Get a 10x hand lens (preferably with light) and it will get even more fascinating!

Have you ever wanted to know more about preserving plant specimens? Maybe for your own reference, or so you can share plants with experts for identification?

The BSBI is here for you! We have a webinar next week - 28th April, 7pm, completely free!

Book here: www.tickettailor.com/events/botan...

Schriftflechte auf junger Buche. Graphis scripta

Schriftflechte auf Hainbuche. Enterographa hutchinsiae

Geheime Botschaften sind auf die Bäume geschrieben.

Mit Moos überwachsener schwarzer Baumstumpf. Die Silhouette wie eine fantastische Burg.

Moosgrüne Burgen für @krajamine.bsky.social Geister.

Bin den zweiten Tag in nordwestdeutschen Wäldern auf Flechtenexkursion.

Someone told me about a life hack. There are signs with black numbers in red circles on the side of the road and if you don't go faster than that number you don't get fined.

Maybe there is a similar thing in Birmingham?!

A four-panel comic. In panel 1, two people are standing in the forest, wearing backpacks. The red-haired person says "I've never hiked with a naturalist before! I'm excited. I hope I brought enough water." The brown-haired person says "I'm sure you did. Let's go!" In panel 2, the brown-haired person points at various nature features. "Look, a red eft! It's the teenaged form of the Eastern Newt. Ooh, wintergreen! Wanna smell it? I hear a Chestnut-sided Warbler. Glacial till. Rubble of the last ice age!" In panel 3, the naturalist points to more nature items. "This forest seems early successional. Aw, a leafcutter bee with a piece of leaf! Wow, deer poor! Wow, fungi growing out of the deer poop!!" The red-haired person says "Okay, but..." In panel 4, the red-haired person continues, "It's been an hour and we've walked three feet." The brown-haired person exclaims, looking excited, "Three amazing feet!"

Sometimes you make a new comic, and sometimes you redraw an old one because you lost the original high res file 😅

German Book "Pilzkunde"

The German book "Pilzkunde" doesn't even mention Volucrispora.

There is a 2nd and 3rd ed which I don't have here though. I have not much hope to find an argument for the transfer.

It would be nice to see if v Arx did this or Baarn (Translator)

Tolle Bilder! Vielen Dank.

Maybe a T. breve?

Small Tetracladium spore hiding in scum

There was also a very small Tetracladium sp. hiding in the scum. Going in with the 60x gave a whole new level of things to find...

Small spore with body and 3 arms.

Small spore with body and 3 arms.

With matured PVA mounted slides everything is very flat and nothing floats anymore so I could go looking for smaller things.
?Classicula fluitans and a ?Culicidospora (from the gestalt, the sizes do not really match up with both Culicidospora so maybe a strange Classicula?) Both unfamiliar for me.

Lemonniera terrestris spore

Tetracladium marchalianum spore

Neonectria lugdunensis spore.

Some #Aquatichyphomycetes for tonight. Lemonniera terrestris, Tetracladium Marchalianum and Neonectria lugdunensis.

Book cover: Pézizomycètes d'Europe with a macro photo of a small fungus with asci and spores visible

Exciting fungi book news: Ascomycete.org will publish the first volume of a series of books titled Pézizomycètes d'Europe this year.

Edited by Nicolas Van Vooren, with contributions from specialists from several countries #MycoBookClub #FungiFriends

Pflegekräfte haben wegen der hohen beruflichen Belastung den höchsten Krankenstand in Deutschland. „Karenztage“ bedeuten, ihnen bei Krankheit den Lohn zu kürzen, obwohl diese Arbeitsunfähigkeit überproportional durch die Belastung des Berufs entsteht. Das ist schlicht zynisch.

Then I am at awe with the photographic technique. An extremely small subject, shiny!, glossy! though perfectly lit. Way into diffraction land (Aberration you just get due to physics).

Also prone to drying so not much time to photograph and even small changes make focus stacking difficult. wow.

The cover image is absolutely stunning. Are these really asci with spores?!

A conidium of an aquatic hyphomycete still attached to parts of the fungus.

Tetracladium marchalianum, still attached to the conidiophore.
#Aquatichyphomycetes

I made a short video to demonstrate the preparation of a slide with an aquatic hyphomycete sample. Its fast and simple and I can do batches of preparations.

#aquatichyphomycetes #microscopy

Maybe someone is willing to narrate this? I am not good at voice overs.

It exists and is located in a town called Experiment. And I thought we had some strange town names here.

share.google/cHodun9PYmRk...

Here is the source publication.

One thing I have to find out is how much cotton blue I have to add, I just kept adding until it stained enough and forgot to note the amount (and the original author seemed to have the same problem 😅)

Slide tray with multiple labelled slides. Most of them with coverslips and a light blue medium, others with drops of samples currently drying.

My current favourite way of preparing slides of #Aquatichyphomycetes is by mounting in PVA/Glycerol/Lactic acid (with cotton blue) published by F. Schumm 1989. It detaches the preparation from microscopy and gives me the option to view slides again days later (or maybe weeks or months, we'll see).

Photo from the introduction of the book

The book appears to be a translation from a German original (von Arx 1967). Maybe I can track it down and have a look there.

Maybe ze soluzion is in ze German book.

Library card in the back of the book

The book was borrowed from the Georgia Experiment Station only twice.

Both times by Dr. Walker - I. '79 and '85.

I love when old books have a history and I am afraid to ask if the Station still exists today 🫣

Tetracladium marchalianum, spore with long arms and short sac like structures.

Alatospora acuminata. Spore with bent main axis and 2 arms spreading like wings from the centre.

More #Aquatichyphomycetes this evening: Tetracladium marchalianum and Alatospora acuminata.

Several diatoms and one spore with central round body and 4 arms.

Spore with round body and prominent central scar.

Another spore from #Aquatichyphomycetes. I am having troubles narrowing this down. 4 arms from a central globose cell with a prominent scar. Maybe something somehting Porocladium aquaticum?

#Aquatichyphomycetes

Tetrachaetum elegans Tetrachaetum elegans from 61 Kronberg, Germany on March 27, 2026 by Peter Braubach. Arms 105x2,6µm

www.inaturalist.org/observations...

lightly blue stained hyphomycete spore with 4 long slender arms.

Tetrachaetum elegans - from a very saline creek in central hessia; fed by local mineral springs these slender and very elegant spores were quite common in this (foam) sample.

I cannot find any reasoning for the Volucrispora aurantiaca to Tricellula move. Ist just labeled v l. arx comb. nov.

@Fay Hope that helps

Book Spine.

Book page with drawings of fungi.

60. References tricellula.

#MycoBookClub @fayrnhawk.bsky.social The genera of fungi sporulating in pure culture.