in detail, particularly the number of arms and whether they
are forked or plain. They do generally agree though in the funnel shape
and the colour and certainly the "egg" from which they emerge is
apparently diagnostic of the Stinkhorn group..
And, yes please, I would really like to see your photo.
The don't seem to last long do they? but this is very typical of fungi,
whose fruit bodies are not looking for fertilization, but only to
disperse fully-formed spores. Once the spore-containing black slime has
been carried off by flies Stinkhorn fructifications have no further need
to survive. These _are_ no more than spore-dispersal organs anyway. The
mycelium, the main body of the fungus, remains safely tucked up in the
decaying wood below ground level.
I know you feel fungi to be strange and mysterious; well, something
which makes them more than a bit special is their position in the
natural realm. Modern taxonomists have come to the conclusion they are
actually neither plants nor animals, but in a category of comparable
importance entirely on their own (even if for convenience we do still
tend to think of them as weird plants.) So the Biosphere apparently
comprises three major kingdoms -Animals, Plants and Fungi. (Bacteria and
Actinomycetes by the way are still considered to be plants).
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ. Pictures of our garden at:-
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cherie1/Garden/TonyandMoira/index.htm
NEW PICTURES ADDED 4/Feb/2004
Margaret Lauterbach wrote:
Margaret
This certainy seems like a possible answer to me, if morels can do it,
why not Stinkhorns likewise?
Thanks for this information
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ. Pictures of our garden at:-
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cherie1/Garden/TonyandMoira/index.htm
NEW PICTURES ADDED 4/Feb/2004
