magpie

Very tasty, did not eat the slug.

Wasn't able to get a decent photo of the spores. On average they measured 46 x 2um and even in the eyepieces it was hard to make out any details. I did get a photo of some asci with the spores coiled up inside of them. You can actually see a free floating spore in this photo, the pineneedle shaped thing to the lower left of the scale bar, upper right of the central ascus.

Not looking for an ID but found in central BC

More information (if someone does want to take a crack)

• growing on conifer stump
• stipe length about 40-50mm (went pretty far into a crack in the stump), width about 4mm
• cap width about 25-35mm
• gills emarginate, distant, cinnamon beige
• KOH negative
• Spores, idk I couldnt get a good shot of them. Hyaline, ellipsoidal

Will post photos in the comments but here are some details:

• found in central BC, Canada
• stipe and cap surfaces slimy
• latex white at first, turning dark lilac after <5 mins
• flesh dark lilac after being cut (<5 mins)
• zonation on cap, not very distinct
• I have a hard time with describing scent, almost like spicy cologne mixed with man-sweat? Or maybe spicy like a turnip?
• latex spit test (courtesy of my partner) unpleasant, acrid but not extremely spicy
• growing singly and in clusters of 8+
• growing in forest dominated by older and younger poplar and some alder, a few spruce scattered throughout but mostly on the other side of the road and not in immediate area (if that makes a difference)
• KOH negative but in all honesty I only let it sit 15-20 mins

I listened to a lecture once and the presenter mentioned that these mushrooms aren't actually gilled and are actually pored mushrooms in the order Boletales that evolved gill-like structures.

Photo taken with a cheap digital scope. Soredia are a type of propagule found on lichens. I lichen them to a little 'seedship' made up of a few alga and/or bacteria loosely bound by the hyphae of the fungal partner. These propagules are carried off by wind, water, insects, etc. and contain everything needed to start a new colony if they end up in a suitable habitat. Sometimes soredia are spread out over certain parts of the thallus, but in this case they are being dispersed by the soralia erupting on the ridges of this lichen.

Another type of propagule similar to soredia are isidia. Instead of being a loose bundle, isidia have a cortex encasing the symbiont cells. I imagine this type of propagule lasts longer than one more exposed to the elements. I have always had trouble identifying isidia, I have seen photos of large, warty looking isidia but have yet to see them myself. I'm probably over looking them.

Some of our local Lobaria pulmonaria absolutely thriving in an old growth park. The park is full of these large, gnarly old birch trees and many of them have these massive colonies growing on them. They don't always look like much when desiccated but if you catch them after a rain storm they are stunning. I've read that L. pulmonaria has to live to an age of about 25 years to be able to produce propagules.

Found a few weeks ago, always wondered when these came up in my area.