Found this one on a spruce log, very close to a stream at about 9000 ft asl, among spruce, in the southern Rocky Mountains. It is quite flexible and rubbery. Sarcosoma latahensis is my best guess. I can find no photos of it on the internets. Can someone confirm/deny this?
i found at least one thing that looked a bit similar to yours, different in color though. i hope it helps http://www.evergreen.edu/mushrooms/mtsm/s26.htm
>>i found at least one thing that looked a bit similar to yours, different in color though. It is indeed a different color, but more importantly perhaps, it looks as though it is growing on soil, not wood.
sorry it wasnt more helpful, im not an expert, just trying to help and maybe learn a bit in the process.
I don't think there's a need to apologize for trying to be helpful when no harm is done. Others who read the thread will know they need to note the substrate a particular fungus or lichen is growing on.
Saw a photo in "Mushrooms Demystified" - certainly resembles it. Do you have a sense of the size of the fungus?
I have the book as well and in fact its words are what my guess is based on. In the entry for Sarcosoma mexicana, it says that "S. latahensis is a similar but slighly smaller (2-7.5 cm broad), purple-brown to black species that is common under western conifers, particular at higher elevations", thus describing my fungus exactly. So that's "necessary" but I don't know if it is "sufficient"...and, oh, my bad for not including a size reference in the photo.
I suggest you send this to George Barron, whose mushroom book I use for identification. I met him several years ago at the University of Guelph. I am sure he would be most interested. Here is the URL. http://www.uoguelph.ca/~gbarron/index.htm Durgan.
Sarcosoma latahensis, as described in my Mushrooms of Idaho and the Pacific Northwest Vol 1: Discomycetes. I find this book works well for CO, as well. "texture gelatinous at first, becoming less so at maturity, up to 4 cm wide; hymenium purple black to black, undulate; exterior grayish to black". Was your gelatinous at all? The other problem is this "Habitat-Distribution: On wood, litter and soil often near snowbanks, in coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest, spring." The problem is, of course, that it is well beyond spring. All the other Sarcosoma species are gelatinous (to some degree) as well. What about the Western Urnula, Neournula pouchetti? This has a pale purple brown exterior, a 1 cm wide stipe which is immersed in the substrate, and has a cap that is 3 cm wide. Spring & Summer on cedar duff. And thats it for the additional information i found ...
Thanks for your work. >>Was your gelatinous at all? Yes, though rubbery might be more accurate word The N. pouchetti pictured here: http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/mycology/survey/images/page9.html doesn't look very flexible. >>spring I don't know about the equivalence of the PNW to the mountain west. I could argue that the location of this plant was still experiencing spring like conditions. It was very dark (steep banks and tree shade) and quite chilly, just a few feet away from the stream. Photo very near the site attached. The stream is in between the rocks and the spruce. Also, as you know, moisture doesn't arrive in the mountain west until mid-July, possibly delaying what are spring like conditions in the PNW until then. I don't mean to be contrary...just thinking out loud. I've sent emails to the Colorado Myco Society asking them about this id (referring to this thread) and also to G. Barron listed above, maybe they can illuminate. Do you know anybody at the CMS? btw, the largest cup in the first photo is ~4 cm
If you think yours was previously gelatinous then I think you have the right ID. I'm in CMS. If you emailed the thread to someone in the club, it will take a little while for it to get to the right person (i.e. someone who might know).
There is a photo of Sarcosoma latahensis here: http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/mycology/survey/images/p16.html#
I sent an email to George Barron, as suggested by Durgan, but he replied that it is a western species and so he has never seen it. He suggested contacting Scott Redhead at CEF in Ottawa.
I received the following in an email from Scott Redhead: " That does not look like Sarcosoma latahensis. That species has a gelatinized tissue making it fairly tough. Your fungus appears to be a more brittle texture to judge from the splits. It is perhaps Helvella leucomelaena, H. queletii, or a Peziza species. The person who would likely know is Dr. Nancy Weber ... She's written several books on such large Ascomycetes and lives in the westen USA. "
