During a recent visit to a site in the northern part of Israel (Upper Galilee, with a relatively humid and "european climate") I found what is shown in the attached photograph, of an epiphytic moss (Orthotrichum diaphanum) associated with some kind of a fungi. Bryologists suspect ther are cases of symbiosis between mosses and fungi and perhaps this photo demonstrates this phenomenon. I would be grateful if anyone can identify the fungus, at least by genus and family. Thank you very much i for your consideration.
Hi @Dmel Interesting- Would you be able to extract one in order to 1. see the base, and to 2. confirm attachment to the bark, and 3. Find out if soft, firm or hard? Thanks:-)
I am sorry, Frog. I did not collect this specimen. The only photo I have is the one attached above... Thank you for attending to my inquiry. Any possibilities? At least the higher taxonomic rank - I am not familiar with fungi at all, so any narowwing towards the taxon would help (for me its a fungus, but does it look like an ascomycete or other?)
Hello @Dmel Based on what is known so far, I would not discount the possibility of this being plant-structure, something erumping from the bark itself. If it were fungal, you could look at some of the birds nest fungi as possibilities. I do know a fair number of the fungal bryophyte associates, and so far this does not appear to be in that group ... but of course I can't claim to know all of them. I suspect more of a tree association than a moss association here. Sorry to not be more specific ... more info would be needed. However, there is always the possibility that this is familiar to someone. And if you know what kind of tree this is, perhaps consulting one of the plant forums around growths might be fruitful. If it was at the base of an alder for example, some possibilities come to mind. Hope that is helpful a bit :-)
