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Septobasidium clelandii
A highly branched black clump of fruiting bodies arising from stem galls. They were about 5 to 12 mm long and stretching out like large magnetised iron-filings.
Spotted arising from stem galls (seen as thickened split lumps) on branches of tea-tree shrubs (Leptospermum sp.) in a reserve - Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne.
A very interesting find ! Knew hat it was a fungus of some sort but not a parasite.
This fungus ( basidiomycota) is a parasite on the female gall inducing Eriococcid insect Callococcus leptospermi.
Spores are formed on the tips of protruding structures of the fungus.
Here's information on the gall forming hemipteran:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callococcus...
This fungus is also known to parasitise another coccid that inhabits melaleuca but does not induce galls.
This species of Septobasidium is mostly associated with galling coccids.
Spotted on Nov 14, 2014
Submitted on Nov 14, 2014
3 Comments
That's all the spottings flashing past before I can snap them :-)
Like those flashing glasses! :-)
Great find and a great story with this stuff.