Helvella-lacunosa_spore_1M

Description:

Helvella lacunosa Afz. ex Fr.Slate Grey Saddle, Elfin Saddle, DE: Gruben-LorchelSlo.: jamiasti loputarDat.: Nov. 1. 2015Lat.: 46.40878 Long.: 13.70856Code: Bot_925/2015_DSC9731Habitat: alpine valley; extensively grazed pasture with scattered trees; Larix decidua, Betula pendula, Picea abies, Fagus sylvatica dominant trees; among low grasses and mosses under two Larix decidua trees, however also in the reach of the roots of Betula pendula and Picea abies; almost flat terrain; colluvial, calcareous ground; partly sunny; average precipitations ~3.000 mm/year, average temperature 5-7 deg C, elevation 885 m (2.900 feet), alpine phytogeographical region.Substratum: sandy soil.Place: Zadnja Trenta valley, about 50 m upstream of the mountain cottage 'Koa pri izviru Soe', next to access dirt road to Zapodn place, East Julian Alps, Posoje, Slovenia EC. Comments: Fungi in genus Helvella are ascomycete. Their spores grow within 'sacs' called asci and not at the ends of the cells (basidia), of the hymenium (asci bearing surface of fungus) as it is the case with basidiomycetes - that is with 'traditional' mushrooms like boletes, milkcaps or blewits. I like them because they are much less known, less researched and of very different shapes. Their determination seems to me much more interesting (and easier, at least with the big ones) than, for example, distinguishing between 250+ Russula species. But this is, of cause, a matter of personal inclination. The photographed fungi were deep black with a cobalt-blue tint. Only two fruitbodies were found; hymenophor dimensions of the larger 3.5 x 3 x 4 cm, fruitbody 9.5 cm tall (extended), stipe 6 cm long, 2.5 cm wide at the base, in cross-section chambered; the smaller hymenophor measured 2.2 x 2.5 x 3.5 cm, fruitbody was 5 cm tall, stipe 1.3 cm wide, also chambered; flesh fragile; smell unpleasant, on soil or dirty socks; taste indistinctive, mildly mushroomy; SP faint, apparently whitish, oac color could not be determined.Spores smooth with a large oil drop. Dimensions: 18.5 [20.2 ; 21.6] 23.3 x 13 [13.6 ; 14.2] 14.8 microns; Q = 1.3 [1.4 ; 1.6] 1.7; N = 11; C = 95%; Me = 20.9 x 13.9 microns; Qe = 1.5. Asci dimensions: 220 [260.5 ; 310.4] 350 x 14.8 [17.7 ; 21.3] 24.3 microns; Q = 10.3 [13.1 ; 16.5] 19.2; N = 7; C = 95%; Me = 285 x 19.5 microns; Qe = 14.8. Olympus CH20, NEA 100x/1.25, magnification 1.000 x, oil (spores); NEA 40x/0.65, magnification 400x (hymenium, paraphyses, excipulum), NEA 10x/0.25, magnification 100x (asci); in water. AmScope MA500 digital camera.Herbarium: Mycotheca and lichen herbarium (LJU-Li) of Slovenian Forestry Institute, Vena pot 2, Ljubljana, Index Herbariorum LJFRef.:(1) R. Phillips, Mushrooms, Macmillan (2006), p 360. (2) M. Bon, Parey's Buch der Pilze, Kosmos (2005), p 328.(3) R.M. Daehncke, 1200 Pilze in Farbfotos, AT Verlag (2009), p 1108. (4) D. Arora, Mushrooms Demystified, Ten Speed Press, Berkeley (1986), p 815. (5) W. Rothmaler, Exkursionsflora von Deutschland, Vol.1, Niedere Pflanzen, Elsevier, 3.Auflage, (1994), p 272.(6) S. Buczacki, Collins Fungi Guide, Collins (2012), p 608.(x) J. Breitenbach, F. Kraenzlin, Eds., Fungi of Switzerland, Vol.1. Verlag Mykologia (1984), p 54.