Hoping that practice will eventually improve the quality of the photographs, but for now this will serve to remind me of this rather yellow Panellus serotinus. Looked in a variety of sources, but can't find another species that fits this particular fungus. It was a bit brighter yellow when fresh than it is today. It is almost like it has a different allele for color than the regular form. Kind of like the yellow Chocolate lily I found once in Tenakee Inlet.
Didn't come to a real decision about the orange Hygrocybe that I collected from the muskeg near the National Cemetary. I guess I did decide it was a Hygrocybe, both by color and by the structure of the gill trama (interwoven). I am overly fond of the microscope. The orange color and decurrent gills are distinct, but aren't leading me to a satisfying place. It might be helpful if I could remember for certain if the mushroom was viscid. I don't think tha it was, but can't be sure. There are a few species that I'm considering, but I'm not really happy with any of them at this point. Fortunately it dried nicely, so I can look at it again later.
The Cortinarius collected from a Mtn. Ash in the lawn of my former office at the Magnetic observatory will remain a Cortinarius sp. It did nicely turn red then black with KOH, but nothing else was very distinctive. It also dried well, so I can send it to Joe Ammirati, if he is willing to look at it.
Looked at a couple of the bryophytes I collected from cedars yesterday (both with and without a dissecting scope even abandoned the glasses). Now that the Apometzgeria has dried, it has a soft white cast to it. The color makes it look fuzzy without any tools. Of course it is unlikely to be dry outside, but it could be a useful character at times.
The other bryophyte I looked at was a Tortella tortuosa. It forms largish yellow-green clumps on the trunks. The leaves are twisted when dry, undulate looking when wet. There are abundant reddish brown rhizoids on the stems. The leaves are also distinctive under the scope because of the "M" shaped pattern of hyaline cells. Just for clarity, the area under the M is where the clear rectanular cells are located, above the M, the cells are green and smaller. It is supposed to be a calciphile that also likes yellow cedar. Definately need to learn more about the chemistry of the bark.
Collected a small piece of Fissidens adianthoides from the rocks along one of the small creeks we crossed yesterday. I suspect that the size, about 1.25 to 1.5 inches, and bright green color would be enough to seperate this species from other Fissidens. I'm still a little compulsive about collecting this species.
One interesting thing I noticed yesterday on the slope was that much of the regularly pinnate bryophytes on the ground were Lepidozia reptans instead of the mosses I expected. I have thought of this liverwort as an epiphyte, but on the slope it formed large mats.
Continued the Lobaria census yesterday. It was on many Hemlock trees of various sizes and even a Vaccinium on the slope. Maybe instead of a light meter, I can use a less expensive canopy cover measuring device to look at the effect of light on Lobaria distribution. It was interesting that it is more abundant on spruce in the valley bottom, but shifts hosts on the slopes. I don't believe that I saw it on cedar, so it isn't completely non-discriminating.
About 30 gulls, Mew, Glaucous-winged, and Thayers, and one Kingfisher by the island dock this morning. 3 pelagic cormorants and 2 harlequin on the way across.
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