Found these odd vase-shaped structures growing on soil surface of potted hinoki. Maybe the size of a dime, in clusters. I thought they must be fungal fruiting bodies of some kind, but when I squeeze them, a clear jelly comes out, containing these odd, round, flattened seed-like thingies…
Anyone have a clue as to what these might be? I’m stumped.
1 Like
I wonder if they’re snail eggs? Just a guess, and googling for images doesn’t bring up a close match. Do the "seed things have spiral pattern like a snail shell?
Nope - definitely plant or fungus - even had root-like structures in the soil. The “seed-like” things weren’t spiral. Kind of like round flat discs with slight depression in the center…
Sparassis crispa is a species of fungus in the family Sparassidaceae. It is sometimes called cauliflower fungus. They grow at the base of conifers, I have a hinoki in the ground and they grow there…
but not on the pines that are 10 feet away?
Just received an answer on INaturalist - Bird’s Nest Fungi apparently. Pictures are spot on.
1 Like
Yea looks like a match. Really cool looking too!
Wow, learned something new today. The white color of the peridioles–the seed-like things, which are a mass of spores and other tissue–would indicate the genus Crucibulum, as those would be dark in other bird’s nest fungi.
My first guess was maybe snail eggs, because I was clueless. But, it turns out that Crucibulum is also the name of a genus of sea snails. So I was kinda close?
Anyway, thanks for sharing. Always fun to come across organisms I’ve never heard of before.
1 Like
Yup - one of the most unusual things I’ve ever seen!
1 Like