Reticularia lycoperdon

[mary]

my old favourite Reticularia lycoperdon, a nice fresh one on a birch stump,
reticularia lycoperdon 4.jpgreticularia lycoperdon 2.jpg

[mary]

i passed this old and rotting birch stump last evening on our dog walk, and thought that the Reticularia lycoperdon had not appeared this year, as its been on this same stump for 2/3 years now,
but passing again this morning, there it was ! and was amazed how it had appeared and put on so much growth overnight !

Reticularia lycoperdon 1.JPGReticularia lycoperdon 2.JPGReticularia lycoperdon 3.JPG

[mary]

i passed the stump again this morning, and another overnight change, its already into the next stage of it cycle !
another couple of days and it will be just a brown smudge at this rate !

Reticularia lycoperdon 1.JPGReticularia lycoperdon 2.JPGReticularia lycoperdon 3.JPGReticularia lycoperdon 4.JPG

[mary]

not much change in it this morning,
Reticularia lycoperdon 1.JPGReticularia lycoperdon 2.JPG

[mary]

from this morning visit, a little more of the silvery 'skin' has gone, but otherwise no much change in it
Reticularia lycoperdon 1.JPGReticularia lycoperdon 3.JPG

[mary]

they have lost all of the silvery skin this morning leaving the brown spore mass exposed.
you can see the last remnants of the sin on the tree trunk just to the left of it.

Reticularia lycoperdon 1.JPGReticularia lycoperdon 2.JPG

[mary]

after yesterdays heavy rain and hailstones we got here, i fully expected this to have been washed away completely !
but its still there and looking none the worse for the battering it must have undergone

Reticularia lycoperdon 1.JPGReticularia lycoperdon 2.JPG

[ashgale]

i'm surprised they survived the hailstones to Mary !
as they battered one of the Acers really hard, and the ground is littered with leaves and flowers from it !
and with the Reticularia being very powdery and fragile, its amazing its still there,

[mary]

here it is today, nearing its final stage,
(pics are a bit blurry as it was raining steadily, and both me, the dog and the camera were getting a real soaking, so i rushed taking the pics)
Reticularia lycoperdon 1.JPGReticularia lycoperdon 2.JPG

[forager]

this is making a nice pictorial record of the lifespan on the fungi Mary
(i know what you mean about trying to get photos in the rain, as i had the same problem today with some St Georges mushrooms i found today )